IVF could be replaced by a 100 year-old fertility technique involving poppy seed oil that leads to successful pregnancies. The procedure is called hysterosalpingography (HSG) and involves flushing the woman's fallopian tubes with an iodised poppy seed oil. HSG was first carried out way back in 1917!
To test this theory, a team of researchers from Australia and the Netherlands flushed the tubes of 1,119 women with either a water-based or an oil-based solution. The poppy seeds are currently available in 47 countries around the world. The results give a new hope for couples whose only other option is IVF.