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

ObjectiveTo assess the association between in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and adverse birth outcomes.Study designRetrospective 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.ResultsEleven 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).ConclusionInfants conceived with use of IVF/ICSI have three times as high a risk of a congenital heart defect as naturally conceived infants.