A new study published
in the British Medical Journal indicates that In Vitro Fertilisation is
being employed in cases where the evidence for its effectiveness is ‘weak’, and
that extended use of the treatment is associated with health risks to mothers
and children.

The authors say that
IVF is currently subject to insufficient scrutiny, largely because it provides
large commercial returns. Each cycle of IVF costs
thousands of euro.

The study, written by
a team of British, Australian and Dutch researchers lead by Dr Esme Kamphuis,
states: “A lack of will to question the perceived success of IVF is preventing
progress. Currently funding bodies seem to have limited interest in funding long
term studies on safety.
IVF has evolved in many parts of the world as a profit
generating industry that values the money brought in by immediate gains of
pregnancy and live birth over long term considerations about the health of the
mothers and children. This is true not only for private clinics but also for
academic institutions, which also benefit economically from the number of
couples they recruit for fertility treatment .”

It says that while
IVF was originally used to treat tubal blockage and severe male factor
infertility, it is now being employed to treat other conditions, including
“unexplained subfertility”.

However, the evidence
for IVF’s effectiveness in treating such conditions is limited, and the study
argues that many women simply aren’t being given enough time to conceive
naturally. ‘Expectant management’ also known as ‘watchful waiting’ is in many
cases just as effective.

“A randomised
clinical trial comparing intrauterine insemination and ovarian hyperstimulation
with expectant management in couples who had an average of two years’
unexplained subfertility found a pregnancy rate of 25% after six months and 75%
after three years in both groups” said the study.

Extended use of IVF
may also pose risks to children. While the risks associated with the multiple
births that IVF makes more likely are well known, the study says that “even
singletons born through IVF have been shown to have worse outcomes than those
conceived naturally… These effects seem to be related to the IVF procedure
itself rather than to underlying subfertility.”