For quite some time, assisted hatching during in vitro fertilization was thought to improve pregnancy rates.
However, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri say that assisted hatching does not improve the chances of pregnancy in women under the age of 38.
In a report released this month, Fertility and Sterility, research done in a random trial showed that there was no benefit to women under the age of 38 from assisted hatching, and that it was not worth the added expense to in vitro procedures.
What is Assisted Hatching?
Before implanting in the uterus, an embryo must emerge from an outer layer. This process is called hatching. This outer layer, or shell, of the embryo tends to harden as a woman ages, making it more difficult for the embryo to emerge.
In assisted hatching, the doctor employs an extremely delicate procedure that opens the shell of the embryo, which helps it to break loose and attach itself to the uterine walls.
This practice of assisted hatching has been widely used in IVF since the 1990s.
Assisted hatching raises the already high expenses of in vitro fertilization, besides increasing the risk by extra handling of the delicate embryo.
The study conducted at the Washington University of Medicine between 2004 and 2007 was made up of participants younger than 38 years old. Each woman’s embryos were evaluated and the thickness of the shells measured on the third day after fertilization.
There were no significant differences in the number of pregnancies between women who received assisted hatching and women who did not.
There were no significant differences in the number of live births, either.
Along these same lines, there were no significant differences noted in the incidence of twins or multiple births, still births, miscarriages, chromosomal abnormalities or ectopic pregnancies.
The long and short of it is that the study found no justification for assisted hatching in women under the age of 38. Although assisted hatching will continue to be routine for would-be moms over the age of 38, it will be curtailed in women in the younger age group.
“We hope that other centers throughout the world will take note of these findings and also change their practices.” said Randall Odem, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and senior author of the study.
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