Background The increased risk of low birth weight associatedwith the use of assisted reproductive technology has been attributedlargely to the higher rate of multiple gestations associatedwith such technology. It is uncertain, however, whether singletoninfants conceived with the use of assisted reproductive technologymay also have a higher risk of low birth weight than those whoare conceived spontaneously.
Methods We used population-based data to compare the rates oflow birth weight (2500 g) and very low birth weight (<1500g) among infants conceived with assisted reproductive technologywith the rates in the general population.
Results We studied 42,463 infants who were born in 1996 and1997 and conceived with assisted reproductive technology andused as a comparison group 3,389,098 infants born in the UnitedStates in 1997. Among singleton infants born at 37 weeks ofgestation or later, those conceived with assisted reproductivetechnology had a risk of low birth weight that was 2.6 timesthat in the general population (95 percent confidence interval,2.4 to 2.7). The use of assisted reproductive technology wasassociated with an increased rate of multiple gestations; however,its use was not associated with a further increase in the riskof low birth weight in multiple births. Among twins, the ratioof the rate of low birth weight after the use of assisted reproductivetechnology to the rate in the general population was 1.0 (95percent confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.1). Infants conceivedwith assisted reproductive technology accounted for 0.6 percentof all infants born to mothers who were 20 years of age or olderin 1997, but for 3.5 percent of low-birth-weight and 4.3 percentof very-low-birth-weight infants.
Conclusions The use of assisted reproductive technology accountsfor a disproportionate number of low-birth-weight and very-low-birth-weightinfants in the United States, in part because of absolute increasesin multiple gestations and in part because of higher rates oflow birth weight among singleton infants conceived with thistechnology.
Source Information
From the Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.
Address reprint requests to Dr. Schieve at the Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop K-34, 4770 Buford Hwy., NE, Atlanta, GA 30341, or at LJS9{at}cdc.gov.
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2500 g) and very low birth weight (<1500 g) among infants conceived with assisted reproductive technology with the rates in the general population. 
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