Birth defects more common in IVF babies

Babies conceived through certain fertility treatment techniques are about one-third more likely to have a birth defect than babies conceived without any extra help from technology, according to a review of several dozen studies. However, the researchers - whose findings were published in the journal ‘Fertility and Sterility’ - did not determine why fertility treatments are tied to a higher risk of birth defects or whether the technology is even responsible. It's possible that the same reasons people have trouble conceiving and seek out fertility treatment could influence their increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect. It's also possible that the IVF techniques themselves, the jostling and handling of the embryos, or the drugs that go along with fertility treatment, could be involved. A third theory is that birth defects only appear to be more common in babies conceived through fertility treatments because they're monitored more closely than other babies. For more than 124,000 children born through IVF or using ICSI, in which a single sperm is injected directly into the egg, the risk of having a birth defect was found to be 37 percent higher than that of the other children.

uk.reuters.com20/4/12

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