The Impact of Traditional Medicine-Based Lifestyle and Diet on Infertility Treatment in Women Undergoing Assisted Reproduction: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The problem of infertility is growing rapidly in the world. Traditional medicine with thousands of years of history has claimed that it can treat some kinds of infertility using nutritional and lifestyle modifications and interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a traditional medicine-oriented diet and lifestyle on infertility treatment. Based on a clinical trial study, 180 infertile women who were 20-40 years old and candidates for in vitro fertilization (IVF) were randomly assigned to 2 groups: an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group used diet and lifestyle recommendations based on Iranian traditional medicine for at least 3 months. The number of ova, mature ovum number, embryo number, embryo quality, and fertilization rate were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (for all items; p < 0.05). Overall pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the intervention group (35.2 vs. 12.4%; odds ratio [OR], 3.8; 95% CI, 1.8-8.3). The intervention group had a higher rate of getting spontaneous pregnancy than the control group (20.9 vs. 2.2%; OR, 11.5; 95% CI, 2.6-50.9). Chemical pregnancy was significantly higher in the intervention group (64 vs. 27.5%; OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 1.9-11.6). Diet and lifestyle modifications based on traditional medicine can contribute greatly to the infertility treatment. Thus, many infertility cases can be treated without the need to use advanced methods. In case of using assisted reproductive techniques, traditional medicine can enhance the efficiency of these methods.