LOOSING WEIGHT BEFORE INFERTILITY TREATMENT IMPROVES IVF SUCCESS

By Dr. Shobha Gupta

Some facts about obesity:

Obese woman checking her weight

• 2 billion people worldwide are officially classified as overweight
• 70% of India's urban population is obese
• 10% of couples in the country get affected by infertility due to obesity
• Women who are obese are also at a greater risk for pregnancy complications 

Losing excess weight before undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment can improve pregnancy and birth outcome. The women with normal weight (BMI below 20) had higher live birth rates (38.6 percent) and embryo implantation (40.4 percent) compared to obese women (BMI above 30 -27.7 percent and 30.9 percent respectively).

A body mass index (BMI) of 19 to 25 is considered to be the ideal weight for conceiving. A healthy body and optimum weight during pregnancy is crucial for having a smooth pregnancy and delivering a healthy child.

According to the WHO 1.2 billion people worldwide are officially classified as overweight. According to recent study 70% of India's urban population is obese and comes under overweight category.

Both underweight and overweight women and men suffer from a higher incidence of infertility. I see at least 10 patients in a day coming to me for infertility out of which 3 to 4% are obese. Women who are obese are also at a greater risk for pregnancy complications like having a C-section, giving birth to a large baby or even developing gestational diabetes and hypertension.

When going for infertility treatment

There are numerous potential complications for obese women trying to get pregnant. Some of these include:

Lower response to medication used to regulate or initiate ovulation.

Greater need for carefully titrated dosing of medication, especially in patients with polycystic ovaries (PCO).

Greater frequency of over-response and the risk of over-stimulation and / or multiple pregnancies in response to medications used to induce ovulation. And if a multiple pregnancy is conceived, there are greater obstetrical complications in patients with excessive BMI than in multiple pregnancies in patients with a normal BMI.

More complicated IVF cycles (besides those complications listed above) including: 

• Fewer eggs retrieved
• Greater technical difficulty retrieving eggs with greater risk of bleeding or injury
• Greater anesthesia risk at the egg retrieval, including maintaining adequate airway, hypertension and     aspiration
• Greater difficulty with embryo transfer in visualizing the uterus and accomplishing the embryo transfer    effectively
• Lower embryo implantation rates
• Lower IVF success rates

LIFESTYLE CHANGES TO GET RID OF OBESITY WHICH AUTOMATICALLY INCREASES YOUR CHANCES TO GET PREGNANT FASTER.

Obesity needs to be managed long-term with a combination of diet, increased activity and lifestyle changes.

1.      Balanced diet

2.      Regular physical exercise and relaxation exercise

3.      Eat three meals everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner

4.      Reduce your intake of food or drinks that contain high level of sugar and fat

5.      Eat more fruits, green leafy vegetables and salads

6.      Quit smoking and drinking

7.      Go for brisk walking twice in a day for 30 minutes

Stay healthy and obesity free..!!

Dr. Shobha Gupta