Having second thoughts about doing IVF after i've just found out this information

[Hdaniels11]

I've been in the infertility world for about 3 years and have been thinking about IVF for a while. I've been looking into it and google and everywhere i look it says IVF babies have a 50% increased risk of heart defects. WHAT? Is that true? do he literally never heard anything about that until now.
50% is massive!

I also learnt that Babies born from IVF have a much higher risk of any type of childhood cancer, as well as hepatic tumours compared with children born from natural conception.
I know ANY child or person can inevitably get cancer at any time but seeing all this stuff about their being a higher risk is scaring me.

I would love some insight into how accurate this is?
Has anyone got children made from IVF with these issues?
Aibu to be worried

Currently pregnant with an IVF baby and from going from being told I'd never have my own children to knowing I'm carrying one is brilliant to me. There are risks with every type of pregnancy however it's achieved. You need to do a lot of research into how it's done and a lot of looking at yourself to see if it's something you're willing and able to do. It's an incredibly hard and draining process and takes over your life for each cycle you do. I am so proud of myself for doing it and it takes a lot of bravery. I wish more people spoke out about IVF then it wouldn't seem like such a strange thing to go through.

I've also heard some medics say that the woman is at increased risk of ovarian cancer, increasing with the number of rounds of IVF. I"d research this too.

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Yes - the factors involved in infertility will skew the results (ie the same couples having the "same" babies naturally would have the same outcome).

I know several IVF kids, including my own, and they are all healthy and "normal".

One of the five people in my household has a heart defect and they were born before IVF was widely available.... and I'm certain it was a natural conception!

www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/features/artandasd.html

I'm a mum to a very healthy 10yr old son through ivf with icsi. There are risks with everything. I have 4 other couple freinds, with children the same age as mine, who've had ivf and their children are fine. I also have 3 couple freinds who had children through natural conception, 2 of the boys are autistic. You need to work out whether being childless is how you see yourself or if you are going to take this 'risk'

50% of a tiny amount is still a tiny amount OP. If the chance is 1 in a million then the 50% increase is 1.5 in a million.

Our DS (mentioned before in the thread) is in the grammar stream at school. Is always in the top 5 in class and the other IVF friends he has are all in the grammar stream too. His reading age was confirmed as 12 years old at the age of 6. And we didn't push him. No need.

My two DC were conceived by IVF (ICSI) - my eldest was diagnosed with cancer at 4.

However I made a lot of friends going through IVF and none of their children have any issues. Conversely of all the children I met while he was receiving treatment, none of them were conceived by IVF as far as I know.

Coming from a different side but one my children been monitored for heart murmur ( presume that falls into your classification of heart condition) no one ever asked me if he was IVF , pre- term often mentioned but never IVF. So can't see it a risk factor

It’s depends what the original instances are, so if I normal baby has a 0.00000005% chance of a heart defect then adding 50% to that isn’t much of a chance at all.

It's still incredibly rare.

My ivf baby is doing great.

Define incredibly rare. CDC says 1%, that's one in every year at a small secondary school.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30402-X/fulltext

From the lancet

A couple of ivf children in my family. No issues. Both over 10.

As others have said a large increase on a small percentage still makes a small percentage risk. There is also the question of what severity and impact it will have if they are one of the unlucky ones. My sister (not IVF) was born with a congenital heart defect. She has travelled the world, lived a wonderful full life, was declared medically fit enough to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (high altitudes mean low oxygen levels and it is a strenuous activity, not good for a heart already struggling). Literally the only impact it has on her life is a tendency to get sore fingers and toes in the cold faster than me. And a once every 5 years trip to the cardiologist for a checkup. Which I think now may be once in 10 years. She has also had 2 healthy pregnancies and given birth vaginally after epic long labours too.

Having children is risky to our bodies and to them. I was 50 when o had our only daughter (ironically I am the healthy one and had recurrent miscarriages followed by one awful pregnancy that ended I premature labour). There are definitely risks having children as an older mum. DD is fine and I wouldn't change it.

Just do it, push forward with everything. you think you have all the time in the world, you don't. I'm 55: now and didn't push, I'm childless and unhappy

The biggest risk with IVF is that it won’t actually work.

@Crabbity is one of the issues that most academic research papers don’t list absolute risk, but only relative risk?

I don’t know anything about the IVF stats but i did want to say that 50% sounds scary but it probably isn’t very high as the rates of heart defects will be small. If 1/1,000 children have heart defects a 50% increase is 1.5/1,000

Is it causation, or correlation?
Does IVF cause Autism? Or are adults, who are possibly Autistic (which is know to be genetic), coming to partnership and reproduction a bit later than average, ending in IVF and then having autistic children.
Are there heart conditions that are also associated with infertility?
The ovarian cancer thing is I think established though.

But don’t you take hormones such as progesterone during the implantation period which could aid implantation in a situation where it might not normally implant?

Posted too soon.
I had IVF, don't regret it for a minute.
Good luck.

IVF baby here through ICSI. Perfectly healthy, no issues.
There are risks to everything

Completely anecdotal but the three friends I know that have had IVF all had breast cancer a few years later (thankfully all caught early and successfully treated) with no family history of such. Could be a complete coincidence of course but IVF means a lot of hormones are interfered with and it was enough to put me off having treatment when we struggled to have our second. So possibly not just IVF children that might be affected long term but the mothers too. But as I say my example is anecdotal not scientific.