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Efstathios Theodorou: Shorter Ejaculatory Abstinence, Better Pregnancy Rates with IVF?
Efstathios Theodorou/LinkedIn
Aug 17, 2026, 18:19

Efstathios Theodorou: Shorter Ejaculatory Abstinence, Better Pregnancy Rates with IVF?

Efstathios Theodorou, Former Surrogacy Lead at The Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH), shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper he co-authored with colleagues published in Andrology:

“New research from our team: Shorter ejaculatory abstinence, better pregnancy rates with IVF?  Our data point that way – ESHRE’s new guidance now points in the same direction.

We analysed 2,899 couples and 3,873 cycles with conventional IVF, over 10 years (2013–2022), adjusting for all available confounders.

  • Longer abstinence improves semen parameters — count, concentration, total motile count, and volume all increased with EA duration. This is expected and consistent with prior literature.
  • No measurable difference in blastulation rate or top-quality blastulation rate.
  • Pregnancy rate was lower with longer abstinence (aOR 0.786, 95% CI 0.685–0.903, p<0.001).
  • Miscarriage rate showed no association.
  • Live birth rate trended lower with longer abstinence but didn’t reach statistical significance (aOR 0.886, 95% CI 0.769–1.020, p=0.092)

The takeaway: Better semen parameters through longer abstinence are not optimised for a pregnancy.

Since we ran this study, ESHRE’s newly updated 2026 Good Practice Recommendations for the IVF Laboratory have suggested that short abstinence (<2 days) lowers oxidative stress, improves sperm quality, and ‘should be considered for most patients.’ That guidance and our study point in the same direction.

Large multicentre trials will define the optimal window precisely, but the direction is no longer in question: shorter abstinence serves patients better than longer.

Proud of the team behind this work: Jack Tighe, Lorraine Kasaven, Holly Exeter, Elpiniki Chronopoulou and the rest of the team.”

Title: Effect of Ejaculatory Abstinence Duration on Laboratory and Clinical Outcomes in IVF: A Retrospective Analysis

Authors: Jack Tighe, Lorraine S. Kasaven, Holly Exeter, Benjamin P. Jones, Elpiniki Chronopoulou, Jara Ben Nagi, Efstathios Theodorou

You can read the Full Article in Andrology.

Efstathios Theodorou: Shorter Ejaculatory Abstinence, Better Pregnancy Rates with IVF?

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Benjamin P. Jones blastulation rate Efstathios Theodorou Ejaculatory Abstinence Elpiniki Chronopoulou ESHRE Holly Exeter IVF Jack Tighe Jara Ben Nagi live birth rate Lorraine Kasaven Lorraine S. Kasaven oxidative stress pregnancy
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