IVF (babies) may raise risk of diabetes, hypertension and cancer in later life

People conceived through IVF treatment should be monitored for the early onset of high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers before the age of 50, according to a fertility specialist.

While IVF is generally considered to produce healthy babies, doctors have identified subtle genetic changes that may raise the risk of particular medical conditions in later life.

Since the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, on 25 July 1978, more than three million babies have been born through fertility treatment around the world. The vast majority are still under the age of 30.

The extent to which IVF babies develop more hypertension, diabetes and cancer will begin to emerge over the next two decades as they enter middle age, doctors said.

"By and large these children are just fine, it's not like they have extra arms or extra heads, but they have a small risk of undesirable outcomes. What's going to happen to them down the line? Bear in mind none is older than 31 years old," said Carmen Sapienza, professor of pathology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

"They have a much higher frequency of being low birthweight and this results in a higher tendency to be obese, a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension when you reach 50 years old," Sapienza told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego yesterday.

In 2006, the Department of Health warned that Britain was facing a new wave of cancer on the back of increasing obesity in the population.Obesity plays a role in 4% of cancers, including breast and womb cancer, and has also been linked to the disease in the bowel and kidney.

Unlike naturally conceived babies, those who are created through IVF spend their first three days after conception in a Petri dish and are exposed to more oxygen than is available in the womb. The altered oxygen levels and the culture media used to keep embryos alive are thought to alter how genes are expressed in IVF embryos.

Advances in technology have now made it possible to procreate apart from sexual relations through the meeting in vitro of the germ-cells previously taken from the man and the woman. But what is technically possible is not for that very reason morally admissible. Rational reflection on the fundamental values of life and of human procreation is therefore indispensable for formulating a moral evaluation of such technological interventions on a human being from the first stages of his development.
DONUM VITAE Vatican document - Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation.

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They are drawing false conclusions based on how OTHER groups with low birth weights fare health wise later in life.

Here is the problem, IVF results in considerably more twins than natural. Full term for twins (of any type) is 38 weeks, 2 weeks shorter than with singles, 2 weeks earlier of course will result in lower average birth weights, but that is completely different than people from low income families with diet problems or drug users spontaneously giving birth earlier and later in life being prone to obesity, diabetes, ect. The fact is that the oldest IVF baby is only 32, so this information isn't based on actual data from IVF babies, but conjecture on what MIGHT happen to them later in life.

Before we were married, my husband told me that if we suffered from infertility, he would not pursue any medical treatments. As several of his 8 siblings had struggled with infertility, it was a difficult idea for me to accept. As I have matured, hopefully gaining biblical wisdom, I have come to the conclusion that Christian couples should take no extreme measures either way—to have children, or to not have children. God is in charge of the womb and my body belongs to him.

As it has turned out, God, in His mercy, has blessed us with great fertility and we are expecting baby #5. Now, my faith is being tested the other way :). Actually, I hope to keep having children, it's just that the morning/afternoon/evening sickness is a killer.

Sadly, my brother-in-law and his wife have frozen embryos they don't plan on using...now what?

Not all infertility problems are genetically based, in fact, most are not, but are instead the result of disease.

You brother-in-law and his wife can donate them to another couple who are worse off than they are, or they can save them indefinitely (in case they change their minds).

I came from a very devout Catholic family. My parents had three sons and also had several miscarriages. When pregnant with me they followed the doctors orders for my mother to take DES, a hormone that was thought to prevent miscarriages. About 20 years after my birth researches discovered that children exposed to DES in the womb had a high risk for vaginal cancer and also had other reproductive abnormalities. I had an abnormality that prevented me from getting pregnant. The only option was to have artificial insemination with my husbands sperm. I didn’t occur to me that doing this would be against church teachings. My problem was a direct result of my parents being good Catholics and trying to avoid another miscarriage. When I look at my lovely daughters, I dont think God loves them any less. I think the church is a little behind in the technology.

It’s easy for me say what I did because I haven’t had to suffer infertility. Honestly, when my husband told me he wouldn’t do IVF, what flashed through my mind was—you’ll change your mind if it happens. I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t been able to conceive on our own. My heart hurts for several friends who have trouble conceiving...it’s a pain that cuts to a woman’s soul, just read about Hannah in I Samuel.

I’m not Catholic, so as far as I know, we (Baptists) don’t have official church teachings on this. I have formed my opinions from reading scripture and listening to the teachings of godly men and women. I hold stronger to the belief that we shouldn’t prevent children...this is after we made the mistake of sterilization for my husband. Thankfully, the reversal surgery worked.

God is a God of life, and it was in His grace and mercy that He formed them in your womb. They are precious daughters of the King and He loves them.

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