Mission statement:
Assisted Reproductive Technology is defined as any treatment that includes the in vitro handling of both human oocytes and sperm, or of embryos for the purpose of becoming pregnant. Most ART is invitro fertilisation (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
Approximately 1 in 6 couples are infertile and ART is an established effective means of becoming pregnant. Over the last 30 years the use of ART globally has increased, and continues to do so.
It has been suggested that becoming pregnant with ART might cause health problems during pregnancy and birth, and also longer-term in both the mother and child, after the birth.
It is important to determine whether this is true and if so what health problems are affected by ART and how big is the problem if it exists.
The mission of the Assisted Reproductive Technology and health partnership (A.R.T-HEALTHPARTNERSHIP) is to provide robust evidence on the effects of pregnancy conception by ART, compared with natural conception, on mothers and offspring health from pregnancy through to early adulthood.