Anti-Oxidant Supplements Do Not Increase Pregnancy Chances

Anti-oxidant pills might be of little help to women trying to improve their chances of getting pregnant, a latest research shows.

Women undergoing fertility treatment such as In Vitro Fertilization are prescribed anti-oxidant supplements to enhance their pregnancy chances. But a research published in the Cochrane Library found that women taking anti-oxidants showed no improvement in fertility rates compared to women with placebo tablets or those with standard treatments.

For the study, the research team collected data of 3, 548 women who attended fertility clinics. "There is no evidence in this review that suggests taking an antioxidant is beneficial for women who are trying to conceive," said lead researcher Dr Marian Showell, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Anti-oxidant tablets showed no side effects. Only 14 trials reported miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies. The researchers said the quality of the trials was low or very low and the number of different antioxidants tested made it difficult to make comparisons. "We could not assess whether one antioxidant was better than another," said Dr Showell.

One study claimed that acupuncture during IVF treatment can enhance chances of conceiving in women. The researchers analyzed 16 separate studies of over 4000 women and found that acupuncture helped increase the pregnancy chances among women with below-average IVF pregnancy success rates.

Another research showed that anti-oxidants taken by women who abuse alcohol during pregnancy can reduce chances of birth defects in babies. Another study suggested that antioxidants may help treat infertility in both men and women. It claimed the supplement could also treat erectile dysfunction, egg implantation and endometriosis.