But Will Your IVF Baby Be Healthy? The Part No One Mentions

You're sitting in an IVF clinic. You've heard about the success rates, the costs and the shots. Then one of you asks the question under all the others: "Will our baby be healthy?"

So you go looking. The main American patient fact sheet on IVF risks gives the child's health a few short paragraphs, mostly about birth defects. The UK's fertility regulator lists "possible birth defects" in one line. Europe's patient leaflet on embryo transfer talks mostly about the risks of twins and preterm birth.

The deeper research is out there. Medical journals carry long reviews on children conceived through IVF. Hart and Norman wrote one in 2013. Berntsen and colleagues wrote another in 2019. Between them, they cover birth defects, preterm birth, the heart and blood pressure, cancer, and how children grow and learn. Each review sums up many smaller studies. Many of those studies look at one health problem in one narrow group: one country's records, one clinic or one IVF method. Many follow the children for only a few years. Both reviews say the long-term data are limited. And both use technical words for doctors, so they're hard for couples to read.

Researchers usually set up these studies to answer one question: did IVF itself cause this problem? Infertility, twins and preterm birth make that hard to prove. So when a study can't prove IVF caused a problem, the result tends to read as reassurance. Your question is different. You want to know how likely your child is to face each of these problems, over a whole life. No journal review puts that in one place for you, from birth into adulthood, in plain words. So the answer to your biggest question sits in a blind spot.

You can't give informed consent to a choice you can't see clearly. You deserve to know what it may mean for the child it could bring.

We searched for a book that gathers this research for couples.

Besides Fran Güell's, we couldn't find any resource like it.

Fran brings that research into the light.

He spent more than ten years reading the research on children conceived in a lab. Then he wrote a book for the people who are about to start IVF.

He joins the Save the Uterus Club live on Thursday, November 19.

Who is Fran Güell?

Francisco Güell Pelayo, PhD, goes by Fran. He's a full professor and researcher at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. At the university's Institute for Culture and Society, he coordinates the Mind-Brain Group.

He studied biology and philosophy, and he holds a master's degree in bioethics and a doctorate in philosophy. His research covers the philosophy of biology, genetics and epigenetics, and bioethics.

I met Fran at the IIRRM Congress in Orlando this October, where he gave a lecture. I was impressed by his book. Few scientists dig this deep into what the data mean for real families. Our post on X about his lecture has had more than 11,000 views.

What is The Last In Vitro about?

His book is The Last In Vitro. He first published it in Spanish in December 2025 as El último in vitro, and he presented it at the Madrid Official College of Physicians (Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Madrid). Both editions are on Amazon.

He wrote it for a general reader who is thinking about IVF or other lab-based fertility treatment. He wanted to give them, in his words, "information that is not usually offered by the clinics."

The book looks at the health of children conceived through these treatments. It sorts the health problems in the research into three groups:

• problems found before birth
• problems that show up at birth or in the newborn weeks
• conditions that appear later in childhood

The examples run from heart defects and preterm birth to some childhood cancers. The book also asks how well the techniques work, and it looks at other paths, such as restorative medicine.

The references from his book are now in the RRM Academy research library, so anyone can read the studies for themselves.

What did the B2-InF study find about fertility clinic websites?

Fran led B2-InF, which stands for Be Better Informed About Fertility. The European Commission funded it with 1.2 million euros. From 2020 to 2023, the team looked at what fertility clinic websites tell people in eight European countries, Spain among them.

The team found that much of what clinics say is incomplete or unclear on key points. Most clinics report success as a positive pregnancy test.

They don't report it as a baby born alive. And a baby born alive isn't always a healthy baby, born at term.

Added health risks for children conceived in a lab were often missing or played down.

One paper from the project looked at five leading clinics in Spain. Their websites used vague terms and overly hopeful numbers. They often didn't break results out by a woman's age or by the type of treatment. That makes it hard for a couple to judge their own real chances.

Why is Fran Güell speaking to the Save the Uterus Club?

A woman deserves the full picture before she agrees to any treatment. Fran's work is about that full picture. It asks what a couple is told, what they're left to find out later, and what happens to the children.

His work is reaching people who make health policy, too. In October he presented to Chile's National Health Commission, and its members asked him about restorative reproductive medicine.

His talk is "What You Deserve to Know Before IVF," with the subtitle "The Future of Reproductive Medicine: Science, Transparency, and Informed Consent." In his words, he'll explore "the challenges and opportunities facing Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM), comparing it with assisted reproductive technologies (ART)," with particular attention to "the scientific evidence on health risks associated with ART" and "the importance of informed consent." He speaks for his own work.

The numbers you're given are counted from the clinic's side. At best, they stop at a baby born alive, which is the lowest bar there is.

The number you care about is rarely reported, and you may not know to ask for it. You want a healthy baby, born at term, with the best start for lifelong health. We believe that start comes before conception, in the months before pregnancy. RRM Academy teaches preconception health for this reason, because it shapes the health of a whole generation.

How do I join Fran Güell's talk?

Fran joins the Save the Uterus Club live online on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at noon Eastern (6 PM in Spain). We'll leave time for your questions after his talk.

The session is for Save the Uterus Club members, who get the link. Members, join the session here.

The Save the Uterus Club is RRM Academy's community. Join the Save the Uterus Club for this session and the full session library. Our sessions are education. Members learn the research and take it to their own care teams.

Bring your questions, and bring your partner if you're planning a family together.