what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

Babies born through a new infertility treatment have no more risk of congenital defects than those born through the now common in-vitro fertilization, research has found.

The rate of defects among babies born through the new procedure, in-vitro maturation (IVM), is similar to that among "test-tube babies" born through IVF, McGill University professor of obstetrics and gynecology William Buckett said yesterday.

"There's very little difference that we can tell from one treatment to another, " Buckett said.

But critics urged caution because so few babies have resulted from IVM fertility treatment.

"It's a young science. Long-term follow-up is difficult. But the vast majority (of babies) are normal," said Buckett, who has studied the health of babies delivered since 1998, when McGill began using IVM.

how did it rate? (more information)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This technique sounds more like "physiologic" than in-vitro fertilization. It is essential to make direct comparisons between the different fertilization approaches if one is to draw correct conclusions. Historic comparisons are not sufficient to assess the risk of this new procedure. Further there is a lack of quantification of risks and benefits. Nor is there any information on the costs of this new procedure. Finally, this article would have been more informative had it quantified birth defects by age.

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