How do children do after in vitro? (FYI).Children born after in vitro fertilization in vitro fertilization (vē`trō, vĭ`trō), technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova, or eggs, are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes (Petri dishes); have elevated odds of developing neurological problems, according to a Swedish population-based study. (1) Of 5,680 children born to women who underwent in vitro fertilization between 1982 and 1995, 2% developed a disability, twice the proportion among 11,360 controls. The most common diagnoses among children born after in vitro fertilization were cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. and suspected developmental delay developmental delay n. A chronological delay in the appearance of normal developmental milestones achieved during infancy and early childhood, caused by organic, psychological, or environmental factors. ; the odds of these conditions were quadrupled (odds ratios, 3.7 and 4.0, respectively) for these children. Odds ratios remained elevated (2.8 and 2.0, respectively) when only singletons were considered, but the result for suspected developmental delay was not statistically significant; among twins, the risk of these diagnoses did not differ between children born after in vitro fertilization and others. Low birth weight and preterm preterm /pre·term/ (-term´) before completion of the full term; said of pregnancy or of an infant. pre·term adj. birth were associated with increased risks of cerebral palsy and suspected developmental delay, but when these and other potentially confounding confounding when the effects of two, or more, processes on results cannot be separated, the results are said to be confounded, a cause of bias in disease studies. confounding factor factors were taken into account, in vitro fertilization still had a significant effect on the risk of cerebral palsy (odds ratios, 2.1-2.9). Thus, while acknowledging the contribution of other factors to risks after in vitro fertilization, the researchers comment that an effect of the procedure itself "cannot be excluded." (1.) Stromberg B et al., Neurological sequelae sequelae Clinical medicine The consequences of a particular condition or therapeutic intervention in children born after in-vitro fertilisation: a population-based study, Lancet, 2002, 359(9305):461-465. |
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