Most Ivf Parents Plan to Tell Kids: Survey

The majority of parents who conceived through assisted reproduction plan to tell their children about their conception, but they're often uncertain how to go about it, a UK survey suggests.

The study included couples who had conceived using their own eggs and sperm, with the help of either conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

A woman's egg is made pregnant with sperm in a lab dish, then imbedded in her womb after few days. A latest form of IVF is ICSI that can be used whenever a problem with the number, function or quality of a man's sperm; it includes injecting a single sperm into an egg without deviation, which step-ups the chances it will be made pregnant successfully.

In the new study, researchers found that among parents of 181 5- and 6-year-olds who had been conceived through standard IVF or ICSI, most either planned to tell their children about their conception or had already done so.

Overall, 16 percent of mothers and 21 percent of fathers were undecided about the issue, while a handful of fathers -- but no mothers -- said they would never tell their children about their conception.

The survey also found that while most parents wanted to tell their children about their conception, there was some uncertainty about when and how to broach the topic. The large majority of parents who planned on telling their children said they would like the help of some "child-friendly" literature.