Causes of ART‐related outcomes in the COVID‐19 era.

For instance, the fact that ART-conceived live births in March 2020 differ by maternal characteristics indicates fundamentally uneven rates of ART access at baseline as well as COVID-19-related ART responses that differ by maternal age and socioeconomic status. Demographers forecast rising demand for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in high-income countries owing to the increased postponement of childbearing to older ages.[[1]] Whereas live births arising from ART in the US accounted for 1.3 percent of live births in 2019, this figure represents almost a doubling relative to that of 2015.[3] ART in some European countries (e.g., Denmark), moreover, accounts for over 6% of live births.[2] This rising prevalence, combined with the well-documented adverse perinatal outcomes associated with the population suffering from impaired fecundity and seeking ART,[4] implies that the clinical and epidemiological community should pay attention when ART-related births abruptly rise or fall. Sudden changes in ART-related live births could arise from interruptions in clinical care, perturbations (either positive or negative) in the health of ART-conceived pregnancies, or large shifts in the composition of persons who select ART services. [Extracted from the article]