IVF pregnancy rates decline with increased air pollution

In February, I wrote an article about how air pollution may increase your risk of miscarriage:

https://www.draimee.org/high-amount-of-pollution-increase-in-miscarriage-risk/

I want you to know about a recent study which has shown that women exposed to air pollution have a significantly lower chance of pregnancy. You can see a nice summary of the study here:

http://www.themedguru.com/20100513/newsfeature/air-pollution-linked-ivf-failure-study-86135116.html

After reading the published study in Human Reproduction and the news coverage, this is what I think women and men  going through IVF should know:

1. The quality of air in the embryo lab makes a big difference. Ask the lab that you are using what they are doing to make sure that their air is of great quality. Make sure the lab you are going to is using a HEPA air filtration system. Ask about the quality assurance and controls that are used to make sure that the air quality during your cycle is ideal.

2.  Look at the air quality in your area when you are timing an IVF cycle: http://www.sparetheair.org/Stay-Informed/Todays-Air-Quality.aspx

3. You have enough to worry about when going through an IVF cycle, like taking your medications on time and remembering what you have to do next – don’t panic about what you read on the internet. You can only do your best – the rest is out of your control.

Hope this helps!