A short course of low-dose aspirin seems to improve the chances that in vitro fertilization (IVF) will result in pregnancy and birth, new research suggests.

As reported in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility, Dr. Urban Waldenstrom and colleagues, from Falun Hospital, in Sweden, examined the effects of aspirin therapy in 1022 women who were undergoing IVF.

About half of the women took a daily 75-milligram aspirin from the time the fertilized egg was placed in their womb until pregnancy tests were performed. The other women served as a comparison group and did not receive aspirin.

Overall, a total of 452 pregnancies occurred. Compared with untreated women, aspirin-treated women were 30 percent more likely to become pregnant and 20 percent more likely to give birth.

“Given the importance of every birth in IVF,” the team writes, “any treatment to improve birth rate is important.”

SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, June 2004.