Probiotic therapy in couples with infertility: A systematic review
Abstract
The reproductive microbiome is becoming increasingly recognised for its influence on fertility. While there has been much work to investigate the treatment of bacterial vaginosis and disordered microbiomes in optimizing outcomes in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), the role of routinely prescribed probiotics is yet to be established. The therapeutic potential of probiotic therapy remains an exciting opportunity in ART and this review endeavours to summarise its evidence to date. A systematic review of MEDLINE (Pubmed), Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane database was performed on 7th May 2019, and repeated on 26th August 2019. The search was built using the terms 'subfertility;' 'probiotic therapy;' 'clinical pregnancy rate' and 'assisted reproductive outcomes.' The primary outcome was change in clinical pregnancy rate. Secondary outcomes included improvements in male and female fertility parameters and microbial assessment. The initial search found 882 articles, of which 26 full manuscripts were reviewed. Four articles were eligible for inclusion. Of the two studies that reported the primary outcome, only one study found probiotics increased the clinical pregnancy rate non-significantly (48.0%-58.8%, p = 0.47). It also found higher miscarriage rate (30 % vs 16.6 %, p = 0.47) in the group treated with probiotics. Both studies on males with oral probiotic found significantly improved sperm motility. While benefit in sperm motility h…
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Numerous primary studies examining the effects of probiotic supplementation before embryo transfer on ART outcomes and pregnancy rates have yielded inconclusive and mixed results.
“Numerous primary studies have examined the effects of probiotic supplementation before ET on ART outcomes and pregnancy rates, yielding inconclusive and mixed results [12, 13].”
From Vaginal probiotics as therapeutic adjuncts for improving embryo transfer success rates: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [13]
Cites
Kyono, K., Hashimoto, T., Kikuchi, S., Nagai, Y., & Sakuraba, Y. (2019) · Reproductive Medicine and Biology · doi:10.1002/rmb2.12250 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Maretti, C., & Cavallini, G. (2017) · Andrology · doi:10.1111/andr.12336 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Gilboa, Y., Bar-Hava, I., Fisch, B., Ashkenazi, J., Voliovitch, I., Borkowski, T., & Orvieto, R. (2005) · Reproductive BioMedicine Online · doi:10.1016/s1472-6483(10)61301-6 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
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Maleki-Hajiagha, A., Karimi, R., abbasi, S., Emami, N., & Amidi, F. (2025) · BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · doi:10.1186/s12884-025-07338-0 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Numerous primary studies have examined the effects of probiotic supplementation before ET on ART outcomes and pregnancy rates, yielding inconclusive and mixed results [12, 13].”
- Authors
- Corbett, G., Crosby, D., & McAuliffe, F.
- Affiliations
- University College Dublin (IE)
- ORCID
- Corbett, GA
- Venue
- European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 256
- Pages
- 95-100
- ISSN
- 0028-2243 (ISSN-L)
- 0301-2115
- OpenAlex
- W3095038533
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8
- FWCI
- 0.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Keywords
- probiotics, infertility, couples, assisted reproduction, reproductive microbiome, clinical pregnancy rate, miscarriage, sperm motility, oral probiotics, bacterial vaginosis, subfertility
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Infertility, Male, Pregnancy, Sperm Motility, Pregnancy Rate, Probiotics, Live Birth
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