If you are looking to conceive through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) then you would be surprised to learn that a link exists between miscarriage rates and daylight savings time (DST).

According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Boston University Medical Centre (BMC), DST is instrumental in leading to a higher rate of miscarriage in women who are undergoing IVF to conceive and have had a prior miscarriage.

The study makes the surprising revelation that pregnancy losses were higher for women who underwent IVF during the DST.

What The Study Revealed

The researchers have shared that DST is instrumental in disrupting the woman's circadian rhythms, which in turn impacts the reproduction and fertility.

Previous studies have asserted that the 1-hour difference can impact the health negatively and may lead to increased heart attack instances. However, not much is known about DST having an adverse effect on fertility.

"To our knowledge, there are no other studies looking at the effects of daylight savings time and fertility outcomes. We knew that we were researching an uncharted field, and it was important for us to understand the effect a one-hour change had on patients undergoing IVF," says Dr. Constance Liu.

For the purpose of the study, the researchers performed an analytical study on 1,654 patients who underwent IVF during DST between 2009 and 2012.

The researchers discovered that the rate of miscarriage in IVF patients who faced an early miscarriage and went through IVF nearly 21 days post spring DST commenced, was higher vis-à-vis women who underwent the procedure prior to this or way after the spring DST.

The team also found that nearly 23.4 percent IVF miscarriages occurred in spring at the time of the DST. Incidentally, nearly 60.5 percent of the women who had an early miscarriage history, suffered a pregnancy loss in the same period.

"Pregnancy loss rates were also comparable between Spring and Fall (15.5%, 17.1%), but rates of loss were significantly higher in Spring when DST occurred after embryo transfer," notes the study.

The study further revealed that during the two seasons i.e. spring and fall, the rate of pregnancy was similar and stood at 41.4 percent and 42.4 percent.

According to Wendy Kuohung of BMC, though the reports about the effect of DST on pregnancy loss, especially among IVF patients is fascinating, the researchers need to duplicate it in bigger "IVF cohorts" all around the globe.

The study has been published in the journal Chronobiology International.

Photo: Vanessa Porter | Flickr