Childhood growth of singletons conceived following in vitro fertilisation or intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND: Assisted reproductive techniques are associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birthweight and intrauterine growth restriction. Yet, the long-term follow-up on the growth of these children is limited. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on post-neonatal height and weight among children conceived following in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment, compared with that of children born after spontaneous conception. SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic computerised literature search using the online databases PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. SELECTION CRITERIA: Cohort or case-control studies with an exposed group of singletons conceived following IVF or ICSI along with a control group of spontaneously conceived singletons. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were reviewed by at least two authors. Meta-analyses were conducted using Cochrane Review Manager. The quality of the studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty studies were included, with 13 of these eligible for meta-analyses. The meta-analyses compared 3972 children born after IVF/ICSI with 11 012 spontaneously conceived children and revealed no statistically significant difference in child weight [mean difference (MD) in weight of -160 g; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) -360, 3]. When stratifying by age of child at follow-up, we found a significant lower weight in children aged 0-4 years conceived following IVF/ICSI treatment (MD -180 g; 95% CI -320, -4), but this was no longer significant in children from 5 years of age (MD -160 g; 95% CI -580, 260). The pooled analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in childhood height. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro fertilisation/ICSI was not associated with long-term weight and height. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Children born following IVF/ICSI do not have impaired long-term weight or height compared with spontaneously conceived children.