Medically assisted procreation (PMA) does not ultimately impact birth weight and the risk of premature delivery.
It is a relief for couples suffering from infertility. A study of Lancet has just proved that the use of medically assisted procreation (PMA) does not impact, in itself, the health of the unborn baby, contrary to what we thought so far.
Less than 2.5 kg
To date, doctors are warning parents who are struggling to have a child: according to them, PMA leads to more low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg) and premature deliveries (less than 37 weeks of pregnancy) . Two parameters that can cause multiple health problems in the baby, such as heart defects, lung problems, brain damage or developmental delays.
However, according to the researchers, it is not the operation in itself which is responsible for these potential disorders, but the infertility of one or both members of the couple. Thanks to these new data, “when one decides to resort to medically assisted procreation, no one should have the feeling that he or she is deliberately putting his or her child in danger”, welcome the scientists.
1,245 siblings born to the same parents
Of more than 65,000 children born in Finland between 1995 and 2000, the team chose to study 1,245 siblings born to the same parents, of which at least one member had been conceived naturally and another not. In the past, several studies had already tried to determine the real risk of medically assisted procreation. However, their results differed greatly and were very unreliable, as they had been calculated on the basis of too few births.
Two Techniques
To date, more than five million children have been born thanks to medically assisted procreation in the world. According to a study of INED, (National Institute of Demographic Studies), one in thirty children (i.e. 3.4%) was conceived in France by this technique during the year 2018.
Behind the term “medically assisted procreation”, which designates the “forced” encounter between an egg and a sperm, there are actually two techniques. The first is IVF (in vitro fertilization). Fertilization is done in the laboratory, then the egg is transferred into the uterus of the woman who wishes to have a child. According to INED, IVF represents “70% of children conceived” by PMA. The other technique, artificial insemination, involves placing sperm in the woman’s uterus without having sex.
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