Lying Still Raises Artificial Inseminati...(ed. Over the years subfertility is ...),Health

"Over the years, subfertility is an increasing problem, which causes higher demands on busy offices, trying to treat as many patients as possible," said Custers, a student and registrar at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. "With increased efficacy of the procedure, these women will therefore not return for subsequent cycles. A positive effect of this study was observed in The Netherlands: more and more women have been allowed this treatment strategy. Whether this will be implemented globally remains to be seen."

One expert said it wasn't yet clear whether this was the best way to maximize pregnancy odds.

First of all, it's not known what common practice is currently in clinics: lying down for 5, 10, 15 minutes or longer, said Dr. Peter McGovern, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

"These authors didn't test other times," he said. "And studies in the past found that sperm deposited in the vagina could be found at the end of the fallopian tubes within 5 minutes. I think probably any time period over 5 minutes would probably give you the same difference. It's probably a good idea to have people lay flat for some period of time as opposed to just leaping up."

Another expert agreed.

The Dutch study's conclusions are "plausible," said Dr. Roger Lobo, president-elect of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University, although the 15-minute time span used in the study does appear "artificial."

"Five minutes is probably sufficient," he said. "Sperm travels very, very rapidly. If you get up within the minute there may be some leakage."

"In our practice I've never heard of anyone who gets up immediately," Lobo said. "The standard is 10 minutes. Women who are asked to get up immediately may h
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