Studies & Data

The Untold Stories of IVF

Archived as of December 2021


Fertility Industry Tracking

Research monitoring of ReproTech and its impacts

IVF survivorship, the IVF memoir and reproductive activism How critical narratives serve to a) promote fertility awareness and education among consumers; b) showcase infertility as a feminist issue; and c) represent crucial sources of reproductive activism

Do à la carte menus serve infertility patients? The ethics and regulation of in vitro fertility add-ons (Fertility and Sterility)

From assisted hatching to embryo glue, most IVF ‘add-ons’ rest on shaky science, studies find (STAT)

Abuse in assisted reproductive technology: A systematic qualitative review and typology (European Journal of Gynecology)

Reproductive medicine: still more ART than science? (International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology)

The high, mysterious and added costs of IVF (Irish Times)

IVF Success Rates ‘Misleading’ (University of Manchester)

UK’s National Health Service: Expensive IVF Add-ons ‘Not Evidenced Based

‘No Solid Evidence’ for IVF Add-on Success (BBC)

IVF Pregnancy Less Successful with Two Embryos, Study Finds (The Guardian)

IVF Babies More Likely to Grow up Overweight, Scientists Warn (ESHRE, Geneva)

The Misleading Promise of I.V.F. For Women Over 40 (The New York Times)

Fertility clinic success rates are misleading, possibly dishonest (Slate)

Editor attacks the over-use of ICSI as ‘ineffective and costly care‘  (Science Daily)

IVF Clinics must not be allowed to exploit childless families for profit (UK Independent)

Concern over IVF couples being sold unnecessary ‘add ons’ by clinics (Scotland Evening Express)

Fertility exploitation: The couples paying the high price for wanting a baby (The Telegraph)

Are the risks of extending IVF outweighing the benefits? (University of Aberdeen)

IVF Industry criticized for ‘misleading claims, aggressive marketing’ (Australia)

CDC – Assisted Reproductive Technology (U.S.)

Fertility Treatment & Physical Health

Children Born through IVF at Higher Risk of Hypertension (American College of Cardiology)

IVF Babies Have Higher Cancer Risks, Irsraeli Study Says  (Times of Israel)

Maternal Deaths in Vitro Fertilization Effect (Science Times)

Time to Take Human Embryo Culture Seriously (Human Reproduction)

For IVF Embryos, Lab Culture Can Have Lasting Effect (Stat News)

Reproductive technology tied to higher risk of birth defects (Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics)

Male fertility treatment seems to pass infertility on to sons (New Scientist)

Adverse outcomes from IVF  BMJ  (British Medical Journal)

Fertility treatment, breast density and breast cancer (Breast Cancer Research)

Reproductive technology linked to birth defects, childhood leukemia (Reuters Health)

Could IVF Raise Children’s Chances of Blood Cancer (MedicalXpress)

Too Many Couples Receiving Unnecessary IVF, Study Says (Irish Times)

IVF Women Third More Likely To Develop Ovarian Cancer
(UK – Telegraph)

Picture Emerging on Genetic Risks of IVF (The New York Times)

IVF: Risks May Outweigh Benefits (Medical News Today)

Treating Unexplained Infertility: Answers Still Needed (Harvard Medical School)

IVF Linked to Rare Genetic Disorders (Canada – National Post)

IVF Clinics to Inform Patients on Birth Defect Risks (UK – Sunday Times)

The Truth About Freezing Your Eggs (TIME)

The Sobering Facts About Egg Freezing That Nobody’s Talking About (WIRED)

Fertility Research Drugs Put Egg Donors At Risk (UK – The Telegraph)

‘We Simply Don’t Know’: Egg Donors Face Uncertain Long-Term Risks (StatNews)

Emotional Health

Same medicine, different reasons: Comparing women’s bodily experiences of producing eggs for pregnancy or for profit (Journal of Social Science & Medicine)

Psychological Aspects of Infertility (British Journal of  Medical Practitioners)

The Dark Side of Fertility Treatments (Psychology Today)

Selling the Fantasy of Fertility (New York Times)

Psychology of Infertility (Chapman University)

Fertility Chief Calls For Clarity on IVF Pros and Cons (BBC News)

IVF and The Marketing of Hope (BBC News)

Fertility treatments may put women at risk for PTSD symptoms, study suggests (NBC News)

Failed IVF Attempt Tied to Depression, Anxiety (Reuters)

Childless Women and Infertility (Psych Central)

Fertility Procedures & Bioethics

IVF Success Rates ‘Misleading’ (Medical Xpress)

POV – It’s Time to Regulate the Fertility Industry – (Boston University)

Assisted Reproduction – (Frontline)

Hiding deadly long term consequences of prolonged hormonal inductions is unethical  (British Medical Journal)

Ethical and Psychosocial Impact of Female Infertility (University of Texas)

The U.S. Won’t Fund Human Genetic Germline Engineering, but the UK Might

Are Clinics Telling the Truth About IVF Success Rates? (Australia)

Infertility and Fertility Related Academic Research

IVF Success Rates ‘Misleading’ (University of Manchester)

Fertility Awareness Among American University Students (Chapman University)

Study: Recovery From Traumatic Loss: A Study Of Women Living Without Children After Infertility (UPenn)

Study: Variation in Distress Among Women With Infertility (Oxford Journal)

Changing Fertility: Social, Demographic and Ethical Consequences of Assisted Conception Technologies (BioNews)

Study: “Trying” Times:  The Medicalization, Intent, and Ambiguity in the Definition of Infertility (Alfred University)

Exploring Epistemic Injustice Through Feminist Social Work Research (Karen Bell explores women’s experiences of assisted reproduction and injustice)

Constructions of “Infertility” and Some Lived Experiences of Involuntary Childlessness (Karen Bell argues that the dominant construction of “infertility” is partial, biased, and inaccurate and that it serves to maintain infertility as a “woman’s problem” to be addressed ideally via biomedicine)

Study: Examining PTSD as a Complication of Infertility

Study: The Ambiguities of ‘Social Egg Freezing’ and Informed Consent

Marketing of IVF and ReproTech

Study: “Reproducing Rhetrickery in Online Fertility Marketing

Grassroots Groups & Initiatives

Our Bodies Ourselves (Trusted information on sexuality and reproductive health)

We Are Egg Donors (Grassroots group whose mission is to advocate for any health initiatives that make donor health a top priority)

Facts about ART (compiled by health and human rights advocate and Cracked Open author Miriam Zoll)