I read a report in the independent online today stating that research has shown that babies born as a result of IVF treatment are at a higher risk of birth defects. I am surprised this has not been studied before. Maybe I am stating the obvious, but if two people who are trying to procreate together are encountering problems conceiving then just maybe it is because there is a good genetic reason why one or both of those individuals should not be passing on their genes. I don't mean this in a nasty way, I mean this as a biological mechanism to ensure that healthy offspring are produced. After all, if there is a major genetic defect present, known or otherwise even when conception does occur miscarriage often follows. I realise this may sound harsh to someone in that position, but if you think about it rationally then it does make sense. There is also the issue with IVF that it is not necessarily the strongest sperm that will be the one used to fertilise the egg - which could lead to a higher incidence of birth defects. There are also the other factors, such as the women undergoing IVF may be those with existing or previous serious medical conditions, or women who are older - it is a well known fact that the older the mother at the time of conception the higher the chance of having a child with certain disabilities or deformities.
Anyway, if you fancy a look the article is here.
Fishy Floater FAIL
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"I realise this may sound harsh to someone in that position, but if you think about it rationally then it does make sense."
Well, yes, it does sound harsh and for good reason. In addition to being a hurtful sentiment, it's also not particularly rational. If infertility truly functioned as a mechanism for weeding out bad genes, then why isn't it more frequent in human populations? After all, for fertile couples with otherwise "bad" genes (like, say, long family histories of horrible illnesses/diseases), shouldn't there also be a good genetic reason for them to not pass on their genes? Such couples are also at high risk of producing offspring who will develop severe medical problems as they grow up.
As you can tell from my moniker, I suffer from infertility. At this point in my life, I'm still unsure as to whether I even want kids. However, if I were to have kids, they would likely be at a higher risk for developing (or being born with) some severe health issues. At the same time, given the complex nature of genes, I would also be passing along a lot of "good" genes too since reproductive issues aside, I do have some pretty good things going for me health-wise. I just wish people would realize this instead of assuming that I'm contaminating the gene pool by virtue of being infertile.
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