The simple answer is no. But let’s look at this in more detail to give some perspective. There is a lot to worry about on your TTC journey and understandably so. Sadly, the mainstream media rely on fear to sell newspapers and fear, unfortunately sells.
One example of this is the media reporting that IVF treatment leads to babies being born prematurely and underweight. But what’s the real story here? Firstly, let’s start with a fact: it’s true that babies conceived through infertility treatment are more likely to be born early and small.
But how small?
A 2019 study analysed 65,000 births and found that compared to babies conceived naturally, infants born through assistive reproductive technology (ART) were slightly more likely to be born preterm. It also found that weight was an average of 60 grams (2.1 ounces) less. That’s about the weight of a golf ball.
However, that wasn’t the full story. When the researchers compared 2,776 babies conceived with IVF to their 1,245 siblings conceived naturally, they found the difference was even smaller. The IVF siblings had an even smaller likelihood of being premature and weighed an average of just 31 grams (1.1 ounces) less than their naturally conceived brothers and sisters.
How early?
Twins conceived after IVF are 23% more likely to be born early than twins conceived naturally, according to a 2017 study. The same research suggested that IVF singletons are about twice as likely to be born premature as singletons conceived naturally.
However, new research now suggests that IVF may not be to blame for these observations. Professor Alina Pelikh, Research Fellow, University College, London said, “Rather than the infertility treatment itself. Our new findings highlight the importance of parents’ underlying fertility problems and health conditions and infants’ birth characteristics, such as their birth order and whether they are a twin, on birth weight and pregnancy term.” says research fellow, who carried out the study at London’s.
The study in collaboration with the US University of Utah analyzed data on 248,000 births in Utah.
They found that differences in birth weight and length of pregnancy between couples who conceived naturally and those who used in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination or fertility drugs were insignificant once family circumstances were considered.
Professor Ken Smith, Co-Author of the study and an expert in population science, University of Utah said, “By comparing births from the same mother we were able to better isolate the impact on these births of medically assisted technologies.”
The bottom line
Once the mother’s age, BMI and infant birth characteristics were factored in, siblings had similar pregnancy terms and birth weights. The team are happy to have cleared up some of the misconceptions about IVF regarding premature births and low birth weights.
They concluded, “This new evidence can go on to enrich existing health guidance about the risks and benefits of infertility treatments, hopefully raising awareness among families who are thinking about using medically assisted reproduction to help them conceive.”
How can you reduce the chances of premature birth?
Although you can’t entirely remove the risk of premature birth, you can reduce it by improving your overall health and lifestyle. Here are some tips:
- Choose the right diet: the Mediterranean Diet is often recommended by healthcare professionals
- Exercise: Moderate forms of exercise for five hours or less per week are typically recommended for healthy women of all body types who are trying to conceive
- Don’t smoke/drink: it goes without saying that smoking and drinking are not conducive to either the health of the mother or the baby, so try and avoid both.
These simple steps can reduce your chances of having your baby prematurely, no matter how your baby is conceived.
