Can losing weight before IVF improve your chances of getting pregnant? The answer, according to a new study, appears to be yes, especially through natural conception.Researchers reviewed 12 clinical trials involving nearly 2,000 women with obesity who were seeking fertility treatment. All had a BMI of 27 or above — and most were in their early 30s.The researchers looked at whether weight loss before starting IVF helped women get pregnant and whether it led to more live births.The interventions varied — from low-calorie diets, to exercise and healthy eating, to medications paired with lifestyle changes.The results? Losing weight before IVF boosted total pregnancy rates — mainly through increases in natural, unassisted conception. But the effect on pregnancies resulting solely from IVF was uncertain.Weight loss interventions were not associated with pregnancy loss and their effect on live birth rates was unclear.The authors say more high-quality trials are needed to determine “which interventions and what magnitude of weight loss are most beneficial.”Source: Annals of Internal MedicineAuthor Affiliations: University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital .Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter