The most common ART form is in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which involves an egg being taken out of ovaries, fertilized with sperm in a laboratory, and then placed into a uterus. Up until the last decade multiple embryos were transferred into a uterus during IVF to increase the chances that at least one would stick and develop into a fetus. That raises the risk of multiple pregnancy, which increases the odds of a preterm birth. Presently, practitioners can biopsy cells from an embryo to do genetic testing to decrease the odds of a miscarriage, so only one embryo needs to be transferred during IVF. ART was first realized around 1978 when the first successful human IVF pregnancy took place in England. By 2019, 2.1% of all babies born in the US and Puerto Rico were conceived using this medical technology.
The cost of IVF the most common form of ART is not cheap, therefore all perspective couples should weigh the risks versus success rates in the clinic they are interested in.
