IVF technique increases pregnancy rates by 20%, study shows

It may not sound pleasant, but a procedure known as endometrial scratching has been shown to improve both pregnancy and birth rates when it is performed once in women who are undergoing reproductive treatment.

Endometrial scratching is medically assisted damage to the womb, specifically the inner lining, and researchers say it was first successfully demonstrated to be beneficial in 2003.

The procedure is intrusive, however, and the results of its effectiveness have not been fully documented.

But a team of Brazilian scientists, in collaboration with Dr. Nick Raine-Fenning, of the Nottingham University Research and Treatment Unit (NURTURE), have demonstrated a benefit to the specific timing of endometrial scratching in a clinical trial.

Results of the trial were published in the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology.