Effects of oral contraceptive pretreatment on IVF outcomes in women following a GnRH agonist protocol

Research question Does oral contraceptive pretreatment impact IVF–embryo transfer cycle outcomes in women following the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) protocol? Design This retrospective study was designed to compare cycle outcomes after oral contraceptive pretreatment versus the standard protocol in women within the GnRHa long protocol or the GnRHa short protocol. A total of 2052 women undergoing their first IVF treatment with the GnRHa long protocol and 3557 women with the GnRHa short protocol between 2012 and 2017 were enrolled. Results No significant differences in the rates of clinical pregnancy (long protocol: 49.2% versus 46.7%; short protocol: 39.4% versus 38.0%) or live birth (long protocol: 44.3% versus 41.3%; short protocol: 32.8% versus 31.4%) after fresh embryo transfer were observed between the oral contraceptive group and the control group in either the long protocol or the short protocol. Conclusions Oral contraceptive pretreatment has no effect on IVF outcomes in either the GnRHa long protocol or short protocol.