As we spring forward into Daylight Savings Time in Southern California, we’d like to bring your attention to a new study regarding fertility and the time change. Pushing the clock an hour forwards or backwards may not seem like enough to make a huge difference in matters of IVF, but the change does alter our circadian rhythms and how we respond physiologically to changes in daylight and the sleep wake cycle. In a new study conducted by researchers at Boston Medical School, patients undergoing IVF were monitored during and after their embryo transfer procedures. The researchers discovered that IVF patients who had a history of miscarriage were the most effected; when these patients underwent an embryo transfer around DST, the study showed that they had a higher risk of miscarrying again, particularly during the twenty-one day period after the time change.
At Hanabusa IVF’s San Diego fertility clinic we take into account a patient’s lifestyle and environment and examine external factors such as stress and diet, and other environmental issues that may effect their success with IVF. If you’ve had a previous miscarriage and are considering IVF, we will talk with you about the risks regarding IVF during DST. The researchers need to examine a larger sample of patients in order to make their findings conclusive, but it is a new factor to keep in mind and you can read more about the study here: