Prof proves 100-year-old medical test cures infertility after mum tells him: 'That's how you were born!'

When the mother of Professor Ben Mol told him that a 100-year-old medical technique had cured her infertility, leading to his birth, the scientist was naturally curious. Since 1917 doctors have performed a technique in which they inject a special dye into women’s tubes which can be picked up on X-rays, to help diagnose fertility problems.

But although the procedure is supposed to be entirely diagnostic, over the past century, many women have claimed it actually helped them become pregnant. Now Professor Mol, of the University of Adelaide, has shown that it is probably true, in a study which could help tens of thousands of women avoid the need for IVF.

In a test of more than 1,000 infertile women Prof Mol showed that flushing the fallopian tubes through with poppy seed oil allowed 40 per cent to become pregnant naturally within six months.

"Our results have been even more exciting than we could have predicted, helping to confirm that an age-old medical technique still has an important place in modern medicine," said Prof Mol.

“Over the past century, pregnancy rates among infertile women reportedly increased after their tubes had been flushed with either water or oil during this X-ray procedure.

"Not only is there a known benefit, but this flushing procedure is also a fraction of the cost of one cycle of IVF. Considering that 40 per cent of women in the oil-based group achieved a successful pregnancy, that's 40 per cent of couples who could avoid having to go through the huge costs and emotions associated with IVF treatment.”



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/18/prof-proves-100-year-old-medical-test-cures-infertility-mum/

Great news. Poppy seed oil eh?