What is the risk of IVF developmental abnormalities?
In vitro fertilization (IVF) babies are embryos cultivated in the laboratory through assisted reproductive technology (ART), and then implanted into the mother's uterus. Although this technology has brought hope to many infertile couples, there are also some abnormal risks in the development of IVF. This article will elaborate on these risks from four aspects.
1. Risk of multiple pregnancy
One of the major risks in IVF is multiple pregnancy, that is, multiple fetuses occur during pregnancy. This is because in order to increase the success rate of pregnancy, doctors will implant multiple embryos in the uterus. However, multiple pregnancy can lead to a series of complications, such as premature delivery, low birth weight, congenital heart disease, and so on. At the same time, multiple pregnancy also brings a huge burden on the mother's body, increasing the risk of hypertension and diabetes.
In order to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy, doctors usually control the number of embryos implanted according to the patient's age, health status and personal wishes to ensure that only one or two embryos are successfully implanted at a time.
2. Risk of congenital malformation
IVF babies may face the risk of congenital malformation, which refers to the abnormalities of body structure or organs that are present at birth. This may be caused by some variation in the process of embryo culture. Although most IVF babies are healthy, studies have shown that the incidence of congenital malformations in IVF babies is slightly higher than that in naturally conceived babies.
In order to reduce the risk of congenital malformation, doctors will conduct embryo gene screening to exclude embryos with potential genetic defects before implantation.
3. Risk of loss in early pregnancy
Although the success rate of IVF has been greatly improved, there is still a risk of early pregnancy loss. The loss of early pregnancy refers to the spontaneous abortion of pregnancy before 9 weeks of pregnancy due to abnormal embryonic development after the increase of progesterone. This risk is slightly higher in IVF than in natural pregnancy.
In order to reduce the risk of early pregnancy loss, doctors will monitor the endometrial thickness of patients, the embryo quality of test tube babies and the time point of embryo transfer to ensure that the maternal environment is suitable for embryo implantation.
4. Risk of psychological and emotional stress
The process of IVF may be a long and uncertain journey for couples. Accepting the cycle of failure and dealing with unfortunate results may bring psychological and emotional pressure to couples. They may experience anxiety, depression, self blame and other negative emotions.
In order to help couples cope with psychological and emotional stress, many hospitals provide psychological counseling services, and suggest couples to join support groups to share experience and emotional support with other IVF couples.
summary
The risks of developmental abnormalities in IVF include multiple pregnancies, congenital malformations, early pregnancy losses, and psychological and emotional stress. Doctors will take corresponding measures, such as embryo quantity control, gene screening, embryo transfer time point monitoring and psychological counseling services to reduce these risks. Couples can also face the challenges of this process together by joining support groups.
