Some of the techniques used to help women get pregnant carry a significant risk of leading to birth defects, researchers have warned.
But one technique – embryo freezing – reduces the risk, according to Australian researchers.
The major study of more than 300,000 births finds that babies born through assisted reproduction face an increased risk of birth defects – but the researchers say that couples who struggle with fertility problems also face an increased risk.
The technique of ICSI – when a sperm is injected directly into an egg – is linked to a particularly high risk, affecting nearly ten per cent of babies, researchers found.
Standard IVF is linked to a 7.2 per cent risk – compared with 5.8 per cent for normal pregnancies.
The findings were revealed at the World Congress on Building Consensus in Gynecology, Infertility and Perinatology in Barcelona, Spain, and also published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers warned of the high risk faced by women using a substance called clomiphene citrate to improve fertility without clinical supervision.
Researcher Michael Davies, of the University of Adelaide, Australia, said: "While assisted reproductive technologies are associated with an increased risk of major birth defects overall, we found significant differences in risk between available treatments."
New England Journal of Medicine May 5 2012; doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1008095
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