The British Medical Journal has reported that two common treatments for infertility may not work after research carried out at the University of Aberdeen.

The drug ‘clomid’ and artificial insemination have been recommended for couples having trouble conceiving where there is no known cause for their infertility.

But recent trials that involved 580 women in Scotland found these treatments to be not much better than trying to get pregnant naturally.

Five hospitals took part in the study in which participants all suffered for more than two years with unexplained fertility problems. Overall, 101 women ended up having a successful pregnancy with those who conceived a live baby naturally equalling 17%.

Those who took the drug ‘clomid’ the birth rate totalled 14% and with artificial insemination it was 23%. The researchers found these results were not significantly higher than for those pregnancies which had no intervention.

10-20% of Women who had drug therapy also suffered side-effects such as nausea, headaches, abdominal pain and bloating. Clomid also increases the chances of giving birth to twins or triplets which carries a higher risk for mother and children than single pregnancy.

The researchers did highlight that drug and artificial insemination treatment was useful for women with ovulation problems and also brought reassurance to women who wanted to be actively trying to overcome the problem.

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