It?s been 40 years since the world?s first IVF baby was born in England. That infant, Louise Brown, came into the world surrounded by controversy. There were debates about the ethics of making ?test-tube babies? (even the Pope weighed in) and worries that the child or the mother would suffer some kind of lasting health effect.
In the decades since, in vitro fertilization has shifted from being front-page news to a standard choice available to couples struggling with infertility. Refinements in the procedure have boosted the average success rate of an IVF cycle from 10 percent to 40 percent, and research has helped doctors identify the most common side effects and risks during pregnancy and birth.
But there is still a dearth of research that focuses on the long-term impact of the fertility drugs (which boost hormones) that are almost always part of the IVF cycle; almost all the studies so far have tracked only success rates and what happens during pregnancy. ?There are still clearly gaps, in terms of the long-term side effects, that we need to look at more in depth,? says Jacob Udell, a cardiologist and clinician-scientist at Women?s College Hospital in Toronto. ?We?re now starting to look at these tough questions.? This information is key for the one in seven couples who suffer from infertility in Canada, especially those who choose IVF, which leads to 1 to 2 percent of births every year. Can fertility drugs cause pregnancy complications" 

One area of concern i...