Losing weight before fertility treatment may not increase fertility odds in obese women

Health professionals often encourage obese women to lose weight before trying to conceive or beginning infertility treatment

An estimated 40 percent of U.

Dr.

Participants were divided into two groups

At the end of the study, the researchers noticed no significant difference in the number of pregnancies and healthy births between the two groups of women

According to Legro's findings, there is growing evidence that obese women who lose weight before starting infertility treatment are less likely to have healthy babies than women who don't lose weight before conception

"Although this is different from the current clinical standard of care, there is insufficient evidence to recommend weight loss before pregnancy in obese and unexplained infertile women," Legro said

While this may not increase the chances of obese women having healthy babies, the researchers point out that there may be other health benefits if these women lose weight