IVF Vindicated as Cause of Birth Defects

Results from small studies have suggested that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is associated with birth defects and pregnancy complications. To learn more, these researchers retrospectively evaluated data from a prospective study examining the efficacy of noninvasive first-trimester screening for Down syndrome. Data were available on 34,286 pregnancies that were conceived spontaneously, 1222 that followed ovulation induction, and 554 that followed assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques such as IVF or gamete intrafallopian transfer.

In multivariate analyses that controlled for age, race, marital status, education, previous fetal anomaly, previous preterm delivery, BMI, smoking history, and bleeding during pregnancy, the incidences of …