Infertile couples offered cheaper way to pregnancy

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

Auckland researchers have proven the effectiveness of a simple treatment for some women unable to have babies.

The treatment, which costs less than one-fifth the amount of high-tech in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), offers a new hope to thousands of couples afflicted by unexplained infertility.

It involves flushing a dye, originally used in taking x-rays, through the womb and fallopian tubes.

The women treated with the liquid, called lipiodol, had a significantly higher chance of becoming pregnant than the comparison group who did not receive the treatment, the study leader, Dr Neil Johnson, will tell an Auckland conference today.

By six months after the treatment, 38 per cent of the 73 women who received it had become pregnant, compared with 16 per cent of the untreated women.

All the 158 couples in the study had unexplained infertility, including 62 women who had mild endometriosis, a problem with the lining of the womb. The lipiodol-related pregnancy rate was higher in the women with endometriosis.

The National Women's Hospital and Auckland University researchers will tell the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conference that lipiodol flushing can now be considered as a possible first-line treatment for unexplained infertility.

IVF costs at least $5000 for one cycle, compared with several hundred dollars for lipiodol flushing.

Dr Richard Fisher, of Auckland-based Fertility Associates, said yesterday that the lipiodol results looked pretty promising and he wanted to learn more about the treatment.

His clinic's clinical pregnancy rate for IVF is 38 per cent overall and about 48 per cent for women under 35 years.

But many women, especially those in their late 30s, would not want to wait months to see if they had become pregnant.

"It's probably as good in at least one group [women with mild endometriosis] as any other treatment we have to offer, except IVF."

One couple from the lipiodol treatment, Megan and Jason MacDonald, whose daughter Madison is nearly 18 months old, are thinking of trying for a second baby.

The Hamilton couple had tried for 2 1/2years before Mrs MacDonald entered the trial and became pregnant within two months.