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Contraceptives to Conceive

A Contradictory Success Story

By Kelly Burgess

e treatment to minimize the risk of an ovarian cyst that could delay the cycle and to even out the stimulation. In other words, more eggs with better maturity."

However, recent studies have shown that pre-treating patients about to undergo IVF with oral contraceptives in conjunction with some newer medications also allows for a treatment regimen which includes fewer fertility drug injections and offers flexibility for egg retrieval.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, when the oral contraceptive regimen was followed by treatment with Follistim® (follitropin beta) and Antagon™ (ganirelix acetate), 78 percent of participant egg retrievals were scheduled during a five-day period. However, by altering the start date and discontinuation of the contraceptive pill by one day, the number of weekday retrievals increased to 89 percent.

"Currently, it is very difficult for physicians to predict the exact point during a woman's treatment cycle when her eggs will be fully mature and ready for retrieval," says Dr. Larry I. Barmat, of Abington Reproductive Medicine in Abington, Penn. "By pre-treating patients with oral contraceptive pills, physicians can more accurately schedule egg retrievals during a five-day work week. This allows treatment to be more patient-friendly, while at the same time not leaving the date of egg retrieval up to chance."

This is doubly beneficial for IVF patients. While it allows them to know in advance the probable time of egg retrieval and to plan accordingly, the ultimate benefit is that using Antagon™ in conjunction with the oral contraceptives results in the patent needing fewer shots – three to four on average as opposed to 21 shots with the more traditional treatments.

Want to see more?

• High Tech Babies: In Vitro Fertilization
• NOT According to Plan: Trying to Conceive With Irregular Cycles
• Popping the Pill
• Talk about it!