(MADRID, Spain) – According to a recent study, infants conceived with the techniques used in fertility clinics are four times more likely to have certain birth defects and malformations than children that are naturally conceived.
Among the malformations that were detected are heart problems, cleft lips, cleft palates and abnormalities in the esophagus or rectum. These diseases appear once in every 700 births.
These dangers were increased by the use of assisted reproductive techniques such as fertilization ” in vitro”, which requires doctors to work with embryos and sperm outside the human body.
“I think it is important to consider the fact that there is a risk of birth defects,” says Jennita Reefhuis, epidemiologist from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Disease and author of a study published in the online journal “Human Reproduction”.
The doctor also said that although her study linked fertility procedures to birth defects, it was not able to neither prove the connection nor explain it. If the connection is real, it is unclear whether the procedures increase the risk of these malformations, or whether infertility itself increases these risks.
Moreover, Dr. James A. Grifo, director of the fertility clinic at the Medical Center of the University of New York, more research is needed to test these findings, since the study was only conducted on 281 women who had undergone the fertility treatment. Nevertheless, Dr. Grifo explains that the results are troubling, but a larger study must be conducted with a small group of patients. Read full article.
