Risk of birth defects in assisted reproduction

More than 3.7 million babies are born annually through assisted reproductive technology. Researchers from University of Adelaide Robinson Institute conducted the first study to compare the risk of having birth defects in reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracyctoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and ovulation induction. In South Australia, of 300,000 births, 18,000 were found to have birth defects of the 6100 mothers who underwent assisted reproduction. Researchers found that 513 defects were associated with assisted conception, 165 defects associated with IVF, and 139 defects associated with ICSI. The risk of birth defect in pregnancies involving assisted conception was 8.3% and 5.8% for those without assisted conception. The risk of birth defects for IVF was 7.2% and for ICSI was 9.9%. With the continuous innovation of reproductive technology, further study is needed to include new methods.