Parental infertility and cerebral palsy in children

Children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have been reported to have a higher risk of cerebral palsy (CP), perhaps due to the higher frequency of preterm birth, multiple births or vanishing embryo in the pregnancies. However, it has been suggested that the underlying infertility may be part of the pathway. In this study, we examined whether untreated subfecundity (measured by time to pregnancy) or infertility treatment was associated with an increased risk of CP in the offspring.

Using the Danish National Birth Cohort (1997-2003), we compared children born after 0-2 months of waiting time to pregnancy (n = 35 848) with those born after a time to pregnancy of 3-5 months (n = 15 361), 6-12 months (n = 11 528) and >12 months (n = 7387), as well as those born after IVF/ICSI (n = 3617), ovulation induction with or without intrauterine insemination (n = 3000), and unplanned pregnancies (n = 13 462). CP cases were identified through the Danish CP Register.

In total, 165 (0.18%) children were diagnosed with CP in the entire cohort. We found no significant association between time to pregnancy and the risk of CP in children conceived spontaneously. Children born after IVF/ICSI had an increased risk of CP, even after adjustment for preterm birth and multiplicity (hazard ratio 2.30, 95% confidence interval 1.12-4.73).

Subfecundity per se did not appear to be associated with the risk of CP in children, whereas being born after IVF/ICSI conferred an increased risk.