Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Feb;99(2):303-10.
doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.12.035.

Low birth weight: is it related to assisted reproductive technology or underlying infertility?

Laxmi A Kondapalli  1 , Alfredo Perales-Puchalt
Affiliations
Review

Low birth weight: is it related to assisted reproductive technology or underlying infertility?

Laxmi A Kondapalli et al. Fertil Steril. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Since 1978, we have witnessed a successful evolution of assisted reproductive technology (ART), with improvement of the pregnancy rates and a growing demand. However, in recent years, there has been increasing concern regarding its safety due to the potential health impact on its infants. The raise of the developmental origins of adult disease has positioned low birth weight (LBW) as a significant health issue. Although multiple studies have associated ART with LBW, the etiology of this association remains largely unknown. We review the potential association between different components of ART and infertility with LBW, while acknowledging the limitations of interpretation of the existing literature.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Possible etiologies of LBW in children conceived after ART
Multiple mechanisms have been proposed as potential etiologies for LBW in ART. Ovarian stimulation, maternal characteristics and subfertility may act through an impairment of the embryo or endometrial quality. The impairment in the endometrial quality may result in placental associated defects. The culture medium and the stage of embryo development at transfer may act via the embryo quality. The number of embryos trasfered may act through the vanishing twin hypothesis causing suboptimal implantation. The impairment of the embryo quality can result in either an insult to its implantation potential or its development potential.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nygren KGSE, Zegers-Hochschild F, Mansour R, Ishihara O, Adamson GD, de Mouzon J. International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) world report: assisted reproductive technology 2003. Fertility and Sterility. 2011;95:2209–2222. - PubMed
    1. Fernando D, Halliday JL, Breheny S, Healy DL. Outcomes of singleton births after blastocyst versus nonblastocyst transfer in assisted reproductive technology. Fertil Steril. 2012;97:579–584. - PubMed
    1. Hayashi M, Nakai A, Satoh S, Matsuda Y. Adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes of singleton pregnancies may be related to maternal factors associated with infertility rather than the type of assisted reproductive technology procedure used. Fertil Steril. 2012;98:922–928. - PubMed
    1. D'Angelo DV, Whitehead N, Helms K, Barfield W, Ahluwalia IB. Birth outcomes of intended pregnancies among women who used assisted reproductive technology, ovulation stimulation, or no treatment. Fertil Steril. 2011;96:314–320. e2. - PubMed
    1. Shih W, Rushford DD, Bourne H, Garrett C, McBain JC, Healy DL, et al. Factors affecting low birthweight after assisted reproduction technology: difference between transfer of fresh and cryopreserved embryos suggests an adverse effect of oocyte collection. Hum Reprod. 2008;23:1644–1653. - PubMed

Publication types