Seven out of 10 couples treated by IVF achieve parenthood following either treatment, natural conception or adoption.
The aim of this study was to explore the achievement of parenthood 8 years after starting IVF, considering multiple pathways to parenthood during and after IVF treatment. Medical data on 6507 couples who began IVF between 2000 and 2002 were obtained from the databases of eight French IVF centres. Information on long-term outcome was available for participants in the 2008-2010 postal survey. Multiple imputation methods were used to account for missing data. Eight years after starting IVF, 71% (95% CI 69 to 74) of treated couples had a child. This included 41% live births after IVF in the IVF centre, 7% live births after another treatment or after IVF in another centre, 12% live births after spontaneous conception and 11% adoptions. This study provides a longitudinal overview of paths to parenthood among couples successfully and unsuccessfully treated by IVF. These results should give hope to infertile couples as seven out of 10 couples finally became parents. However, IVF is not the only path to parenthood, and couples should be informed of the other possible avenues.
Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED), F-75020 Paris, France; CESP, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Lariboisière, F-75475 Paris, France; Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Service de Santé Publique et Economie de la Santé, F-75475 Paris, France. Electronic address: penelope.troude@aphp.fr.
Pénélope
P
Troude
InVS, Occupational Health Department, F-94415 Saint-Maurice, France.
Gaëlle
G
Santin
Laboratoire de Procréation Médicalement Assistée, Institut Mutualiste de Montsouris, 2 boulevard Jourdan, F-75014 Paris, France.
Juliette
J
Guibert
Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED), F-75020 Paris, France; CESP, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France.
Jean
J
Bouyer
Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED), F-75020 Paris, France; CESP, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France.
Elise
E
de La Rochebrochard
D000300:Adoption; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
follow-up studies; in vitro fertilization; multiple imputation; parenthood