NEW YORK, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Fertility Association announces “Footprints: The IVF Children’s Health Study,” the first longitudinal, prospective, and scientifically objective study that chronicles the health and welfare of children conceived through IVF.
“As part of our joint responsibility to follow the children born through IVF, The American Fertility Association, in collaboration with leading reproductive endocrinologists, has identified the need for ‘Footprints,’” said Pamela Madsen, Executive Director and Founder of The American Fertility Association.
There are at least 250,000 IVF children born in the U.S. to date. “Footprints” will deliver facts -- not hypotheses -- about the physical, emotional and intellectual development of this significant and growing population. Previous studies have been flawed: their data collection has been limited and their conclusions incomplete. The “Footprints” study will redress this information gap with high-quality, longitudinal data.
“Footprints” is a partnership between The American Fertility Association (formerly The American Infertility Association) and the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.
The American Fertility Association and RAND Health have begun to work closely on the data collection strategies for this innovative research endeavor. This forward-looking study will track multiple gestations, birth weight, birth defects, surgical procedures, physical health, and developmental milestones for IVF children. It will also include at least one control group, the children of infertile couples conceived through Intrauterine Inseminations (IUI), and possibly others. Study methods will be designed to produce the most comprehensive and accurate data possible; implementation of the study design will be carefully monitored to ensure continuing data quality.
“‘Footprints’ will provide patients trying to conceive, IVF parents and their children, physicians, and allied industry with important information about the health of IVF children,” said Owen Davis, M.D., AFA Medical Director and Associate Director, The Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornell University.
“It is critical to understand the effects of IVF on children and families. RAND is committed to working with The AFA to create a rigorous study design and oversee the integrity of its implementation. This will ensure that the data and findings from the study will be credible in the scientific community and useful to patients and their families,” said Gail L. Zellman, Ph.D., RAND Senior Research Psychologist and the director of the RAND portion of the Footprints study.
“It is appropriate for this study to be a patient-driven initiative conducted by The AFA,” said Ms. Madsen. “Patients have no professional bias, so having a patient-driven study avoids potential conflict of interest from a medical- or industry-led initiative.”
“Given that infertility is a national public health issue, it is essential that the U.S. government provide funding to support ‘Footprints,’ said Richard T. Scott, Jr., AFA Scientific Director and Managing Partner of Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA). “This study has the potential to benefit the current generation of IVF children and will also benefit future generations of these children as well.”
“Footprints” is supervised by a scientific advisory committee, which assists with the planning and monitoring of the study. Advisors include AFA medical and scientific committee members, RAND analysts, reproductive endocrinologists, patient advocates, mental health professionals, epidemiologists, pediatricians, and others.
Serono, Inc. has provided The AFA with an unrestricted educational grant for “Footprints,” which will serve as initial funding to assist with the development of the study design and the collection of pilot data from a cross- section of U.S. IVF centers. The AFA and the RAND Corporation will seek federal funding for “Footprints,” enabling it to become an expanded national study.
“‘Footprints’ is a bold first step and, as an IVF mother, this is the best gift I could ever give to my children,” added Ms. Madsen.
THE AMERICAN FERTILITY ASSOCIATION (AFA) is a national organization dedicated to educating, supporting and advocating for men and women concerned with reproductive health, fertility preservation, infertility and all forms of family building.
Visit http://www.theafa.org/ for more information and support. Contact: Frank Fusco David Eng Communications 212-714-3537 frank@decpr.com
The American Fertility Association
CONTACT: Frank Fusco, David Eng Communications, +1-212-714-3537,frank@decpr.com
Web site: http://www.theafa.org/