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Coffee may reduce success of IVF treatments

Category: Infertitlity Hormone Testing

Excessive coffee consumption may make conceiving significantly more difficult for women who have received unhealthy FSH test results and are undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments, according to a new study conducted at Aarhus University in Denmark.

In the study, researchers tracked the amount of coffee consumed each day by more than 4,000 women who were undergoing IVF treatment. The results showed that women who consumed five cups or more of coffee each day were 50 percent less likely to become pregnant than those with more moderate consumption. Additionally, they were 40 percent less likely experience a live birth.

"Although we were not surprised that coffee consumption appears to affect pregnancy rates in IVF, we were surprised at the magnitude of the effect," said lead researcher Ulrik Shioler Kesmodel.

In fact, the association between coffee consumption and impaired fertility was so strong that the researchers compared it to the effect of coffee to that of tobacco use.

The team said that other studies have shown less of a dramatic impact associated with drinking coffee, so they are not recommending that women undergoing IVF treatments completely stop drinking coffee. However, patients may want to consider cutting back if they drink excessive amounts.