Children Conceived Through ART Face Multiple Risks

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http://college.hmco.com/psychology/resources/students/news/news_20020304.htm

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Children Conceived Through ART Face Multiple Risks

.... For men and women whose opportunities to become parents are limited by

health or genetic problems, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offer

an alternative to childlessness or adoption. But recent studies indicate

that children conceived through these methods face multiple risks....

A study published in the March 7, 2002 New England Journal of Medicine found

that infants conceived by these methods have a higher risk of birth defects

than infants conceived naturally. ... Nine percent of infants conceived with

in vitro fertilization and 8.6 percent of infants conceived by means of

intracytoplasmic sperm injection manifest at least one major birth defect by

one year of age, more than double the rate found in the population of

naturally conceived infants; they were more likely than naturally conceived

infants to have multiple major defects, including chromosomal and

musculoskeletal abnormalities...

.... Compared with babies conceived naturally, IVF babies were twice

as likely to be treated for neurological impairments and almost four times

more likely to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy and severe developmental

delays. ...