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The risks of IVF

By razib on February 17, 2009.

Picture Emerging on Genetic Risks of IVF:

In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a paper reporting that babies conceived with IVF, or with a technique in which sperm are injected directly into eggs, have a slightly increased risk of several birth defects, including a hole between the two chambers of the heart, a cleft lip or palate, an improperly developed esophagus and a malformed rectum. The study involved 9,584 babies with birth defects and 4,792 babies without. Among the mothers of babies without birth defects, 1.1 percent had used IVF or related methods, compared with 2.4 percent of mothers of babies with birth defects.

1) Are women who go through IVF the same as women who do not? That is, there is something about women who go through IVF which might increase the rates of birth defects? See a recent paper on the effect of prenatal smoking on fetuses who were implanted via IVF.

2) A small difference in individual risk can result in a relatively non-trivial increase in expense on the part of society through insurance programs.

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As the father of a 3-month old IVF son, I have some pause for concern about these issues, but seeing as how he is rolling over and teething at 3 months - thus developmentally ahead of the curve - not too much. If he keeps this up, it seems that there is a good chance that he may turn out to be gifted like his 5 yo sister.

So whatever extra cost to society is involved in paying higher insurance premiums, to achieve IVF, will surely be returned many fold, by children who likely will grow up to be above average adults in this society.

I would like to see more research and funding for older parents who have children via IVF - as this may be the solution to the current dysgenic trend of professional mothers having fewer children than average.

I think you make a good point that the increase in birth defects my not be caused directly by IVF. Couples who use IVF are more likely to have egg or sperm problems, or health issues that make it harder to conceive naturally.