CELEBRITY STYLE SPY: See all the latest celeb photos

IVF mothers face higher death risk

By Hannah Thomas on Tuesday 27 July 2010

Print
Share
Comment

Marie Claire Health News

The risk of pregnant women dying after IVF treatment is more than three times higher than women who conceive naturally, according to a recent study conducted in the Netherlands.

The researchers are calling for improvements surrounding IVF in tracking pregnancies and reporting deaths.

Didi Braat, professor of obstetrics at Radboud University in Nijmegen, who led the research said: ‘Women should be counselled and made aware of the risks they are taking and deaths should be properly reported.’

Braat studied deaths between 1984 and 2008 for the research, identifying that 17 women who had died in pregnancy had undergone IVF treatment, forming a death rate of 42.5% for every 100,000 pregnancies, compared with 12.1 in every 100,000 for women who had conceived naturally.

Around 450 of the 13,000 IVF births in Britain each year are the result of donor eggs, which has been linked to high blood pressure and placenta complications.

Furthermore, the rising age of mothers is also an important factor, with a 50% rise in women over the age of 40 giving birth last year.

Figures collected by the Centre for Maternal and Child Health Enquiries (CMACE) show an upward trend in deaths during childbirth of mothers over the age of 40

But it is not just the mothers that are putting their health at risk. Swedish researchers have revealed an increased risk of cancer in IVF children. The study showed that out of 26,000 children born through IVF, 53 developed cancer in comparison to an estimated 38 cases in a similar group of naturally conceived children.

Finnish studies also suggest babies born through IVF have a raised risk of prematurity and low birth weight.

Professor Bill Ledger, of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said of IVF treatment: ‘These are difficult and risky procedures which should only be undertaken in cases of real infertility by people who have exhausted all other avenues of treatment.’

Let us know your thoughts on fertility treatment and the consequent risks involved, by leaving a message in the box below.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH NEWS

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Have your say ...

Add your own comment

You can't cheat nature.It will fight back in some way. Always.
Comment by B on July 27 22:56

I had IVF at the age of 39 having been told I had zero % chance of conceiving naturally due to chronic endometriosis. Although I am grateful to the NHS for free treatment, and my miracle of a little boy, I can honestly say that no risks such as this were discussed..indeed the whole process left me feeling like just a number...herded from staff member to staff member with little or no personal interest by the clinic as to your health (mental or physical).

More studies need to be carried out to understand why these statistics are showing such worrying additional risks.
Comment by CP on July 28 13:08