Do Alternative Therapies Impede Pregancy? Beats Us

From the Annals of Continued Annoyance: This week's report on the link between alternative therapies and reduced chances of getting pregnant. I've got to say, this is one of the most vivid examples of lousy medical reporting I've seen in a while. (See the AP's version and ABC News')

Bottom line first
An unpublished study suggests that women who are more stressed out by infertility are more likely to use alternative treatments like acupuncture and dietary supplements. The study was not designed to see whether using those treatments results in lower fertility--it was designed to determine whether doctors should offer other interventions to reduce stress during infertility.

This study in 50 words or less
Danish researchers followed for about a year 800 women who were trying to get pregnant with IVF. The 261 who used some alternative treatment were more psychologically distressed than those who didn't--and were 20 percent less likely to get pregnant.

Yes, but. . .
The mainstream reportage on this one seriously miscast the study. To be fair, the study was presented at a medical meeting and not published, so there's no paper to read and no data to parse.

Still: The press release issued by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, upon which the Science Daily report above was based, indicates the study was designed to determine why some women chose to use alternative treatments--to control stress or to help them get pregnant? The researchers concluded that women who used alternatives were more stressed.

You may know where this is going: Women used alternatives because they were stressed. They were also less likely to get pregnant. Was this because they used alternatives, or because they were stressed? The researchers couldn't say.

Not only that: The researchers grouped all alternatives together, failing to distinguish between reflexology (targeted foot massage) and herbal supplements. They do not rule out that alternatives may reduce the effectiveness of medical therapies for infertility. But they do not conclude that either.

So what are you going to do about it?
If you're trying to get pregnant, know that none of the alternative treatments often recommended by practitioners and enthusiasts are not proven effective or safe. But there is no good research suggesting that they may reduce your chances of getting pregnant.

Here's a good article that planks out what's known and not about various alternative treatments for infertility.