Abstract
Objectives: To assess the effect of the phases of the moon on pregnancy rates in humans following in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment.
Design: Retrospective, observational study.
Setting: Reproductive Medicine Unit, Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Patient: Complete data for all women undergoing assisted conception procedures over a period of 13 years (1995–2002).
Intervention: Assisted conception procedures-IVF and ICSI.
Main outcome measures: Biochemical pregnancy that is positive pregnancy test result following embryo transfer.
Results: There was no significant effect of any lunar phase on the incidence of biochemical pregnancy (p-value 0.71). Age of the woman significantly affects the chances of pregnancy, (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91, 0.998, and p-value 0.04). The chances of pregnancy rises significantly with increase in the number of embryos replaced from 1 to 2 (OR 2.97, CI 1.36, 6.48, and p-value 0.01).
Conclusion: Pregnancy rates in humans, following assisted conception, appears to be independent of the effect of the lunar phase during which embryo transfer is carried out.
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Das, S., Dodd, S., Lewis-Jones, D.I. et al. Do Lunar Phases Affect Conception Rates in Assisted Reproduction?. J Assist Reprod Genet 22, 15–18 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-005-0815-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-005-0815-y