Assistive reproductive technologies, or ARTs, are fertility treatments that enhance a woman's ability to get pregnant. According to the Canadian Medical Association, ARTs include anything from fertility-enhancing drugs to more complex procedures such as in vitro fertilization. The National Institutes of Health report that up to 2/3 of couples who use ARTs are able to conceive. But many of these couples experience associated side effects.
Hot Flashes
The side effects of certain fertility-enhancing drugs can cause symptoms similar to menopause, including hot flashes. According to the University of California Medical Center, this side effect might occur after taking a common follicle-stimulating drug known as clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Seraphene). Clomiphene citrate blocks estrogen receptors in the body, stimulating the production of more. Hot flashes might also occur when using Lupron or synthetic gonadotropin inhibitors to stimulate follicle production. Women taking the latter might also experience other menopausal symptoms, including vaginal dryness.
Nausea and Vomiting
Fertility-enhancing drugs can also cause side effects similar to pregnancy and premenstrual syndrome, including nausea and vomiting. Breast tenderness is another common complaint. Drugs that can cause these side effects include Clomid and Seraphene, which alter the levels of certain menstrual and ovulation hormones in the body.
Enlarged Ovaries
Many fertility-enhancing drugs that are used can cause enlargement of the ovaries. These drugs, such as clomophene, human menopausal gonadotropin (Pergonal, Repronex) and follicle stimulating hormone (Follistim, Gonal-F), stimulate the production of multiple follicles per cycle. They are used to increase the number of follicles available in the ovaries for fertilization, and might be used alone or in combination with other ARTs, such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Abdominal Pain or Cramping
Some fertility drugs might cause cramping or abdominal pain, such as Pergonal, Repronex and Follistim. This is because these drugs work to increase the number of follicles produced per cycle. Additional follicle production can cause some abdominal discomfort. But some ART procedures can also cause these symptoms. For instance, after egg collection or IVF, cramping and abdominal discomfort can last for up to a few weeks. This is a result of the method of removing and replacing eggs, which is performed vaginally as an outpatient surgical procedure.
Infection
Infection is a rare but potential side effect of IUI, in which washed sperm is inserted into the uterus using a catheter. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is not very common. Less than 1 percent of women who undergo IUI develop an infection afterward.
Multiple Gestation
Perhaps the most reported side effect of ARTs is multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies can occur for a few reasons. One is fertility-enhancing drugs used to stimulate follicle production and egg release might allow more than one egg to be fertilized in a cycle. This can happen when fertility-enhancing drugs are used on their own or along with procedures such as IUI. Another cause of multiple pregnancies is the implantation of more than one fertilized egg after an IVF procedure.
