Fertility treatments connected to cerebral palsy

A recent Danish study revealed that children conceived with the help of infertility treatments have a higher than average risk of developing cerebral palsy.

The study found that those who were conceived through assisted reproduction were about twice as likely to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy, reports Reuters. This high rate can largely be explained by the number of multiple births and early deliveries associated with the drug.

The findings of the study, which looked at nearly 590,000 children born in Denmark between 1995 and 2003 confirms several other studies, according to the news source.

Of the 588,967 children, 33,139 were conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or through the aid of other fertility drugs. Overall, the study found that 0.2 percent of the children were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The risk of the child developing cerebral palsy more than doubled for those conceived via IVF and those conceived with fertility drugs were 55 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 10,000 babies are born with cerebral palsy every year in the U.S.