International conference on the well-being of children born through assisted reproductive technologies

Organizers: Lidia Panico (Ined) and Virginie Rozée (Ined)

Conference organized by the Institut national d'études démographiques (Ined) - research units "Fertility, families, couples" and "Sexual and reproductive health and rights", and "International perspectives" research pole.

 4th June 2019, Paris, France
Entrance : 292 rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris

The number of children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has grown rapidly in recent decades. Today in France, one child in thirty is conceived by ART. However, little is known about the future well-being of these children, and the few available studies are not well known to the general public. These studies have also been strongly criticized because of methodological limitations, and mainly date from the 1990s or the early 2000s. In view of the recent intense debates in France on proposed changes to bioethics legislation, our knowledge about ART and their impacts on child well-being should be updated.

The conference therefore aims to present a panorama of recent longitudinal studies following children born through ART. A review of these studies seems essential today in France, where access and opportunities to such technologies are changing but the public debate is not being based on the scientific literature. The studies that will be presented have conducted detailed analyses to understand the links between ART and future child outcomes, and focus on the children as the main unit of analysis, and not the parents and their prenatal trajectory as previously done.

The purpose of this day is to give visibility to these studies and their results and to encourage further research on the subject. It will also allow a space for dialogue on this subject between different experts and actors from civil society, the medical community and governmental and legal institutions.

The morning will be devoted to the presentation of scientific studies (and perspectives from researchers in epidemiology, demography and psychology), ), based on data from several Scandinavian countries, France, and the United Kingdom; the afternoon will be devoted to two discussion panels where the methods, approaches and results presented in the morning will be discussed.