Health of children born through artificial oocyte activation: a pilot study

Artificial oocyte activation (AOA) has shown to improve fertility in severe male infertility following intracytoplasmic sperm insemination (ICSI). However, the effect of AOA on the health status of children has not been studied. This pilot historical cohort study aims to evaluate physical and mental health of 79 and 89 children from 275 and 406 couples undergoing ICSI-AOA using ionomycin and conventional ICSI, respectively. The outcomes assessed were clinical pregnancy, abortion, type of delivery, and health of children (major birth defect, mental and behavior status). No significant differences were observed between the ICSI-AOA and the ICSI groups for these parameters, and the rate of major birth defects were not significantly different between the 2 groups. In this study, AOA has not imposed a greater risk on physical and mental health of children born through AOA, but for such a solid conclusion, further trails with higher number of cases are required and conclusions drawn are limited to this study.