IVF has little effect on health of the child
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Jordana Bell, King's College London; Jeffrey Craig, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, and Juan Castillo-Fernandez, King's College London
The rate of IVF births has risen dramatically in recent years as fertility rates continue to fall worldwide. To date, over 5m babies have been born with the help of these technologies. However, there have been concerns about potential health problems in children conceived by IVF. Our latest study shows that those fears are largely unfounded.
Since the first IVF baby was born in 1978, scientists have raised concerns about potential birth defects and health problems in children conceived by IVF. Most of the children appear healthy, but a small increase in health problems, such as low birth weight, premature birth and birth defects, has been reported. Since IVF has only been available for about 40 years, the long-term health effects of this technology have not yet been fully explored.
There is growing evidence that cert...
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