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Stephen Chen


Excessive water in the womb during or around sex can reduce chances of pregnancy, according to a new Chinese study.
Tests on animals showed that high levels of liquid in the womb would keep the embryo "afloat" and unable to anchor to the uterus. This can lead to the failure of what is clinically known as embryo implantation, a critical part of pregnancy.
Dr Chen Qi, one of the authors of the paper published in the latest issue of Cell Research, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, said the study also confirmed that the amount of intrauterine fluids increased with the level of oestrogen, the female sex hormone.
By artificially reducing the level of oestrogen in mice, the researchers were able to prevent excessive water in their wombs, leading to a higher chance of embryo implantation.
Oestrogen levels can rise for a number of reasons, from endocrine disorders to sexual arousal.
A study by researchers with the University of Michigan in 2009 showed that orgasm could boost oestrogen amounts in women.
Now researchers have been grappling with whether female orgasms reduce the chance of pregnancy. "We can ask the question, but we do not have hard evidence at the moment," said Chen, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology.
"It is known that liquid is produced for vaginal lubrication during sexual intercourse, but it is difficult to monitor the amount of fluid in the womb, so we cannot say anything definite at this stage about whether [orgasms] would affect pregnancy."
But Chen said the study had meaningful implications to clinical treatments for infertility, a worsening public health issue both in China and the rest of the world.
More couples are choosing to have babies through in-vitro fertilisation, also known as "test-tube baby" technology.
With the technique, doctors often increase the expectant mother's hormone level to stimulate the production of eggs, which would be fertilised by the expectant father's sperm in the laboratory.
The fertilised egg is then implanted in the mother's womb.
But implantations are not always successful, and problems with the lining of the womb have been cited as one possible reason why they fail. "Our study shows that excessive water in the womb can also be an important reason, and that brings new approaches to assisted reproductive technology," Chen said.
Although the female hormone is essential for pregnancy, too much or too little can lead to problems.
Chen's team is working with hospitals in Beijing to determine the optimal level of the female hormone for egg production without causing excessive water in the uterus.
A gynaecologist with a major public hospital in Guangzhou said the new study was significant because fluid in the womb had not been seriously considered by doctors as a problem.
"People are studying all kinds of sophisticated mechanisms behind infertility. Maybe we have neglected the most simple and obvious reason," she said, declining to be named due to the hospital's media policy.
But the gynaecologist said infertility in China was linked to many wider problems, from increasing stress at work to environmental pollution.


Chinese study links excessive water levels in womb to lower pregnancy success

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Too much fluid can prevent embryo from anchoring, mainland study finds


Excessive water in the womb during or around sex can reduce chances of pregnancy, according to a new Chinese study.
