IVF not linked to developmental delays in children
Children conceived via IVF are at no greater risk of developmental delays than children conceived naturally, says a major new study from the US National Institutes of Health.
The researchers examined developmental assessment scores of more than 1,800 children born to women who became pregnant after various types of fertility treatment and compared the results to those of more than 4,000 children conceived naturally. There were no differences in development assessments in the two groups up to the age of three after multiple births were taken into account; the researchers will continue to study the children up to the age of 8.
“This is a feel good message of really just reassuring couples who are considering infertility treatment,” said lead author Edwina H. Yeung of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland. ‘Our results provide reassurance to the thousands of couples who have relied on these treatments to establish their families.’
The full article in the journal Jama Paediatrics can be accessed here.