Womb procedure offers no benefit to women undergoing IVF
Women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for the first time did not benefit from having an endometrial scratch prior to treatment, NIHR-supported research found.
During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman’s ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. The fertilised egg (embryo) is then returned to the woman’s womb to develop.
An endometrial scratch is a procedure undertaken before IVF treatment, where a clinician places a small tube through the neck of the womb and gently scratches the lining in the hope of making the womb more receptive to embryo fertilisation.
Results showed that birth rates were similar in women who received the scratch (38.6%) and in those who did not (37.1%). There was no difference in pregnancy rates with 42.6% of women who had the scratch becoming pregnant and 40.6% of those who did not.
The Endometrial Scratch Randomised Trial - led by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sheffield - was run across 16 UK fertility centres with 1,048 participants, including 53 in Oxford.
