What are some possible side effects of assisted reproductive technology?

What are some possible side effects of assisted reproductive technology?

Richard Paulson (Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, USC) gives expert video advice on: How often do assisted reproductive technology treatments produce multiple children?; Are assisted reproductive technology treatments expensive? and more...

The side effects of assisted reproductive technology are focused primarily on the fertility medications themselves and, of course, the reality that we produce multiple eggs as a result of assisted reproductive technology. The two big side effects are multiple pregnancy, which happens in really more than a third of all pregnancies with assisted reproductive, with assisted reproductive technologies, and also ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome, which happens when the body overreacts to the fertility medications or when too much fertility medications are used. The other side effects would be complications related to egg retrieval. Whenever you poke the body with a needle, which is what we are doing, there's always a risk of bleeding or even possibly infection but these are really rare side effects. Multiple gestation and ovarian hyper stimulation, which happens in a mild form in perhaps five to ten percent of cases, and in a severe form in about one percent of cases are the most commonly associated issues with assisted reproductive technology.