The risks of IVF to maternal and infant health
IVF technology is a kind of assisted reproductive technology, which can help those couples who cannot conceive naturally realize their reproductive aspirations. Although IVF technology is very important and popular in modern medicine, it also has risks. This article will discuss the risks of IVF to maternal and infant health from four aspects: physiology, psychology, ethics and society.
Physiological risk
In the IVF program, women will receive hormone therapy to promote ovarian ovulation, and perform egg retrieval surgery. These hormones may cause side effects such as allergic reaction, headache, muscle ache and nausea. The risks of egg retrieval include infection, bleeding, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, etc. In addition, after embryo transfer, patients may also have pregnancy complications, such as multiple pregnancy, intrauterine fetal growth retardation, etc. In addition, long-term treatment may also increase the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer.
However, it is worth noting that these physiological risks are relatively small and controllable. The hospital will take appropriate preventive measures and treat patients according to their physical conditions.
Psychological risk
The IVF process may be an emotional journey for couples. Long term treatment process, embryo transfer with exciting hopes but uncertain results, and possible failures and setbacks will bring great psychological pressure to couples. This kind of psychological pressure may lead to anxiety, depression, tension between couples and other problems, and thus affect the health and happiness of mothers and infants.
In order to help couples cope with these psychological pressures, many hospitals provide psychological counseling and support services to ensure that they can receive sufficient care and support in the whole process.
Ethical risk
IVF technology has caused a series of ethical problems. For example, technologies such as embryo screening and gene editing may lead to the risk of selecting gender and certain characteristics. In addition, the popularization of IVF technology may lead to unfair distribution of medical resources, making only rich families can afford this treatment, while poorer families cannot enjoy the same opportunities.
For ethical issues, we need to establish strict laws and moral norms to restrict the application of IVF technology and ensure that this technology is developed within a reasonable and fair framework.
social risk
The popularization of IVF technology may lead to the change of society's conception of fertility. For example, IVF technology may delay the birth of older women, leading to more elderly pregnant women, thus increasing the risk of pregnancy complications and fetal malformations. In addition, IVF technology may also lead to the commercialization and standardization of fertility in society, making some medical institutions pay more attention to economic interests than patient health.
Therefore, we need to strengthen the supervision of IVF technology, ensure that it operates within the framework of medical ethics and social ethics, and protect the health and rights of patients.
summary
IVF technology has played an important role in solving the fertility problem, but it also has certain risks. Physiological risks mainly include side effects related to hormone therapy and surgery, as well as pregnancy complications; Psychological risk involves the psychological pressure and frustration that couples face; Ethical risks are mainly reflected in embryo screening and resource allocation; Social risks relate to the number of infants and commercialization. We should strengthen the supervision of IVF technology to ensure its application within a reasonable and fair framework, so as to protect the health of mothers and infants to the greatest extent.
