Comparison of the Developmental Status in Children Born Following Assisted Reproductive Technology and Spontaneous Pregnancy

Abstract

Background: The assisted reproductive technology (ART) is an important option for fertility in infertile couples. The aim of infertility treatment is not only pregnancy, but also healthy children. However, there are challenges to the development of children born following ART. The present study aimed to compare the developmental status of children born following ART and spontaneous pregnancy. Methods: The study was a retrospective cohort study that investigated 84 children born following ART and 168 children born following spontaneous pregnancy at the same age. They had referred to comprehensive health centers of Isfahan in 2019. The cases were selected through systematic random sampling. Data collection tools included the researcher-made demographic information questionnaire, and the standard Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). We evaluated the children's development in five developmental domains, namely communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social domains. The data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS version 21 at a significance level of <0.05. Results: Analysis of covariance after adjusting the demographic variables indicated that the developmental domains were not significantly different in children born following ART and spontaneous pregnancy (P>0.05). Pearson correlation coefficient test showed gross motor had a statistically significant association with the child's age (p =0.24, r = 0.075), birth weight (p =0.47, r = 0.045), current weight (p =0.34, r = 0.061), and current height (p =0.30, r = 0.066). Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in the development of children born following ART and Spontaneous pregnancy. The gross motor had a statistically significant association with some demographic information of children.