Grant: Operating Grant: Analyses of Existing Cohorts & Databases - IHDCYH

Infertility affects 1/8 Canadian couples. Fertility therapy increases the chance of pregnancy but may pose health risks to the mother. Much of the research on fertility therapy to date has focused on becoming pregnant, and on baby's health. Recently, researchers have begun to focus on the mother's health after receiving these treatments. This year, studies in the US have shown that fertility treatments are associated with severe complications to the mother during pregnancy or soon after delivery. In Canada, several provincial governments have funded fertility therapy, which means that it is used by a broader population that is socioeconomically different than that in the US. Our aim is to estimate the risk of severe complications to the mother following fertility therapy in Canada. We also will try to predict the risk of these complications in women who used fertility therapy. We will carry out these studies using information that is readily available to clinicians who counsel women before pregnancy.