Pregnancy rates after embryo transfer depend on the provider at embryo transfer

Objective: To evaluate the effect of individual providers on pregnancy outcome after embryo transfer. Design: Retrospective data analysis. Setting: University-based tertiary-care assisted reproductive technology program with 10 physician-providers. Patient(s): Six hundred and seventeen women who underwent 854 fresh embryo transfers between January 1996 and January 1999. Intervention(s): Pregnancies after embryo transfer were recorded for each provider. Main Outcome Measure(s): Establishment of a clinical pregnancy. Result(s): Three hundred ninety-three clinical pregnancies resulted from 854 embryo transfers, for an overall clinical pregnancy rate of 46.0% per embryo transfer. Three hundred forty-seven (40.6%) pregnancies were ongoing. The clinical pregnancy rate varied Significantly between providers: for example, 17.0% (47 transfers) vs. 54.3% (57 transfers) (P<.05). Similarly, the ratio of high-grade embryos required to produce a gestational sac differed between providers. The number or quality of embryos transferred did not differ significantly. Conclusion(s): Significant differences were observed in pregnancy rates after embryo transfer done by different providers, suggesting that embryo transfer technique may influence pregnancy outcome in assisted reproductive technology. (Fertil Steril(R) 2000;74:80-6. (C) 2000 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine).