{"id":24384,"date":"2026-08-12T10:36:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/?post_type=news_release&#038;p=24384"},"modified":"2026-08-12T10:39:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:39:03","slug":"infertility-not-just-treatment-may-shape-birth-outcomes-finds-study-of-1-4m-births","status":"publish","type":"news_release","link":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/infertility-not-just-treatment-may-shape-birth-outcomes-finds-study-of-1-4m-births\/","title":{"rendered":"Infertility, not just treatment, may shape birth outcomes, finds study of 1.4M births"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Toronto, ON,\u202fAugust 12, 2026\u202f<\/strong>\u2014 Infertility is the inability to conceive after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse; some patients with infertility are still able to conceive without fertility treatment. Infants born to those with infertility face a higher risk of congenital anomalies compared to unassisted conception, according to a new study from ICES, Queen\u2019s University, and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.<\/p>\n<p>In the study of 1,415,324 births, 1,185,299 were conceived without assistance and 230,025 by women with infertility who did not use treatment. Among these births the prevalence of congenital anomalies was 5.3 per cent in infants from unassisted conceptions compared with 5.9 per cent in the latter cohort. Some of these observed anomalies include cleft palates, heart defects, and kidney malformations.<\/p>\n<p>The findings suggest that, although the risk of congenital anomalies was low, there was an increased risk for infants born to women with infertility but did not use fertility treatment to conceive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur intention is not to alarm expecting mothers. Rather, we should consider how the underlying causes of infertility\u2014such as endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS, formerly known as PCOS), paternal factors, and others\u2014may influence fetal development, so that future research can better understand the biological mechanisms underlying these associations and identify opportunities to improve maternal and child health,\u201d says Bailey Milne, lead author of the study and an ICES doctoral student.<\/p>\n<p>Past research compared pregnancies conceived through fertility treatments with unassisted conceptions, capturing both treatment effects and underlying fertility on congenital anomalies. However, the same reproductive issues that prompt individuals to seek fertility treatment may themselves influence this risk. For example, endometriosis is a well-established cause of infertility, and recent work from the team suggests that it may also be associated with an increased risk of congenital anomalies in offspring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the proportion of births conceived through fertility treatment technologies continues to grow, studies evaluating the safety of existing and emerging fertility technologies should compare these pregnancies with those conceived by patients with infertility who did not undergo fertility treatment,\u201d adds Dr. Maria Velez, senior author, Scientist at The Institute, and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University.<\/p>\n<p>The study \u201cInfertility and risk of congenital anomalies: a population-based cohort study\u201d\u202fis in the August issue\u202fof\u202f<em>Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology<\/em>.\u202f <br \/>\u202f<\/p>\n<p><strong>ICES<\/strong>\u202fis an independent, not-for-profit research and analytics institute that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of healthcare issues. ICES leads\u202fcutting-edge\u202fstudies and analyses evaluating healthcare policy, delivery, and population outcomes. Our knowledge is highly regarded in Canada and abroad and is widely used by government, hospitals, planners, and practitioners to make decisions about healthcare delivery and to develop policy. For the latest ICES news, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn: @ICESOntario\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<p><strong>About Queen\u2019s University\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/strong> <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.queensu.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Queen\u2019s University<\/a>\u202fhas a long history of scholarship, discovery, and innovation that shapes our collective knowledge and helps address some of the world\u2019s most pressing concerns. Home to more than 28,000 students,\u202fQueen\u2019s\u202foffers a comprehensive research-intensive environment. Diverse perspectives and a wealth of experience enrich our students and faculty\u202fwhile\u202fa core part of our mission is to engage in international learning and research.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, for the fifth year in a row, Queen\u2019s University has ranked in top 10 globally of the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeshighereducation.com\/impactrankings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Times Higher Education Impact Rankings<\/a>, securing the position of 6th worldwide and 1st in Canada. The rankings measured over 2,500 post-secondary institutions from 130 countries on their work to advance the United Nations\u2019 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre<\/strong> <br \/>The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute) is a world-renowned biomedical and healthcare research centre. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of McGill University, The Institute is the research arm of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)-an academic health centre located in Montreal, Canada, that has a mandate to provide complex care to its community. The Institute supports over 700 researchers and close to 1,500 research trainees devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental, clinical and health outcomes research at the Glen and the Montreal General Hospital sites of the MUHC. Its research facilities, including the Centre for Translational Biology, the Centre for Innovative Medicine and the Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, offer a dynamic multidisciplinary environment that fosters collaboration and leverages discovery aimed at advancing precision health throughout the life course. The Institute is supported in part by the Fonds de recherche du Qu\u00e9bec (FRQ). <a href=\"https:\/\/rimuhc.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rimuhc.ca<\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/strong> <br \/>Charlotte Lam\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f <br \/>Communications Associate\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f <br \/>ICES\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f <br \/><a href=\"mailto:media@ices.on.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media@ices.on.ca\u202f\u202f<\/a>\u202f\u202f <br \/>437-317-8804\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n<p>Julie Brown\u202f\u202f <br \/>Media Relations Manager\u202f\u202f <br \/>Queen\u2019s University\u202f\u202f <br \/><a href=\"mailto:mediarelations@queensu.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mediarelations@queensu.ca\u202f\u202f<\/a> <br \/>613-533-2035\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n<p>Fabienne Landry <br \/>Communications Coordinator <br \/>Research, MUHC <br \/><a href=\"mailto:fabienne.landry@muhc.mcgill.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fabienne.landry@muhc.mcgill.ca<\/a> <br \/>514-812-7722<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto, ON,\u202fAugust 12, 2026\u202f\u2014 Infertility is the inability to conceive after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse; some patients with infertility are still able to conceive without fertility treatment. Infants born to those with infertility face a higher risk of congenital anomalies compared to unassisted conception, according to a new study from ICES, Queen\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","migration-helper-automated":[],"migration-manual":[],"topic":[26,45],"class_list":["post-24384","news_release","type-news_release","status-publish","hentry","topic-maternity-and-neonatal-care","topic-reproductive-medicine"],"acf":{"infographic":"","journal_article":[24378],"research_report":"","atlas":"","research_program":[6740],"site":[6736],"ices_scientist":[1114],"announce_or_event":"","video":"","iitn_type":"Article","iitn_title":"","iitn_short_title":"","iitn_source_link_url":"","iitn_source_link_text":"","sitecore_item_id":"","sitecore_item_name":"","sitecore_field_values":"","previous_url":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ICES | Infertility, not just treatment, may shape birth outcomes, finds study of 1.4M births<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Toronto, ON,\u202fAugust 12, 2026\u202f\u2014 Infertility is the inability to conceive after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse; 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