IVF has 'no bearing' on menopause

IVF has 'no bearing' on menopause

A new study has shown that undergoing IVF treatment does not make women more prone to early menopause, according to the BBC.

The onset of the menopause was said to occur at just over 50 for IVF-treated women, a level comparable with national averages, the Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridgeshire, study unveiled.

Testing some 200 of the first women to undergo IVF - which involved heavier drug use in the 1980s – the report also confounded beliefs that the treatment makes the menopause more severe.

According to the BBC, lead researcher Dr Kay Elder said: "It was unknown territory in those days. Although all the studies showed that the treatment was safe, it was ground-breaking and we couldn't predict the potential long-term impacts.

"Since many of the women received multiple treatment cycles and large doses of drugs, the current trend towards milder stimulation should have no effect either, which is reassuring for the future."