Abstract:
According to WHO statistics, the incidence of infertility has increased in recent years, with 1 in 6 couples currently affected. Sociocultural trends have led to a growing need for and use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), resulting in a rising number of live births conceived through these methods.
There are ongoing efforts to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) more accessible. In 2025, the first live birth from a fully automated IVF laboratory was reported, which may, in the coming years, help close the access gap faced by patients in many countries. Consequently, the number of children born through IVF is expected to continue increasing.
There are different types of IVF techniques: conventional IVF (cIVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Some private fertility clinics, for logistical reasons and without appropriate clinical indications, tend to prefer ICSI more frequently. However, a recent Danish cohort study has associated ICSI with a higher risk of congenital malformations (1).
This information is of great relevance to the pediatric scientific community, not only to understand the differences between reproductive techniques but also their implications for future diagnoses, screening, management, and long-term follow-up of affected children, as well as counseling for their families. Moreover, this knowledge can help shape public health strategies aimed at improving surveillance of these increasingly common conditions, driven by the growing use of ART and ICSI in particular.
