A particular multivitamin pill – containing vitamins A, B, C and E, as well as zinc, selenium, antioxidants and folic acid – could help women get pregnant and lower the risk of miscarriage in the first three months, according to a study published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine.
Researchers at University College London worked with 56 women between the ages of 18 and 49 who had been trying in vitro fertilization for at least a year without any success. Half took the daily multivitamin while the other half took folic acid.
Researchers found that 60 percent of those on the multivitamin became and remained pregnant, and of those, 75 percent succeeded on the first round of IVF. By comparison, only 25 percent of those on folic acid alone managed to remain pregnant beyond the three month mark, and just 18 percent succeeded on the first round of treatment.
Other researchers caution, however, that the sample size was too small and a larger trial is necessary before definite conclusions can be drawn.