Obese women and in vitro fertilization: results.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of female obesity on the results of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in six parameters: dose of gonadotropins required, number of oocytes retrieved and fertilization, pregnancy, miscarriage and live births rates.

METHOD: Literature search in PUBMED articles in English between 2008 and 2013 using the following keywords: female, obesity and In Vitro Fertilization. 15 articles were selected for this work.

RESULTS

From the total only two articles showed that female obesity does not alter the results of IVF. The remaining 13 came to the conclusion that obesity has a negative effect on some of the parameters evaluated. However, there was no consensus about its effect.

CONCLUSION

Further studies are needed to clarify the real role of obesity in female patients undergoing IVF, but the weight loss prior to treatment should always be encouraged.