Miscarriages for women on IVF ‘double when clocks go forward’

PUTTING the clocks forward in spring doubles the number of miscarriages among women who have recently undergone IVF, a new study has found.

Researchers found the rate was twice as high if the clocks changed within 21 days of an embryo being implanted, compared to other times of the year. They believe the loss of an hour in bed may place additional stress on the women’s bodies during the early stages of their pregnancy.

Dr Wendy Kuohung, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Boston University School of Medicine in the US, said the impact was most pronounced among those who had previously suffered a miscarriage. She said: ‘We don’t know for sure, but it may be the stress from [moving to] spring daylight saving time, where the body’s rhythm is disrupted by the loss of an hour.

‘It could be enough to negatively impact IVF patients with a history of a prior miscarriage and who may be at higher risk for miscarriage in the first place.’

The researchers studied the pregnancies of 1,654 women. They found 23.4 per cent of those who had IVF in the 21 days before the clocks went forward suffered a miscarriage compared to 10.2 per cent of women at the rest of the year.

Among women who had suffered a spontaneous miscarriage in the past, the rate of pregnancy loss was nearly three times higher.

The scientists said the results should also be applicable in other countries that use daylight saving time, including the UK.

Dr Kuohung said the change in the clocks may also have more subtle implications for women attempting to get pregnant naturally.