Children born small after medically assisted reproduction, and who are small, do not lose cognitive function, researchers report today.
The study was carried out by Dr Alice Goisis of University College London, UK, and colleagues. They used information from more than 19,000 children in the Millennium Cohort Study, followed since birth in 2000 to 2002.
Children were divided into groups based on birth weight – above or below 2,500 grams – and whether they were conceived with medically assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilisation, artificial insemination and ovulation induction.
Of those conceived with medically assisted reproduction, 22% were born small compared with 7% of naturally conceived children.
They were given cognitive tests at ages three, five, seven, 11 and 14. At all ages, children conceived with medically assisted reproduction and born small performed, on average, similarly or better than naturally conceived children born at a normal weight.
However, when socioeconomic status was measured, it appears to explain the cognitive advantage. Families of children conceived with medically assisted reproduction tended to have higher maternal educational level and older maternal age at birth.
Full details appear in today’s (10 March) International Journal of Epidemiology.
Dr Goisis says: “Research has previously shown that children conceived through medically assisted reproduction tend to perform as well as or better in cognitive tests than naturally conceived children. But one important aspect that has been overlooked is whether this is also the case for those born small.
“In this study, we found that medically assisted reproduction-conceived children born small have similar or slightly higher cognitive ability scores compared to naturally conceived children. However, these differences are explained by parents’ socioeconomic background."
Cozzani, M. et al. The cognitive development from childhood to adolescence of low birth weight children born after medically assisted reproduction – a UK longitudinal cohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology 10 March 2021
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