Does fertility and assisted reproduction affect childhood cognitive development?

January 01, 0001

Does fertility and assisted reproduction affect childhood cognitive development?

These UK researchers examined whether pregnancy planning, time to conception, and infertility treatment has an effect on cognitive development at childhood. They performed a population based cohort study, recruiting 18?818 children at 9 months of age who were evaluated at 3 and 5 years. Information on whether the pregnancy was planned, time to conception, use of assisted reproductive technologies, etc. Three components of the British Ability Scales (BAS II) were used to measure cognitive development.

The researchers found: "In unadjusted analyses, the scores on all scales in children from unplanned pregnancies were significantly lower than in those from planned pregnancies—for example, the difference in mean verbal ability score at age 3 was -4.8, equivalent to an average delay of four months. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors these differences were attenuated: -0.3, equivalent to no delay. Children born after assisted reproduction performed consistently better in verbal ability tests (3.8) at age 3 and (3.5) at age 5, which suggests that on average these children are three to four months ahead. This difference did not completely disappear with adjustment for confounders. Children born after infertility treatment had lower mean scores in non-verbal tests (-1.2 after assisted reproduction and - 1.5 after induced ovulation) and in spatial ability tests (-2.7) after assisted reproduction), though the differences were not significant."

The researchers concluded: "Pregnancy planning, subfertility, or assisted reproduction do not adversely affect children’s cognitive development at age 3 or 5. The differences observed in the unadjusted analyses are almost entirely explained by marked inequalities in socioeconomic circumstances between the groups."

This study finds no evidence that fertility issues or use of reproductive technologies negatively affects the childs later cognitive development.

For the full abstract, click here.

BMJ 343:d4473, 26 July 2011 © 2011 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
Effect of pregnancy planning and fertility treatment on cognitive outcomes in children at ages 3 and 5: longitudinal cohort study. C Carson, Y Kelly, J J Kurinczuk, A Sacker, M Redshaw, M A Quigley. Correspondence to C Carson: [email protected]

Category: N. Neurological, W. Pregnancy, Family Planning. Keywords: fertility, assisted reproduction, planning, pregnancy, cognitive development, longitudinal cohort study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 16 August 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

COVID-19 Resources

WONCA webinars, journal links and more

WONCA position statements

WONCA statements on a variety of issues

PEARLS

577 Individual behavioural counselling helps people to quit smoking 575 Antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements may be beneficial in age-related macular degeneration 574 Oral antifungals effective for toenail onychomycosis 570 Decision aids beneficial for people facing health treatment or screening decisions 569 Computer-generated reminders on paper benefit quality of care