When it comes to trying to get pregnant, there are plenty of tips and tricks that promise to increase the chances of pregnancy.
But instead of turning to supplements, women undergoing IVF should follow the Mediterranean diet to boost their chances of having a baby, an expert says.
Professor Roger Hart, a fertility specialist at the University of Western Australia, reviewed all the evidence for popular nutritional supplements and diets thought to improve the success of IVF.
Supplements included vitamin D, Omega-3, melatonin and Chinese herbs, while he also looked at various diets, including those that promoted weight loss.
Women undergoing IVF treatment should follow the Mediterranean diet to increase their chances of having a child, according to an expert
He found that the Med diet – lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oil – provides the best evidence of benefits for women undergoing IVF.
There have been several well-designed clinical trials that have shown benefits for both embryo development and pregnancy outcome, he said, adding: 'These diets are high in B vitamins, antioxidants, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and fiber and contain few nutrients. saturated fat, sugar and sodium.”
Although there is some evidence to suggest that Omega-3 may be 'beneficial' in improving IVF success, a large-scale review of a range of popular supplements described them as being of low quality and could not demonstrate any benefit in terms of number of live births. he explained.
'Nutritional supplements are usually not prescribed, but purchased online or without a prescription,' added Professor Hart.
'They self-medicate and solid data on usage is impossible to establish. Our information is largely anecdotal, but it is clear from online IVF discussion forums that these are widely used and of great public interest.'
Some studies seemed to show some benefits for DHEA – a hormonal supplement – and COQ10, a compound that helps convert food into energy.
There was also some evidence that melatonin might benefit in the treatment of sleep disorders, but it was unclear which specific patients might benefit from it, nor at what dose.
He recommended that a simple nutritional approach to supporting conception through IVF would be the adoption of the Med diet, while supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids could also provide some benefit.
In the meantime, all women trying to conceive should take folic acid supplements, he said.
The research, published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online, said: 'We, as compassionate healthcare professionals, will try to find the 'silver bullet' that will help women conceive.
'In an effort to draw conclusions from the literature to facilitate progress on potential therapeutic strategies to help women undergoing IVF treatment, a relatively simple approach would be to follow a Mediterranean diet while undergoing IVF treatment. '
Previous research has shown that one in five women can become pregnant naturally after giving birth via IVF.
Around 55,000 people in Britain undergo fertility treatment every year to try to have a child, and many, who have been trying in vain for more than a year to conceive, are told they are 'subfertile', indicating that naturally getting pregnant is impossible.
But a scientific review of 11 studies involving almost 5,200 women and spanning more than 40 years has concluded that at least one in five women who have a child through fertility treatment will go on to become pregnant naturally.
It could be that they simply had to keep trying longer, or that, according to some experts, the fertility treatment itself caused them to become pregnant again.