The French Study...

You may have heard about "The French Study" over the last few days... It has been quite widely reported in the media as it shows that there is a small risk of malformation for children born after IVF. The study looked at more than 15,000 IVF children's health records and found that 4.24% had some kind of congenital malformation. It sounds incredibly alarming, and is enough to worry anyone considering IVF.

As usual with these stories, there is a however... First, this needs to be put into perspective, as in the general population who have not had IVF, there is a risk of up to 3% of congenital malformation so the increased risk is very small. Second, although you may not have been aware of this, previous studies had put the figure of congenital malformation after IVF as high as 11%, so this is actually a lot better than many scientists had expected. The French researchers believe their figure is more likely to be correct because this was such a large study.

This is certainly an issue that needs further investigation, and makes the case for more long-term follow-up studies of children born after assisted conception. At the same time, it is important to understand that this increased risk is very small. If you do have worries about it, you should talk to the team at your clinic. See more here