Because I. V F. is an experimental procedure, its risks to women are being discovered slowly. One drug, a hormone called buserelin, is suspected of causing cancer. A common side effect of the hormones used to increase egg production is the development of ovarian cysts. This latter drug, given to women in the 1950's and 1960's to prevent miscarriages, was later found to cause cancer in the women who used it and in their offspring. Facilities also have been criticized for failing to warn couples about the high rate of multiple and premature births and caesarian deliveries associated with the technique.
Ectopic pregnancies can be life threatening.
Top of page. The numerous manipulations in an unnatural environment that are involved during I.V.F. present real dangers to the developing child. A high percentage of all sperm is thought to be defective, but a woman's cervix screens out the less fit. And distance ensures that only the sperm capable of the most movement will reach the egg. Both increase the chances that the egg will be fertilized by a healthy sperm.