COPENHAGEN (dpa-AFX) - A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Heart explored the risk of heart defect in babies born via assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo freezing.
Professor Ulla-Britt Wennerholm from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, who led the study, said, 'Previous research shows that there are increased risks for babies conceived with the help of assisted reproductive technology. 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.'
The research analyzed medical records of over 7.7 million liveborn children born in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden spanning a period of 20 to 31 years. They assessed the occurrence of a major or serious heart defect diagnosed either in the womb or in the first year of life in both groups.
They also took into account other factors such as the child's year of birth, country of birth, mother's age at delivery, whether the mother smoked during pregnancy, or if the mother had diabetes or heart defects.
Researchers found that heart defects in babies born after assisted reproduction was 36 percent more common than in naturally conceived babies. The risk increased further in case of multiple births following assisted reproduction.
Professor Wennerholm noted, 'The fact that the risk of heart defects 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.'
'Congenital heart defects can be extremely serious requiring specialist surgery when babies are very young, so knowing which babies are at the greatest risk can help us diagnose heart defects as early as possible and ensure the right care and treatment are given. 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.'
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