IVF may reduce birth defects for older women read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1300-ivf-may-reduce-birth-defects-for-older-women

According to new research from the University of Adelaide, babies born to women aged 40 and over from assisted reproduction have fewer birth defects compared with those from women who conceive naturally at the same age.

The researchers believe this could point to the presence of more favorable biological conditions in IVF (in vitro fertilization) specific to pregnancies in older women but they're currently working to determine the exact cause.

The research is based on data of all live births recorded in South Australia from 1986-2002. These include more than 301,000 naturally conceived births, as well as 2200 births from IVF and almost 1400 from ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).

The average prevalence of a birth defect was 5.7% among naturally conceived births, 7.1% of the IVF births, and 9.9% of the ICSI births, across all age groups.

In births from assisted reproduction, the prevalence of birth defects was 3.6% for women aged 40 and older using IVF. For natural conceptions, the corresponding prevalence across age groups was 5.6% in young women, increasing to 8.2% in women aged 40+.

Women who undergo assisted reproduction have an increased rate of birth defects compared to women who conceive naturally. Therefore, it was widely assumed, but untested that maternal age would be a key factor in birth defects from assisted reproduction.

Researchers show that infertile women aged 40 and over who used assisted reproduction had less than half the rate of birth defects of fertile women of the same age, while younger women appear to be at an elevated risk.

Professor Michael Davies from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute, said, for women treated with IVF and ICSI combined, the greatest age-related risk of birth defects was among the young women, at or around 29 years of age.

 

Davis noted, with a prevalence of 9.4%, their risk was more than double the rate of 3.6% observed for the patients aged over 40, and significantly higher than for fertile women of the same age, at 5.6%. These results could have broader implications for infertility treatment.