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Children born as a result of fertility treatment have different growth patterns to naturally-conceived children but, by the time they reach the age of 17, they are of similar height, weight and body mass index (BMI), according to research published today (Wednesday) in
Human Reproduction [1].
The study of 81,461 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and 544,113 teenagers screened for military service and registered in the Armed Forces Health Registry should provide reassurance for parents of children born as a result of assisted reproduction technology (ART) say the researchers.
Although it is known that ART is associated with lower birthweight, the extent to which differences in growth persist during childhood has not been clear. Further research was also needed to see if patterns of growth could be affected by different fertility treatments or underlying subfertility in parents who conceive naturally.