Alarming: Heart Defects 36% Higher in IVF Babies

United States: A recently done important study found that infats are more susceptible to be born with heart defects than those who are born without such assistance. 

That risk was thirty-six percent higher in babies that were conceived through assisted reproductive technologies, including IVF. There are some serious and even lethal congenital heart defects. 

More about the news

The general risk is, however, further heightened with multiple births, a situation that is rife, especially in assisted reproduction. 

According to the study author, Ulla-Britt Wennerholm, an adjunct professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, “Previous research shows that there are increased risks for babies conceived with the help of assisted reproductive technology,” US News reported. 

“These include preterm birth and low birth weight. We wanted to investigate whether the risk of heart defects was higher for babies born following assisted reproduction,” Wennerholm added. 

More about the study 

The research team analyzed information regarding 25 years or more of 7.7 births in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. 

They then matched figures concerning babies who developed naturally and those whose conception involved using techniques such as IVF, sperm injection, and frozen embryos. 

They compared the number of children with critical congenital heart disease in each group from prenatal diagnosis in utero to one year of their age. 

They also looked into other possible causes – including regional affiliation, the mother’s age, and whether she consumed tobacco during her pregnancy or if she had diabetes or heart defects. 

Findings of the study 

Babies born through assisted reproduction ways had approximately 36 percent increased risk of being born with heart defects compared with those conceived naturally. 

The overall risk was higher in multiple births after assisted reproduction – 2.47 percent compared to 1.62 percent in singletons. 

The results were advancing in the current issue of Human Reproduction. 

What more are the experts stating? 

According to Wennerholm, “The fact that the risk of heart defect is similar regardless of the type of assisted reproduction used may indicate that there is some common factor underlying infertility in parents and congenital heart disease in their babies,” US News reported. 

“More and more people are conceiving with the help of assisted reproductive technology, so we might expect to see increases in cases of congenital heart defects worldwide,” Wennerholm added. 

That way, doctors and midwives can quickly identify which babies are at most risk in order to hasten the diagnosis and treatment, she added. 

An editorial of the study was written by Dr. Nathalie Auger of the University of Montreal.

“Patients who use assisted reproductive technology tend to differ from the general population,” she said. 

“These patients may have underlying morbidities that affect both fertility and the risk of heart defects,” she continued.