As reported on Medscape.com the increase in pregnancy and prenatal complications seen in women who undergo fertility treatments is likely related to maternal issues, not fertility drugs or assisted reproductive technology, according to a new study.
“Our findings suggest that factors inherent in the woman, rather than those attributable to infertility treatments, may explain the lower birth weight and shorter gestation associated with assisted reproductive technology,” said Barbara Luke, ScD, from Michigan State University in East Lansing, who works with the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology.
The study findings “provide a lot of reassurance that the kinds of treatment that some couples need to conceive, including in vitro fertilization, are not risky,” said James Toner, MD, who is president of the society.
“The outcomes that infertile couples experience are pretty much the same, whether or not they need IVF treatment or get pregnant by some other method. The couples may themselves be a little different than couples whose fertility is easy, but the IVF treatment per se is not significantly increasing the risk of bad outcomes to the mother or the offspring,” he explained during a news conference at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 2015 Annual Meeting.
In the population-based study, data on IVF and assisted reproductive technology from the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinical Outcomes Reporting System were linked to birth certificates to identify siblings of babies conceived with IVF and assisted reproductive technology in 12 states.
After adjustment for maternal age, weight, weight gain, parity, and sex of the infant, there were only minor differences in birth weight and length of gestation between spontaneously conceived children and their siblings conceived after fertility treatment.
This does provide reassurance to couples needing IVF that their pregnancy outcome will be basically no different than if they conceived themselves or by conventional fertility treatment.