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Filipa Rafael: What Is More Convenient for a Clinic Is Not Necessarily Better for a Patient
Filipa Rafael/LinkedIn
Sep 21, 2026, 16:35

Filipa Rafael: What Is More Convenient for a Clinic Is Not Necessarily Better for a Patient

Filipa Rafael, Founder and Scientific Director at Fertilidade em Foco, shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper she co-authored with colleagues published in Human Reproduction:

“Convenience is not a clinical outcome. But… it quietly shapes many fertility treatments.

Artificial cycles are easier to schedule. Natural cycles are less predictable.
Yet what is more convenient for a clinic is not necessarily better for a patient.

Earlier this year, we published a multicentre retrospective study in Human Reproduction including 67,048 single-blastocyst transfers after oocyte donation.

Compared with artificial cycles, natural cycles were associated with:

  • a higher live birth rate
  • a lower miscarriage rate
  • lower risks of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Caesarean delivery and large-for-gestational-age birth

Importantly, recipient age did not appear to modify these associations.

This was an observational study. It cannot prove causality, and a natural cycle is not appropriate or possible for every patient.

But the results challenge the automatic use of artificial endometrial preparation for logistical reasons alone.

Sometimes a treatment becomes standard because it is easier to organise-not because it is the option best supported by the available evidence.

How much should clinic convenience influence our choice of endometrial preparation?”

Title: Live birth rates after natural cycle versus artificial cycle in women receiving donated oocytes and the impact of female age

Authors: Filipa Rafael, Beatriz Nunes David, Juan Manuel Mascarós, Ana Neves, Elena Labarta, Nicolas Garrido, Sofia Nunes, Juan A Garcia-Velasco, Sérgio Reis-Soares, Samuel Santos-Ribeiro

You can read the Full Article in Human Reproduction.

Filipa Rafael: What Is More Convenient for a Clinic Is Not Necessarily Better for a Patient

Stay informed with the latest updates in fertility and reproductive medicine on Fertility News.

Ana Neves Beatriz Nunes David Elena Labarta Fertility Fertility News Filipa Rafael Juan A. Garcia-Velasco Juan Manuel Mascarós Nicolas Garrido ​ OB-GYN reproductive health Reproductive Medicine Samuel Santos-Ribeiro. Sérgio Reis-Soares Sofia Nunes Women’s Health
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