A study from the University of Melbourne confirms that children conceived through IVF have no developmental disorders or delays.
- In IVF, fertilization takes place in the laboratory, not in the woman’s uterus. The sperm is injected into the egg by a professional. The conceived embryo is then transferred to the woman’s uterus.
- The first French “test tube baby” is called Amandine. She was born on February 24, 1982. Since her birth, more than 400,000 children have been conceived by IVF in France.
- In France, 3.7% of children were conceived by PMA (medically assisted procreation) in 2019, including 2.9% by IVF and 0.8% by artificial insemination.
Previous studies have suggested that children conceived by In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) may have poorer performance at school or more developmental problems (delay, autism, etc.) compared to their naturally conceived classmates. For doctors Amber Kennedy and Anthea Lindquist, this is not the case at all.
No link between IVF and developmental disabilities
To verify previous findings, the two researchers studied the records of more than 400,000 children born between 2005 and 2013, 11,059 of whom were conceived through IVF. They also analyzed data collected by the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC; a national assessment of children’s development conducted every three years) as well as the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN; a program that measures literacy and mathematics of children during their schooling).
Young Australians were regularly assessed on five academic domains: grammar and punctuation, reading, writing, spelling and numeracy (ability to understand and use mathematical concepts). Their physical health and well-being, social skills, emotional maturity, linguistic and cognitive abilities as well as communication skills and general knowledge were also observed.
The results show that IVF conception has no influence on children’s developmental or learning problems at school entry (4-6 years). It was the same when the little participants were then between 7 and 9 years old, which is the primary level in France.
IVF: reassuring results for parents and doctors
“Some concerning evidence has previously suggested that children conceived through IVF may perform worse in school compared to their naturally conceived peers. However, our comprehensive analysis of this massive data set revealed that this was not the case”said Dr. Amber Kennedy.
The authors estimate in their article published in PLOS Medicine on January 25, 2023: “These results will reassure current and potential parents, as well as clinicians involved in IVF.”
Since 1978 (year of birth of the very first “test tube” baby), more than 8 million children in the world have been conceived thanks to in vitro fertilization.
