Babies conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) have an increased risk of cerebral palsy (CP), primarily because of premature birth, say researchers from the University of Aarhus in Denmark and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in Atlanta, Georgia.
Using data from Denmark's national birth registry over a 6-year period, researchers identified 9,255 babies born after IVF and 394,713 conceived without IVF, and determined their risk of cerebral palsy. During in vitro fertilization, a woman's eggs are removed and mixed with sperm outside the body, and the fertilized eggs are then placed in the woman's uterus. CP is a nervous system condition that affects muscle control and coordination and may result from problems during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
Compared with children conceived without IVF, those born after IVF did have an increased risk of CP. CP diagnoses were made in about 0.43% of children born after IVF compared with only 0.26% in those born without IVF. However, the researchers also discovered that the increased risk of CP for babies born after IVF was mainly due to the large number delivered prematurely, not because of the IVF procedure itself. Premature babies have a higher risk of developing CP compared with those born full-term. This finding held true for both single births and multiple births.
What This Means to You. If you are considering IVF to conceive a child, you should talk with your reproductive endocrinologist about what you can do to help reduce the risk of premature delivery.
Source: Dorte Hvidtj?rn, MPH; Jakob Grove, PhD; Diana E. Schendel, PhD; Michael Vaeth, PhD; Erk Ernst, PhD; Lene F. Nielsen, MPH; Poul Thorsen, PhD; Pediatrics, August 2006.
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: September 2006
