ABSTRACT
Worldwide, the utilization of assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) continues to increase annually. In 2006, over 1 million cycles were registered in the international report on ART monitoring (1). Subsequently, by 2011, it was reported that 1.5 million ART cycles were being performed each year, with an estimated 350,000 babies born worldwide (2). Well over half a million treatment cycles are initiated annually in the U.S.A., Europe, Australia, and New Zealand alone (3–5). This increasing trend of ART utilization has been driven by the steady improvement in delivery rates, improved access to care in many areas, and the relative ineffectiveness of other treatment options. The proportion of infants born after ART in Europe now ranges from 0.1% to 3.9% of all live-born children (6, 7).
