Neonatal outcome after IVF is worse than in the general population with similar maternal age, parity and social standing, mainly due to the large proportion of multifetal births after IVF. The higher prevalence of heart malformations does not solely arise from multiplicity but from other causes. In order to improve neonatal outcome after IVF, the number of embryos transferred should be limited to a minimum.

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The growth of IVF children was behind that of control children during the first 3 years of life, but their psychomotor development was similar. Their postnatal health was worse, probably reflecting the problems in the neonatal period.

IVF pregnancies following standard, fresh ova IVF treatments are at greater risk of obstetric problems than spontaneously conceived pregnancies, and hence IVF mothers use more specialized antenatal care than others. The pregnancy complications after IVF are likely to be due to maternal characteristics regarding infertility and to a high incidence of multiple pregnancies.

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