Endometriosis and Fertility Resource Page

Babies conceived with the aid of fertility treatments are more likely to suffer birth defects, according to a study conducted by Ottawa researchers.

In an examination of 61,208 Ontario births from 2005, researchers found that 2.6 per cent of those babies conceived through assisted reproduction had birth defects, compared to 1.9 per cent of those conceived naturally.

The study also found those pregnancies assisted by fertility treatments are more than twice as likely to produce children with cardiovascular defects — 90 per 10,000 for assisted births versus 40 for natural births — according to researchers from the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital and the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

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