Babies Born Through IVF Face Higher Risk of Heart Defects: Study

While IVF has been linked to higher risks of cancer and birth defects, new research warns IVF babies may also be at higher risk of heart problems.

Researchers have discovered that children born through in vitro fertilization (IVF), where eggs are fertilized in laboratory settings, have a greater risk of developing congenital heart defects, when compared to babies conceived naturally.

IVF treatments are often used by couples facing infertility issues, and significant advances in medical technology over the past few decades have made the process increasingly popular. These innovations, ranging from improved in vitro fertilization techniques to enhanced genetic screenings, have not only increased the success rates of fertility treatments but also improved their safety and accessibility.

However, according to new findings published in the European Heart Journal, researchers warn that infants born through IVF face a 36% higher chance of developing congenital heart defects (CHD).

Congenital heart defects are structural problems with the heart or blood vessels, which are present at birth. They can lead to a number of complications later in life, including heart failure, endocarditis, pulmonary hypertension, kidney disease, liver disease and stroke. They can also lead to physical, social and learning developmental delays in children.

Infant IVF Heart Defect Risks

In this new study, a research team led by Dr. Ulla-Britt Wennerholm, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, analyzed over seven million birth records from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden spanning from 1984 to 2015. Their study aimed to explore the link between assisted reproductive technologies and congenital heart defects.

According to the findings, 3,159 out of 171,735 children who were conceived in laboratories through assisted reproductive technology (ART) were born with some form of heart defect, accounting for 1.84% of the representative sample. For children born naturally, researchers found that the risk of being born with a congenital heart defect was only 1.15%.

This indicates that children conceived through assisted reproductive technology are 36% more likely to develop congenital heart defects.

Additionally, the study indicates that the occurrence of heart defects among IVF babies was not impacted by the method of the laboratory fertilization, whether using fresh or frozen embryos. The researchers also noted that there was a higher incidence of heart defects in twins and multiples, who are often conceived via laboratory methods.

However, the authors also acknowledge that the data varied between the four countries involved in the study, despite similar demographic and healthcare systems. There was also a lack of information concerning the number of heart defects in babies who suffered from miscarriages, terminations or stillbirths. Therefore, further research is needed to address these factors to better understand the link between IVF and heart defects.

“The findings of the current study should be conveyed to patients undergoing counseling before ART,” Dr. Wennerholm said. “Although the risk for major CHDs is higher in children born after ART, the absolute increase in risks seems to be modest.”

The findings add to the growing list of concerns that children conceived through IVF may face, as prior research dating back to 2016 has shown that some fertility treatments may increase the risk of birth defects, while in 2019 a study showed that frozen embryos face higher cancer risks.

IVF Culture Media Recall Lawsuits

While the broader concerns about the potential side effects of fertility treatments continue to be explored, problems have recently emerged for some couples undergoing IVF treatments, where embryos were lost due to a defective culture media that is commonly used during the fertilization procedures, to promote growth of the embryos before they are implanted back into the mother.

CooperSurgical issued a culture media recall in December 2023, after discovering that its LifeGlobal product was destroying embryos, instead of helping them grow. As a result, a number of individuals are now pursuing IVF lawsuits against the company, seeking damages over the failed fertility treatments.

Since the company only notified retailers and distributors about the recall, a number of couples who incurred the financial and emotional costs associated with failed fertility treatment have only recently learned that defective CooperSurgical IVF culture media may have been responsible for their lost embryos.

Given the number of CooperSurgical embryo loss lawsuits being filed in various U.S. District Courts nationwide, several plaintiffs filed a motion with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) in June 2024, requesting that the courts establish an IVF lawsuit MDL, and transfer claims brought throughout the federal court system to one judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

The JPML held oral arguments on whether to consolidate the IVF lawsuits during a hearing session on September 26, 2024, at the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, in Nashville, Tennessee.

If the CooperSurgical embryo culture media lawsuits are consolidated before one judge, pretrial proceedings will be coordinated to avoid duplicative discovery into common issues in the cases. The court will also likely establish a bellwether program, where a small group of cases will be prioritized, to help gauge how juries may interpret expert testimony and evidence likely to be used in most, if not all, of the trials.