Car Fumes Risk to IVF Success

Living near a busy road cuts the chances of fertility treatment being successful by almost a quarter, researchers have warned.

A study of thousands of IVF patients found those who regularly breathed in traffic fumes were up to 24 per cent less likely to conceive than those who lived in less polluted areas.
Nitrogen dioxide - a toxin pumped out by car and lorry exhaust pipes, power stations and gas cookers - has as big an impact on a woman's chances of having a baby as ageing, the experts said.

Although air pollution has previously been linked to premature delivery, low birthweight and birth defects, the latest study is the first to show it could affect a woman's chances of conceiving in the first place.
The researchers compared the success rates of almost 7,500 IVF patients with the levels of pollution near their homes and the clinics where they were being treated.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that levels of IVF success were higher than the average reading of 0.019 parts per million (ppm) near a woman's home or her IVF clinic
And they found consistent evidence to show higher levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air was linked to lower odds of IVF success.
When levels were higher than the average reading of 0.019 parts per million (ppm) near a woman's home or her IVF clinic, the chances of having a baby dipped.
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