When a woman becomes pregnant again naturally after successful artificial insemination, many believe in a miracle. A recent study shows that this is not as uncommon as is commonly assumed.
On July 25, Englishwoman Louise Joy Brown celebrated her 45th birthday. When she saw the light of day in 1987, it was not only a special event for her family. She was the first baby conceived and born using in vitro fertilization. There are now more than ten million other “test tube babies” around the world.
Artificial insemination enables women who cannot conceive naturally to have children. But not all women who start fertility treatment are completely or permanently infertile. By definition, infertility occurs when a heterosexual couple fails to conceive for 12 months or more despite regular, unprotected intercourse. Around every second couple whose desire to have children is not fulfilled in the first year achieves a pregnancy in the following year.
The results of a systematic review and meta-analysis. In it, a research group from University College London investigated how many women spontaneously become pregnant after successful fertility treatment.
Every fifth woman has another child
To do this, the scientists evaluated the data from eleven studies between 1980 and 2021 on a total of 5,180 women. The maximum follow-up period was two to fifteen years. It was found that around 20 percent of all women after successful fertility treatment had children again within three years – this time naturally.
“Our results suggest that natural pregnancy after the birth of a baby through in vitro fertilization is far from uncommon. This contrasts with the widely held view – by women and healthcare professionals and those often expressed in the media – that this is a highly unlikely event,” summarizes lead author Dr. Annette Thwaites the findings from the study in a press release together.