A new analysis has found that the rate of babies born prematurely in the United States is growing. While there are undoubtedly numerous factors at play, it raises the question: could the rise in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) be a contributing factor?
The Guardian reported that the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a new analysis, which found that premature births grew 12% between 2014 and 2022, to a rate of 8.7%. Some of the reasons can be clearly determined; Black women, for example, have stark contrasts in the quality of maternity care they receive — meaning that because they are more likely to receive low-quality maternity care, they are also more likely to experience premature births.
However, the rise in premature births is not just race-related.
“What’s important here is, with all of the research we’ve done to try to decrease preterm birth, we still have not found the solution,” Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and president-elect of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, told the Guardian. “It’s because we actually don’t know what instigates preterm birth in many cases.”
IVF has been growing increasingly common in recent years. According to one estimate, the number of babies born via IVF increases 6.7% each year worldwide. In Australia, 1 in every 18 babies is born through IVF.
This is noteworthy, because IVF is known to carry a higher risk of preterm birth. Singleton pregnancies (in which the mother is carrying one baby) conceived through IVF are twice as likely to end in premature birth than singletons conceived naturally. Other studies found that the risk could be even higher — as much as 4.24 times higher. Still another study found an 80% higher risk of preterm birth among babies conceived via IVF.
It is therefore possible that the increase in IVF pregnancies is playing a contributing role in the increase of premature births. There are also numerous other known risks for children conceived through IVF, including an increased risk of cardiovascular problems, early-onset acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an increased risk of cancer in general, epigenetic disorders, cognitive impairment, and possible infertility of their own.
Becoming a parent is a dream for many, but at what cost? And does the effect it will have on the children born through ART matter?
As one woman, Claire, said about her conception via IVF: “Somehow, somewhere, my parents developed the idea that they deserved to have a baby, and it didn’t matter how much it cost, how many times it took, or how many died in the process. They deserved a child. And with an attitude like that, by the time I was born they thought they deserved to have the perfect child… as Dad defined a perfect child. And since they deserved a child, I was their property to be controlled, not a person or a gift to be treasured.”
