Is IVF more susceptible to disease?
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a kind of assisted reproductive technology. The fertilized eggs are cultured and developed in the laboratory, and then transferred to the mother's uterus for pregnancy. Although IVF technology enables many infertile couples to realize their desire to have children, some people worry about whether IVF is more likely to suffer from diseases. This problem is described in detail from four aspects:
Health at birth
There is no significant difference between the birth status of IVF and that of naturally conceived infants. According to medical data, the health status of IVF at birth is similar to the incidence of natural pregnancy related diseases. For example, in a study conducted by Peking Union Medical College Hospital in China, the difference in birth defects between test tube infants and naturally pregnant infants was compared, and the results showed that there was no significant difference between the two.
In addition, due to the control and optimization of the growth environment of IVF, the birth weight, body length and development of IVF are often equivalent to those of naturally pregnant infants. This shows that test tube babies have similar health conditions as naturally pregnant babies.
Genetic disease
IVF may have risks associated with certain genetic diseases, which is related to the special situation of using assisted reproductive technology. In terms of single gene diseases, parents of IVF infants can conduct genetic screening for congenital genetic diseases to reduce the risk of disease. In addition, in vitro fertilization embryo gene detection technology (PGD) can also help couples screen the genetic disease risk of embryos and select healthy embryos for transplantation.
Of course, assisted reproductive technology cannot completely eliminate the risk of genetic diseases. Some genetic diseases are caused by autosomal abnormalities or complex genetic factors, which are difficult to detect and screen even through PGD. Therefore, IVF may have a slightly higher risk of genetic diseases than naturally pregnant infants.
Complications during pregnancy
Mothers of IVF babies usually receive higher doses of hormone therapy to promote ovulation and pregnancy, and may face the risk of some complications during pregnancy. For example, the incidence of IVF pregnancy, preterm birth and placental dysfunction may be slightly higher than that of natural pregnancy.
In addition, the process of IVF fertilized egg transfer may lead to an increase in multiple pregnancies. The risk of multiple pregnancy and pregnancy complications is significantly increased, such as premature delivery, low birth weight, congenital malformations, etc. However, the progress of modern IVF technology enables doctors to control the number of embryo transfers to reduce the incidence of multiple pregnancies.
Follow up development and long-term health
There is no significant difference in the follow-up development and long-term health between IVF and naturally pregnant infants. A comparative test shows that there is no significant difference in growth, intellectual development, behavior and other aspects between test tube infants and natural insemination infants.
In addition, the long-term impact of assisted reproductive technology on infants needs more long-term follow-up studies. The current research results show that IVF is no more likely to suffer from diseases in the follow-up development and long-term health than naturally pregnant infants.
summary
Based on the above analysis, although the risks of genetic diseases and complications during pregnancy may be slightly different between IVF and naturally pregnant infants, there is no significant difference between IVF and naturally pregnant infants in terms of health status at birth, subsequent development and long-term health. Therefore, it can be said that IVF is not more likely to suffer from diseases than naturally pregnant infants.
