Outcomes From Treatment of Infertility With Natural Procreative Technology in an Irish General Practice

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Characteristics of Couples Beginning Treatment with Natural Procreative Technology, by Subsequent Conception Status

Patient Characteristic	All Eligible Couples^*	NPT Treatment, Conceived	NPT Treatment, Did Not Conceive
Total (n)^†	1072	364	708
Woman's age (mean years [range])	35.8 (25–48)	34.8 (25–45)	36.4 (26–48)
Prior years attempting to conceive (mean [range])	5.6 (1–20)	4.8 (1–17)	6.1 (1–20)
Had previous live birth (percent yes)	24	30	20
Received previous ART^‡ (percent yes)	33	21	39

* One hundred sixty-seven couples were not eligible because they had been trying for less than 1 year or because they did not complete the evaluation after the initial consultation.
† Number of couples in each category. Age was available for all women. For previous years attempting to conceive, 30 (2.8%) had missing data; for previous births, 30 (2.8%) had missing data; for previous ART, 20 (1.9%) had missing data.
‡ Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes in vitro fertilization with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Table 2.

Common Diagnoses of Couples Receiving Treatment Before and After Evaluation with Natural Procreative Technology*

Diagnostic Category	Before NPT Evaluation (n [%])	After NPT Evaluation (n [%])
Unexplained infertility	506 (47.2)	5 (0.5)
Unexplained recurrent miscarriage	124 (11.6)	2 (0.2)
Anovulation	31 (2.9)	36 (3.4)
Polycystic ovarian syndrome	68 (6.3)	110 (10.3)
Endometriosis	209 (19.5)	208 (24.6)
Male factor	115 (10.7)	146 (13.6)
Limited cervical mucus	12 (1.1)	276 (25.7)
Suboptimal luteal progesterone	99 (9.2)	923 (86.1)
Suboptimal luteal estrogen	2 (0.2)	676 (63.1)

* This table is based on the 1072 couples that initiated evaluation. Diagnostic categories sum to more than 100% because couples could have more than one diagnosis (other than unexplained).

Table 3.

Cumulative Outcomes per 100 Couples by Time Completed in Natural Procreative Technology Evaluation and Treatment

Time Interval (months)	Cumulative Withdrawals from NPT (n “proportion”)	Conceptions				Live Births^*
Time Interval (months)	Cumulative Withdrawals from NPT (n “proportion”)	Starting at Time Interval (n)	Cumulative Conceptions (n)	Crude Proportion	Adjusted Proportion^†	Starting at Time Interval (n)	Cumulative Live Births (n)	Crude Proportion	Adjusted Proportion^†
0–3	105 (9.8)	1072	75	7.0	7.3	1072	55	5.1	5.4
4–6	233 (21.7)	892	152	14.2	15.9	895	111	10.4	11.8
7–12	478 (44.6)	687	278	25.9	35.5	694	205	19.1	27.1
13–18	624 (58.2)	316	326	30.4	48.5	337	255	23.8	41.8
19–24	672 (62.7)	122	354	33.0	64.8	132	273	25.5	52.8
25–36^‡		46	364			56	286

* Live births are assigned the time interval when the conception occurred rather than when the birth occurred.
† Adjusted by life-table analysis, where withdrawal or continuing treatment at the end of study follow-up are censoring events.
‡ Proportions are not calculated beyond 24 months.

Table 4.

Live Births per 100 Couples at 24 months of Natural Procreative Technology Treatment by Characteristics of Couples Beginning Treatment

Couple Category	Couples (n)	Live Births (n)	Crude Proportion	Adjusted Proportion^*
All couples	1072	273	25.5	52.8
Woman's age (years)
≤30	86	29	33.7	59.1
>30–35	412	134	32.5	58.6
>35–40	423	89	21.0	46.1
>40	151	21	13.9	50.9
Time spent attempting to conceive (years)
1–3	246	90	36.6	66.0
>3–6	468	129	27.6	55.4
>6–9	210	39	18.6	44.9
>9	118	14	11.9	42.8
Previous live birth
Yes	257	92	35.8	73.9
No	785	181	23.1	48.5
Previous ART attempts (n)^†
0	702	216	30.8	61.5
1	128	29	22.7	41.9
2	125	18	14.4	34.9
≥3	97	10	10.3	19.8

* Adjusted by life-table analysis, where withdrawal or continuing treatment at the end of study follow-up are censoring events. Adjusted proportions should be interpreted with caution because of small numbers in subgroups.
† Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) includes in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Table 5.

Outcomes for Natural Procreative Technology Live Births (n = 286)