Fasting and infertility: eight accounts, not evidence of effectiveness

Interviews, not pregnancy outcomes

The researchers studied the experience of prolonged, liquid-only, medically supervised fasting offered in a randomized trial examining fertility-related outcomes. However, the work presented here is its qualitative component: it is based on individual semi-structured interviews conducted after the intervention.

Eight women were interviewed between February 2022 and January 2023. The interviews underwent inductive thematic analysis, which was regularly discussed within the research team. The abstract consulted specifies neither the duration of the fast nor the trial’s comparative fertility outcomes.

A generally accepted but demanding experience

The participants generally welcomed the intervention. They reported physical well-being, a perceived improvement in mood and a sense of inner balance. These are perceptions collected during interviews, not effects established through comparison with a control group.

The experience also involved difficulties: fatigue, dissatisfaction with taste, food cravings, low mood and social withdrawal. According to their accounts, motivation, personal coping strategies and dietary support helped them navigate these difficulties.

Regaining an active role in the journey

The participants valued fasting because it allowed them to feel actively involved in their fertility journey. After the intervention, some expressed renewed hope in treatments. Others described a shift away from their previously intense focus on conception.

This diversity matters: an experience perceived as beneficial does not necessarily mean a biological improvement in fertility. The study primarily describes how these women experienced the intervention and its place in their journey.

What these accounts cannot establish

All participants who were available and willing to take part in the qualitative component were interviewed. This recruitment approach may leave out other experiences. With eight accounts, it is not possible to estimate how common the benefits or difficulties are among all women facing infertility.

The abstract provides no results on pregnancies or live births, nor a comprehensive safety assessment. It therefore does not justify recommending fasting to improve fertility, much less applying this supervised intervention to fasting on one’s own.

What we can take away

This work sheds light on the acceptability of supervised fasting and the experiences of eight participants. It does not demonstrate that fasting increases the chances of pregnancy.