CARNAL NATION

A study published in the British Medical Journal reports that women who lie down for fifteen minutes after intrauterine insemination (IUI) have a 50 percent higher chance of becoming pregnant. The large scale study involved 391 women, 199 of whom were asked to lie still for fifteen minutes post-insemination. The other 192 participants were part of the control group and were assigned to “immediate mobilisation”.

Ongoing pregnancy rates for those who were immobilised were reported at 27% (54 in total) versus 18% (34 pregnancies in total) for the control group. Live birth rates were also significantly higher for those who were immobilized with a total of 53 births in comparison to 32 for those who walked around after insemination.

IUI is a popular fertility treatment for many women that requires minimal drug use and offers a much lower-cost alternative to in vitro fertilization. It involves inserting sperm into the uterus around the time of ovulation and is often combined with some use of fertility drugs. Unlike the in vitro process, IUI does not require the extraction of eggs, laboratory incubation or the implantation of embryos.

The findings of this Netherlands-based study suggest that lying down in a “feet up” position may encourage conception by allowing the sperm to move upward in the uterus. The researchers recommend that “immobilisation for 15 minutes should be offered to all women treated with intrauterine insemination” and suggest that a similar approach to promoting conception