This is the most common question which arises in everyone's mind when thinking of IVF, am I right?
Ofcourse yes, but it is still under in a debate.
Couples around the world find their dreams coming true when they successfully conceive and give birth to a healthy baby via IVF. Top IVF experts claim that the success rates of IVF is between 30%-35% and if the first try is not successful, you can conceive on the second or third attempts. Success is the ultimate outcome!
So, what is the procedure of IVF?
IVF treatments usually include
- Harvesting eggs from the uterus of the female and combining it with the male sperm in a laboratory for the fertilization.
- Then the embryo is formed and undergoes for 3-6 days culture, after which it is inserted back into the woman's uterus.
- To increase the chances of success, certain hormones like FSH are injected into the woman to increase the production of good quality eggs.
- Moreover, women are also given several fertility medications to smoothen the entire process.
- If all the process goes well, the pregnancy results in a safe delivery with a healthy baby. Wow!
However, Studies show that babies born through IVF face a higher risk in terms of what they are weaker than babies conceived normally!
What did Research say?
In a research conducted in Helsinki, it was found that out of the examined samples of IVF newborns that-
- 80% were within the normal weight range.
- 10% were smaller for their gestational age and the remaining 10% were heavier for their gestational age.
Hold, the most surprising fact is-
There is a direct correlation was found between the weight of the baby and the number of days its embryo underwent culturing in the labs. IVF Babies whose embryos were cultured for 2-3 days were smaller than for those cultured for 5-6 days. Interesting, no?
And keep in mind weight difference can put a child into a risk factor such as-
- If the newborn babies are lower in weight than normal could suffer from neurological disabilities or even low blood sugar.
- Whereas IVF babies born heavier than normal could suffer from cardiovascular diseases and stand a higher risk of developing obesity.
What are the probable reasons behind these abnormalities?
It is said that many future diseases could hinge on the fact that-
- The embryos are cultured for 5 days in a lab which could cause genetic differences.
- There may be also another reason like when an embryo is developed in the womb; it undergoes some kind of changes in its surroundings.
Such differences are liable to cause certain abnormalities that could have effects even across future generations of babies.
However, Scientists argue that by introducing IVF-
- They are eliminating the stage of natural selection that happens in normal pregnancies.
- Out of thousands of sperms, they only choose the fittest and the strongest one to permeate the egg and fertilize it, which minimizes the chances of abnormalities and health issues.
Although there is a lot of hypothesis which predicts that there may be certain problems with IVF babies in the later stages, there is no solid proof as yet. Till then, if you constantly consult a fertility expert, take the necessary precautions, you have nothing to worry about the health of your baby!
