IVF Baby Boom: Births From Fertility Procedures Hit New High
By Michaeleen Doucleff,
NPR
| 02. 18. 2014
More couples than ever are turning to in vitro fertilization to help build families.
In 2012, more than 61,000 babies were conceived with the help of IVF, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported Monday.
That means IVF babies made up 1.5 percent of the 3.9 million births in the U.S, the agency wrote on its website. And it makes 2012 the biggest year for IVF on record: Doctors performed the most procedures and delivered the most IVF babies.
Over the past decade, the number of IVF treatments has been rising. Doctors performed about 113,000 cycles back in 2003. That number jumped by nearly 50 percent to about 165,000 in 2012.
"A lot of individuals — specifically women — are choosing to develop their careers, and they're having great opportunities, " says Charles Coddington III, an OB-GYN at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and president of SART. "So a lot of them are getting older before they have children, and they are needing more IVF services."
At the same time, the number of high-risk multiple births from the treatment...
Related Articles
By Dr. Coco Newton, Progress Educational Trust | 03.30.2026
Have you ever wondered what it means to have dozens of half-siblings across the world – or to never know where half of your genetic identity comes from? A recent episode of Zembla explores the human consequences of the global...
By Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe, Wired | 04.24.2026
Two companies that launched last year with plans to create gene-edited babies have already shut down, citing money issues and internal conflict.
One of them, Manhattan Genomics of New York, closed abruptly shortly after announcing a team of scientific advisers...
By Alexandre Piquard, Le Monde [cites Katie Hasson] | 04.27.2026
"Si on en prouve la sûreté, nous croyons que l’édition préventive du génome pourrait être l’une des technologies de santé les plus importantes du siècle. » Lucas Harrington explique ainsi le but de son entreprise Preventive : créer des bébés génétiquement modifiés...
By Abby Vesoulis, Mother Jones | 04.18.2026
Two years ago, we devoted an entire issue to the rise of the American oligarchy. Since then, our oligarchic system has become more entrenched and pervasive, revolving around a small crew of tech titans whose quest for wealth and...
