The sequelae of IVF

Many people want to have a cute and lively baby, but some people cannot get pregnant for various reasons, so some people choose in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a common name for in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer technology, which combines sperm and eggs through test tube cultivation, and then transplants the embryo into the uterus, allowing the embryo to implant and become pregnant. Its success rate is also risky and there will be some sequelae.

Question 1

IVF babies are twice as likely to have physical defects and be underweight as normal babies. Now more and more infertile couples hope to use regenerative medicine to help them get pregnant and give birth to their own babies, but this discovery by scientists has undoubtedly poured cold water on these infertile couples. Artificial insemination technology often results in twins or even multiple births, and this multiple birth phenomenon carries great risks.

Question 2

Scientists say that even if the possibility of artificial insemination leading to multiple births is ruled out, there is a high risk that single IVF babies will be born with low birth weight or defects. Because during artificial insemination, the egg needs to be temporarily removed from the female body and then placed in a test tube and mixed with sperm to make them combine, or the sperm is directly injected into the egg. External factors will affect the combination of sperm and egg.

Question 3

The two research groups have different research focuses. One group focuses on the physiological defects of test-tube babies at birth; the other group focuses on the low birth weight of test-tube babies. Babies conceived through artificial insemination are twice as likely to be diagnosed with severe physical defects within a year of birth as those conceived naturally, say scientists studying IVF defects.

Question 4

In another study focusing on infant weight, researchers compared 42,463 test-tube babies born in the United States between 1996 and 1997 with 4.3 million ordinary babies born in 1997. The test-tube babies were 2.6 times more likely to be underweight at birth. The medical expert in charge of the study said that newborns with low birth weight are more likely to have complications after birth, and the mortality rate of infants with low birth weight is higher than that of ordinary babies. Although IVF accounted for only 0.6 percent of babies under 10 born before 1997, researchers found that IVF accounted for 7.8 percent of low-birth-weight babies born during that period.