ivf risks

IVF treatment in younger women dramatically increases their chance of developing breast cancer later in life, research suggests.
Women who started taking fertility drugs and went through IVF around their 24th birthday were found to have a 56 per cent greater chance of developing breast cancer than those in the same age group who went through treatments without IVF.

But there was no increased risk for women who started fertility treatments when they were about 40 years old, regardless of whether they had IVF or not, according to the Australian study

A recent report states that there is a higher risk of complications and multiple births in pregnancies that result from IVF techniques.
A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said there were increased risks of premature births, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities. However, it said the vast majority of IVF children were as healthy as other children. IVF accounts for over 1% of UK births. Advances in fertility research have allowed more infertile couples to have children and at an older age.

Risks

Fertility clinics are facing demands to restrict the most popular form of IVF after a shocking new report linked it to an increased risk of birth defects. The study created a major alert after revealing the ICSI treatment, used by 23,000 women in the UK every year, creates a ‘sky high’ chance of having a baby with serious abnormalities.

Women who have one embryo transferred during IVF treatment are five times more likely to give birth to a healthy baby than those who receive two embryos, research shows today.
Those who have two embryos are more likely to get pregnant but are at greater risk of delivering a premature or low-weight child, researchers found.

Researchers today suggested a life-threatening complication of fertility treatment could be prevented by a cup of coffee, after a study identified a possible cause.
In vitro fertilisation has resulted in the birth of many babies since the first 'test tube' baby in 1978. But around 5 per cent to 10 per cent of women undergoing IVF experience a condition known as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

Researchers believe the increased threat may come from the body rejecting donated eggs or underlying health problems that may come to the fore during artificial conception.
They want increased vigilance so that the exact nature of the risk can be calculated.

"Women should be counselled and made aware of the risks they are taking and deaths should be properly reported," Professor Didi Braat at Radboud University in the Netherlands told the Sunday Times.

Prof Braat looked at the deaths between 1984 and 2008 in the Netherlands but believes they will apply to any developed country.