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Weight gain after in vitro fertilization: a potential consequence of controlled ovarian stimulation

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
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Abstract

In the USA, 42% of adult women were estimated to have obesity, and 13% of women of childbearing age similarly have impaired fecundity. Obesity is associated with infertility such that patients with obesity often seek out in vitro fertilization (IVF) services. Here, we report on the case of a woman with childhood-onset class II obesity who had been undergoing treatment with phentermine and topiramate prior to undergoing 3 cycles of IVF. With each cycle, the patient temporarily gained 13–15 lbs. during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). Weight gain from COS may be clinically relevant and merits further study to optimize weight status across women’s reproductive life and to better assist women who gain weight secondary to IVF. Incorporating weight monitoring into IVF protocols may also help better characterize the scope of weight gain from COS.

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Funding

National Institutes of Health NIDDK P30 DK040561 and L30 DK118710 (FCS) funded this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Simar S. Bajaj

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Bhav Jain

  3. MGH Weight Center, Department of Medicine-Division of Endocrinology-Neuroendocrine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Fatima Cody Stanford

  4. Department of Pediatrics-Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH), 4th Floor, Weight Center, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Fatima Cody Stanford

Authors
  1. Simar S. Bajaj
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  2. Bhav Jain
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  3. Fatima Cody Stanford
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Correspondence to Fatima Cody Stanford.

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Bajaj, S.S., Jain, B. & Stanford, F.C. Weight gain after in vitro fertilization: a potential consequence of controlled ovarian stimulation. J Assist Reprod Genet 39, 973–976 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02444-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02444-w

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