Miracle Blog

IVF Children are Smarter

Researchers at the Free University in Brussels found that children who were conceived using IVF treatment with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) on average have a higher IQ than naturally conceived children. Since its introduction in 1992, critics pointed to ICSI as potentially causing delays in an IVF baby’s development and behavior. ICSI is used in a large portion of IVF treatments at the San Diego Fertility Center.

The European study observed and measured the intelligence and overall development of 151 eight-year old children conceived with IVF treatment using ICSI. Results showed that the average IQ of children conceived with fertility treatment was on average 112, while the children conceived naturally had on average an IQ of 107. For the same reasons ICSI likely does not have any impact on lower IQs it likely is not the cause for higher IQs. It is suspected that couples who had a child through infertility treatment give their child more attention than parents who conceived their child naturally.