Antibiotics for Infertility

An article in the British medical journal, Lancet, shows that giving antibiotics at the time of retrieving eggs from a women to make her pregnant later markedly increase her chances of getting pregnant.

This study shows that some doctors are governed more by how much they can make than how much they can save their patients in expenses and needless procedures. When a couple has difficulty getting pregnant, they often seek out a specialist called a reproductive endocrinologist.

The evaluation can cost around $10,000 and treatment can cost $150,000. So virtually every couple who shows up at a reproductive endocrinologists door will get an evaluation and treatment that will cost as much as $150,000. In fact, one doctor was reported to offer no money down and 500 dollars a month for 15 years to a patient.

The most common cause of infertility is infection which can often be cured just by taking antibiotics for a little longer than one week. Yet I have not seen a single reproductive endocrinologist give his patients antibiotics and tell them to come back only if they cannot become pregnant. The Lancet article stated that giving antibiotics a the time of a $10,000 procedure increases a woman's chances of getting pregnant. Why doesn't the doctor first try antibiotics without the $10,000 procedure?

Lancet, August 21, 1999.

Source: DrMirkin.com

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Category: antibiotic, infertile, Old Eggs, pregnancy, Reproductive health