ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine the levels of herbal product use among couples in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Turkey and the status of questioning in terms of herbal product usage.

After ethics committee approval, the study included 257 people, which were the couples receiving treatment in Dokuz Eylül University IVF units from 1st August, 2018, to 28th February, 2019. The couples were given 16-questions survey form to determine their herbal product use. Vitamin and herbal product use in the past 3 months was separately questioned.

Significant differences were identified between women and men only in terms of age group. The rate of answering yes to the question about herbal product use in the study group was 13.6%, whereas 40.8% participants marked at least 1 item on the list of herbal products. Most people stated that they used herbal products by increasing the amounts in daily consumption. The top 5 products included onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon and carob. Of the female patients being treated with IVF, 62.5% used vitamin supplements and 48.6% used herbal products. Of the men undergoing the same treatment (partners of the female participants), 37.5% used vitamin supplements and 51.4% used herbal products.

Asking questions to patients receiving infertility treatment or anaesthesia is important in terms of medication interactions and treatment success. For a laborious and costly treatment, such as IVF, detailed history should be taken and herbal product used and cessation times must be searched in detail.

Keywords: In vitro fertilisation, preanaesthetic preparation, herbal products, vitamin supplements