Thursday 10th July 2008 News Index

Women with fertility problems should keep off the coffee, as a new study has found that coffee can make it more difficult to become pregnant.

Researchers from Holland conducting the study tracked 9,000 women who had received IVF treatment in the Netherlands between 1985 and 1995 to see if they could conceive naturally.

These experts from Radboud University in Nijmegan found that women who had more than four cups of coffee a day reduced their chances of getting pregnant by 26 per cent.

The women were asked to fill questionnaires, based on which the researchers analysed how lifestyle can influence their chances of pregnancy. It was found that excessive caffeine intake had the same risk as drinking alcohol three times a week.

It was also discovered that smoking more than one cigarette a day and being overweight reduced the chances of pregnancy.

Dr Bea Linsten who was lead researcher, presented the study at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Barcelona recently, said, "We have to remind our patients that they may influence their chance of spontaneous pregnancy after IVF with a healthy lifestyle."

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