Ramadan Fasting and IVF treatments

Fasting during Ramadan can be beneficial for some and harmful for others, this case, especially for those who have hormonal imbalances and cycle issues, or who have nutritional deficiencies. Fertility is complicated, requiring a delicate balance of many systems across the body including your brain (hypothalamus, pituitary) and ovarian hormones. That being said, overall Ramadan fasting has been shown to have positive general health.

What about the fasting effect while doing IVF?

For couples who have been trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF) without success, fasting might help improve results. fasting could help improve mental health and lessen stress, depression, and anxiety, so improving one’s emotional state is a definite plus that can significantly bolster the chances of success of any assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure, including IVF.

In addition to the benefits of fasting for reducing stress and anxiety, fasting also enables patients to achieve their ideal body mass index before going through the IVF procedure. Following a healthy diet and reducing overweight will improve the success rate of fertility treatments.

Fasting pulls out excess or synthetic hormones, cleanses the liver, alkalizes the bloodstream, and reboots the natural hormonal process of the body. It allows for all the toxins to be removed from the cells, hormones to be rebalanced, the liver to metabolize any excess hormones floating around the body such as xenoestrogens and cortisol (stress hormones which can lead to inflammation, exhaustion, poor cellular function) which may be leading to infertility.

Inflammation is decreased, all organs are regenerated, blood sugars are rebalanced, the immune system is boosted, the nervous system is rested and the reproductive system becomes more balanced and ready.
In summary, Fertility can actually be boosted by the practice of fasting and there is no contraindication to fertility treatments during this period. Fasting during the month of Ramadan does not seem to have a significant effect on IVF/ICSI, this issue really depends on where in your cycle you will be during Ramadan. Fasting can cause some changes in your metabolism (something called ketosis) which may affect implantation. If you are at extra risk for OHSS, we would not want you to be committed to fasting. Simple modifications in the timings of medications and injections can help you run this process smoothly with good results.

Don’t forget that the important thing before starting, you have to get medical advice from your doctor depending on your condition.