IVF Pregnancies

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) using in-vitro fertilization (IVF) account for ∼1% of births in the USA and as much as 3-4% in Europe or Australia. Initially studies involved infants prospectively examined in an early cohort of US births, with salutary results. Later studies began to show the frequency of birth defects to be increased. In meta-analysis, odds ratio was >1.0, with the 95% confidence limit not extending to <1.0. Although ART are associated with a 30% increase in birth defects; subfertile couples achieving pregnancy without ART show a 20% increase...

Children born after assisted reproductive techniques (ART) have an increased risk of several adverse perinatal outcomes compared with their naturally conceived peers. This has various causes such as higher multiple birth rates, parental characteristics and higher maternal age, with more being nulliparous. Furthermore the in-vitro techniques, the controlled ovarian stimulation, culture media, and possibly additional freezing or vitrification procedures seem to play a role. However, when analyzing the perinatal trends over time, the differences between ART and naturally conceived children appear to have diminished...