Author Interviews, CDC, Fertility, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 06.04.2016
More Birth Defects In Children Born Through Assisted Reproductive Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sheree L. Boulet, DrPH, MPH
Division of Reproductive Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Boulet: Findings from some studies have suggested that children conceived with assisted reproductive technology (ART) have increased risks of birth defects compared with spontaneously conceived children. Many of these studies were limited by a small sample size and were unable to assess risks associated with specific ART procedures.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Dr. Boulet: We found that singleton infants conceived using assisted reproductive technology were 1.4 times more likely to have a non-chromosomal birth defect compared with other infants, and the risks were highest for gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal defects. However, when our study was restricted to only ART-conceived infants, no single procedure substantially increased the risk for birth defects. This suggests that the higher risk of birth defects may be due to underlying issues related to infertility, rather than to ART itself.
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