A comprehensive assessment of outcomes in pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Abstract Objective To assess the association between in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and adverse birth outcomes. Study design Retrospective cohort study involved IVF/ICSI patients who were treated in the Ottawa Fertility Centre from 1996 to 2005 with a viable pregnancy (>20 weeks of gestation) and mothers who conceived naturally. Results Eleven of the 1044 infants conceived with IVF/ICSI (1.1%) and 7 of the 1910 naturally conceived infants (0.4%) had congenital heart defects ( P < 0.01). Five of the 138 infants (3.6%) born to mothers with a body mass index > 30 and conceived by IVF/ICSI had congenital heart defects, compared with none in the 240 infants born to mothers with a body mass index > 30 and conceived naturally ( P < 0.01). Conclusion Infants conceived with use of IVF/ICSI have three times as high a risk of a congenital heart defect as naturally conceived infants.