Does body mass index of infertile women have an impact on IVF procedure and outcome?

Purpose: The objective was to explore whether body mass index (BMI) of women related to the different parameters of the in vitro fertilization (NF) procedure and outcome. Methods: This retrospective study on 398 couples analyzed epidemiological features, characteristics of ovarian stimulation, number and quality of retrieved oocytes, as well as pregnancy outcome according to three groups of BMI values: BMI < 20, 20 <less than or equal to> BMI < 25 and BMI <greater than or equal to> 25 kg/ml. Results: The prevalence of underweight and overweight women was 21.8% and 22.3%, respectively. The mean ratio follicle-stimulating hormone-luteinizing hormone increased significantly according to BMI. Art increase in the mean number of consummated gonadotropin ampoules together with a decrease in the number of collected oocytes was observed in long stimulation protocol cycles when BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m(2). The same observations were made in short stimulation protocol cycles for BMI < 20 and <greater than or equal to> 25 kg/m(2). No significant difference could be found in clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates between underweight, normal weight, and overweight patients. Conclusions: Both under weight and overweight have negative effects on IVF parameters and outcome leading to decreased chances of pregnancy.