Results of in vitro fertilization in Italy after the introduction of a new law

Objective: To investigate the consequences of a law introduced in Italy in 2004 that forbids the fertilization or injection of more than three oocytes for assisted reproduction and does not allow any embryo selection or cryopreservation. Design: Retrospective observational analysis. Setting: Subfertile patients enrolled in an assisted reproduction program. Patient(s): Before the introduction of the law there were 1,179 cycles and after its enactment there were 1,860 cycles in 1,619 subfertile couples. Intervention(s): Ovarian stimulation for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) attempts. Main Outcome Measure(s): Pregnancy and implantation rate. Result(s): Pregnancy rates (PR) per cycle (24.34% vs. 23.11%), per retrieval (28.64% vs. 25.65%), per transfer (31.37% vs. 27.74%), and the take-home babies per started cycle (19.1% vs. 18%) was not significantly different between the two periods. After introduction of the law, the PR significantly decreased in patients whose total motile sperm count was 6 (40.85% vs. 23.62%) and in patients receiving two embryos (35.71% vs. 23.53%). This difference was mostly the result of a reduced PR in patients