Infertility treatment may be less successful among women who also use alternative treatments and remedies.
That is the view of a study recently published in Denmark, which has found that IVF success rates are reduced by 30 per cent among women who have undergone alternative treatments.
Women who had undertaken a range of non-conventional therapies including reflexology, acupuncture, or herbal and aromatherapy, were discernibly less likely to fall pregnant after a round of IVF infertility treatment.
Alex Polyakov and Beverley Vollenhoven, from the Faculty of 1000 Medicine, commented: "It is important, when discussing IVF treatment with couples, that their use of alternative therapies is also discussed, as this may have a bearing on treatment success."
"Until further evidence is available, it is best to counsel couples against the use of alternative therapies when also having IVF."
A Canadian study reported in 2006 that success rates for IVF were 35 per cent.
