New figures suggest that the rate of cerebral palsy among children conceived by in vitro fertilisation has fallen by over half in the last 20 years.
The study based in Denmark, Finland and Sweden shows the rate has fallen, largely due to a reduction in the rate of twin births from in vitro fertilisation.
Dr Anne Laerke Spangmose of Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, presented the findings yesterday (7 July) at an online meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
Figures were taken from three national IVF birth cohorts of 111,844 children, covering the period 1990 to 2014.
The overall prevalence of cerebral palsy “declined consistently” from 12.5 per 1,000 live births in 1990-1993, to 3.4 per 1,000 in 2011-2014.
During the same time period, the rate among children conceived naturally fell from 4.3 to 2.1 per 1,000 live births.
For singleton babies born from in vitro fertilisation, the rate fell to the background population rate of 2.8 per 1,000 live births.
Dr Spangmose said: "Multiple embryo transfer is still standard care in many countries. Our findings emphasise that single embryo transfer and singleton births should be encouraged worldwide.
"The inclusion of complete in vitro fertilisation and naturally conceived birth cohorts makes our data robust and has allowed assessment of the true risk of cerebral palsy from in vitro fertilisation and its decline over time," she concludes.
Spangmose, A. L. Abstract 0-144, The risk of cerebral palsy in ART children has more than halved over two decades – a Nordic collaborative study on 55,233 liveborn children. Presented on Tuesday 7 July 2020, at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
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