TASK-FORCE REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF PREGNANCIES AND CHILDREN CONCEIVED BY IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION (FRANCE 1987 TO 1989)

Objective: To describe the outcome of pregnancies conceived by IVF and the follow-up of the children after a minimum of 1 year of life. Desi gn: Survey of clinical pregnancies and follow-up of the children and c omparison with national statistics. Settings: All clinical pregnancies from II French centers between January 1987 and June 1989. Patients: A total of 1,637 pregnancies resulting in 1,263 deliveries and 1,669 l ive-born or stillborn children and 1,411 alive children after 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: Gestational age of birth, birth weight, mortali ty rates, prevalence of congenital malformation, and prevalence of dis orders during the follow-up of the children. Results: The preterm birt h rate was 22.7% of all deliveries and 12.2% of single deliveries comp ared with 5.6% in France, and 34.7% of babies weighed <2,500 g compare d with 5.2% in France. The rate of perinatal, neonatal, and infant mor tality were higher than the national average. The rate of malformation (2.86%) was comparable with national survey (2.08%). The health of ch ildren diseased during the whole follow-up was approximately 2%. Concl usion: The health of children after 1 year of live is close normal.