Women are waiting longer and longer to have their first child. Last year, the average age for first-time mothers rose above 30, figures from Statistics Norway show. At the same time, more and more people are getting help to get pregnant with a test tube. INCREASING: More and more children are born after assisted fertilization. In Denmark this applies to 10 per cent, and in Norway it is 5 per cent and increasing. (illustration picture) Photo: JOERG SARBACH / AP The increasing age of mothers is a cultural development that has many good sides, but it also has consequences, points out Hans Ivar Hanevik. He is a researcher at FHI and senior physician at the Fertility Department at Telemark Hospital. – We must not be blind to the fact that development also has some aspects that can affect how we as a species develop biologically, he says. Hanevik is also a member of the Biotechnology Council. Choosing other cells Han and Dag O. Hessen are behind a new study carried out at FHI and Telemark Hospital, which has received international attention. The study describes how the process of assisted fertilization selects sperm cells with different characteristics than if it happens naturally. These sperm swim quickly and briefly, while during intercourse sperm must swim quite far up through the uterus to fertilize the egg. The increasing trend of more children born after assisted fertilization may therefore have consequences for how humans develop as a species, according to the study. Some previous studies indicate that there is reduced sperm quality in some boys born through a test tube. This can lead to test-tube children themselves having to be helped by the technology to create children. But it is too early to say whether it is due to chance or the result of test tubes, emphasizes Hanevik. – You can imagine that we as modern people are more adapted to a world where we have technological solutions, including for reproduction, he says. Therefore, it is important to monitor the characteristics of the sperm cells that are selected, the researcher believes. Increasing in Norway In Denmark, close to 10 percent of children are born after assisted fertilization, figures from the National Board of Health show. In Norway, the figure is 5 percent, and increasing, writes the Biotechnology Council on its website. MORE CURRENT: Children born after assisted fertilization are increasing. That makes this research increasingly relevant, says Hans Ivar Hanevik, researcher at FHI and senior physician at Telemark Hospital. Photo: Vigdis Hella / news From 2020, the law was changed so that single people can also be offered assisted fertilization. – This makes this type of thought and research increasingly relevant. This does not only apply to a tiny part of the population, he says. At the department in Porsgrunn, over 5,900 children have been born with the help of test tubes. – It is a good treatment for those who need it. We keep a close eye on how the children are doing, and they are healthy, fine children, says Hanevik. – Too early to conclude It is too early to conclude whether assisted fertilization leads to reduced sperm quality, stresses Deputy Chair of the Biotechnology Council, Kristin Solum Steinsbekk. Only a few studies suggest this, and this only applies to one of the methods used through assisted fertilization (IVF), clarifies Steinsbekk. – It is difficult to know whether it has to do with the IVF process itself, hereditary factors or which gametes have been chosen. We don’t have that knowledge now, she says. PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES: – There will be new opportunities in the future when the technology improves, says deputy chairman of the Biotechnology Council, Kristin Solum Steinsbekk, about assisted fertilization. Impaired sperm quality is not specific to this group. Research shows that it falls on men in general, says Steinsbekk, and refers to a case Forskning.no mentioned a while ago. Helping couples who are involuntarily childless to have children with assisted fertilization is widely supported by the majority of the Biotechnology Council. – The increase in children born after assisted fertilization shows that we are becoming more dependent on technology to create children. It also reflects developments in Norwegian legislation, says Steinsbekk. The council closely monitors the consequences of IVF in the short and long term, she points out. Sperm quality generally falls It is important to do good research on test-tube babies, especially if it has consequences for sperm quality, emphasizes Lise Boeck Larsen. She is chairman of Ønskebarn, an interest organization for the involuntarily childless. – For those who have been conceived through assisted fertilization, it is important to know whether it is possible to distinguish whether it is assisted fertilization that is the reason for reduced sperm quality, says Jakobsen. IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Chairman of Ønskebarn, Lise Boeck Jakobsen, believes that good research on test-tube children is important. Assisted fertilization is an opportunity to have a child when you have tried the natural way, she points out. – If you are not going to use the technology with assisted fertilization, it will mean that you will be left without the child you want, she says.
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New study suggests that assisted fertilization can affect evolution – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
