Monthly IVF research roundup (August 2026)

by Categories Monthly Roundup

Here’s your IVF research roundup for August 2026. Each month, I highlight everything I’ve shared on Remembryo — including new IVF study summaries, popular social posts, answers to community questions, and a full list of research highlights with links and short summaries from my newsletter. The paywall is off for this post.

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⚠️ Remembryo summarizes and interprets IVF research for educational purposes. Posts highlight selected findings and may simplify or omit study details, including methods, analyses, author interpretations, limitations, and protocol specifics (such as timing, dosing, or eligibility criteria). These summaries are not a substitute for the original study. Always review the full publication before treatment decisions.

🔗 Original studies are referenced in this post or within the linked Remembryo posts.

💡 Reminder: Terms underlined with a dotted black line have glossary definitions. Hover or tap to see a short definition, or select “Read full definition” in the pop-up to view the complete glossary entry. Viewing glossary entries does not count toward your paywall limit.

Remembryo posts

Here’s what I covered this month on Remembryo. Click any image to read more.

Most long-term health outcomes appear similar between children conceived through IVF and those conceived without fertility treatment. A few small differences have been reported, but some may be related to the parents' underlying infertility rather than the fertility treatment itself. Read more.

In a 2026 meta-analysis, researchers combined the results of 17 studies and found that day 7 blastocysts had lower live birth rates than day 5 or day 6 blastocysts, even when only euploid embryos were compared. Read more.

Can you have sex before or after embryo transfer? This article reviews what fertility clinics recommend, summarizes the clinical studies, and explains whether sexual intercourse or seminal plasma may affect implantation and pregnancy rates after IVF. Read more.

Researchers in a 2026 study found that more than two-thirds of patients with complete embryo arrest still developed at least one usable blastocyst in their next IVF cycle, although they had lower usable blastocyst formation rates overall and were more likely to experience complete embryo arrest again. Read more.

Top viewed posts on social

Here you can see the top 3 most popular posts for the month on Instagram, excluding the posts from above.

  1. Difficult childhoods may affect future fertility. Read more in the original publication.
  2. Rescuing immature eggs increased the number of euploid embryos. Read more in the original publication.
  3. Natural or medicated FET? New randomized trial finds no difference. Read more in the original publication.

And here’s the top 3 older Remembryo posts (based on Instagram story views). Click any image to read more.

Study examines association with embryo quality and male to female sex ratio

Researchers in a 2023 study found that good quality embryos were more likely to give rise to male births, particularly those with higher quality trophectoderm scores. Read more.

Day 7 blastocysts show disrupted gene expression in the ICM

A new study showed that day 7 embryos may develop more slowly because of stress and disrupted signaling in the inner cell mass, which might help explain their lower success rates. Read more.

Patients with or without endometriosis have similar live birth rates after PGT-A

Researchers in a 2023 study found that patients with or without endometriosis have comparable live birth rates after transferring a euploid embryo, although patients may have been surgically treated (a limitation). Endometriosis patients are more likely to produce aneuploid embryos. Read more.

IVF in the news highlights

Each week in the Remembryo newsletter, I share IVF-related stories that made headlines in the news. Below are 3 leading headlines for the month:

  1. AOC shares her egg-freezing journey on Instagram. Read more on CBS.
  2. AI sperm search: An update after 175 cases. Read more on The New York Times.
  3. More Americans are traveling to Europe for cheaper IVF? Read more on The Washington Post.

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IVF questions from the community

Here are select questions that I answered either in my Facebook group or on Reddit. Questions are regularly added to my Find IVF Answers page. Click the links below to read more.

  1. What are good thaw survival rates? A good embryo thaw survival rate is around 90–99%, meaning most embryos should survive, although losing an occasional embryo can still happen even in a good lab.
  2. Can a 1PN embryo be chromosomally normal? Yes. Although 1PN embryos can be haploid, studies suggest around 70% are actually diploid. Certain types of PGT can help determine whether they may be suitable for transfer.
  3. How consistent is embryo grading between embryologists? Embryo grading is somewhat subjective, so different embryologists or clinics may assign different grades to the same embryo. The grade can also change depending on when the embryo is assessed as it continues developing.

IVF research brief

🔒 The full research brief for the month begins below (paid subscribers only)

Each week I flag ~10-20 IVF studies I find most helpful. Some are covered in detail on Remembryo, but paying subscribers get short summaries and links to all of them, organized into categories like implantation, egg quality, PGT-A, etc. 

Below is the full list of about 40 short summaries and links for the studies (available to paying members only).

🔍 Sneak peek: 3 select summaries from the month

  • A meta-analysis found mosaic embryos had lower live birth rates than euploid embryos overall, although outcomes were better for segmental mosaics than whole chromosome mosaics. Read more (full article)
  • In a study of nearly 2 million women, fertility treatment was not clearly linked to a meaningful increase in hormone related cancer risk. Read more (full article)
  • A review found children conceived by IVF and ICSI generally have similar long term health outcomes, though ICSI was linked to slightly higher rates of some rare conditions. Read more (full article)

If you like these, consider subscribing below to get the full list.

Paid subscribers get ~10-20 IVF study summaries each week, organized by topic and linked to the full text.

Remembryo is reader-supported. If you'd like to support independent IVF education and research analysis like this, the best way to help is through a paid subscription, or with a donation via PayPal.

 

About Embryoman

Embryoman (Sean Lauber) is a former embryologist and the founder of Remembryo, an IVF research and fertility education website. After working in an IVF lab in the US, he returned to Canada and now focuses on making fertility research more accessible. He holds a Master’s in Immunology and launched Remembryo in 2018 to help patients and professionals make sense of IVF research. Sean shares weekly study updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit regularly. He also answers questions on Reddit or in his private Facebook group.