Potential risks of IVF to maternal and infant health
The development of IVF technology in recent years has brought hope and opportunities to many infertile couples, but at the same time, IVF also has some potential risks. This article will elaborate on the risks of IVF to maternal and infant health from four aspects: pregnancy complications, mental health, child development and genetic diseases.
Complications during pregnancy and childbirth
Compared with natural pregnancy, IVF pregnancy may require drugs to promote follicular development and manual operation, which increases the risk of pregnancy complications such as pregnancy induced hypertension, pregnancy induced diabetes and so on. In addition, the probability of multiple pregnancy is also high, and multiple pregnancy itself will increase the possibility of premature delivery, placental dysfunction and other complications for pregnant women.
IVF pregnancy also requires artificial fertilization, and manual operation may cause infection or damage to the uterine mucosa, increasing the risk of endometriosis, intrauterine adhesions and other problems. These complications may not only have a negative impact on the health of pregnant women, but also may have a negative impact on embryonic development and infant health.
In addition, routine operations during pregnancy and childbirth of test tube babies, such as the use of narcotic drugs during egg retrieval or ovarian stimulation syndrome after egg retrieval, may have an impact on the mother's health. Therefore, in terms of maternal and infant health, IVF needs to be carried out under the guidance of doctors to ensure that the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth is minimized.
mental health
IVF also has certain risks to the mother's mental health. Infertility couples often experience a long period of psychological and physiological pressure to pursue the dream of IVF, and IVF requires many medical examinations and surgical operations, making both couples experience a long process of treatment.
After a successful pregnancy, the mother of IVF may feel more pressure and anxiety, worry about whether the pregnancy will go smoothly, and fear that the child will have unhealthy problems. These psychological pressures and anxieties may increase the physical discomfort during pregnancy, and even affect the growth and development of the fetus.
Therefore, in the process of IVF, it is helpful for mothers to participate in maternity education courses, seek psychological counseling, etc., to alleviate pressure and anxiety, and maintain a good psychological state.
Child development
Compared with naturally conceived children, IVF may experience changes in human operation and external environment during embryonic development, which may affect children's development. Research shows that there are differences between IVF and naturally conceived children in birth weight, short-term survival rate, premature delivery, low weight, congenital malformation, etc.
In addition, IVF may also face higher negative social and family environmental risk factors, such as genetic diseases in severe kinship, economic burden caused by long-term treatment, etc. These factors may have an impact on children's development.
Therefore, for IVF, the stability of the family environment and the love and education of parents are crucial. In addition, early child development assessment and early intervention will also help IVF grow healthily.
Genetic disease
IVF may make some genetic diseases more likely to appear in offspring. For example, in test tube babies, couples may choose to conduct gene screening to exclude the risk of early genetic diseases. However, the existing gene screening technology cannot completely eliminate the risk of all genetic diseases.
In addition, IVF babies may also be exposed to certain risks of genetic mutation. In the process of manual operation and culture, the genome of the embryo may mutate, which may increase the risk of some genetic diseases.
Therefore, for test tube babies, it is very important to conduct comprehensive and accurate gene screening to eliminate the risk of genetic diseases as far as possible. At the same time, timely early detection and intervention will also help improve the prognosis of genetic diseases.
Summary
IVF technology is an important medical progress for infertile couples, but there are also some potential risks. From the aspects of pregnancy and childbirth complications, mental health, child development and genetic diseases, IVF has certain risks to the health of mothers and infants. Therefore, couples carrying out IVF need to fully understand and accept the guidance of doctors, select regular hospitals for operation, and take corresponding prevention and intervention measures to ensure that the benefits of IVF will not have adverse effects on the health of mothers and infants.
