Exercise and IVF may not mix

Exercise is detrimental to women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), suggests this prospective study of over 2,000 women.

Researchers from Massachusetts found that women who exercised 4 or more hours per week for 1 to 9 years before attempting IVF were 40% less likely to have a live birth (OR 0.6; CI 0.4–0.8), almost three times more likely to experience cycle cancellation (OR 2.8; CI 1.5–5.3), and twice as likely to have an implantation failure (OR 2.0; CI 1.4–3.1) or a pregnancy loss (OR 2.0; CI 1.2–3.4) as women who did not report exercising.

More specifically, women who engaged in regular cardiovascular activity had a 30% lower chance of having a live birth (OR 0.7; CI 0.6–0.9) than women who were sedentary.

Morris SN, Missmer SA, Cramer DW, et al. Effects of lifetime exercise on the outcome of in vitro fertilization. Obstet Gynecol. 2006;108:938-945.