Women trying to get pregnant may improve their chances of conceiving if they take a small dose of aspirin.
Experts said that the anti-inflammatory drug could help boost fertility even after suffering from a miscarriage.
Aspirin has been considered for numerous possible health benefits. Aside from alleviating inflammation and pain, the drug may also increase survival among patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer and prevent breast cancer.
In the new study, on the other hand, researchers from the University of Utah and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) examined 1,228 women who were between 18 years old and 40 years old. All participants had suffered from a miscarriage in the past year and had a systemic inflammation.
The findings showed that taking 81 milligrams of aspirin daily could help women with a significant inflammatory condition to up their chances of getting pregnant by 17 percent. The rate of successful live birth among these women was found to be nearly 20 percent.
Aspirin works by targeting bodily inflammations, a mechanism that promotes a more secure environment in the womb for the developing embryo. The salicylate medication has been found to elevate blood supply to the pelvis and thicken the lining of the uterus for better implantation.
"Aspirin is the drug of the millennium," said Richard Paulson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. "There is no harm in women wanting to get pregnant taking aspirin."
Paulson said that, alongside prenatal vitamins, his own patients take baby aspirin daily during the course of fertility therapy. He added that many individuals take the drug as part of their routine and that such administration has been practiced for years already.
Stuart Lavery, a gynecologist from Imperial College, agreed that a good scientific explanation exists to support the relationship between fertility and bodily inflammation, which could be helped by aspirin.
Not all medical experts, however, are convinced that all women could benefit from aspirin in terms of getting pregnant. For them, evidence is still inadequate and the drug may produce negative side effects, such as internal bleeding.
Lavery responded that his impression is that majority of doctors believe aspirin may help only a subgroup of women and not the entire female population.
The research was presented on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the 2015 American Society of Reproductive Medicine Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
