It is a pleasure to see this book in print. It represents work on an immense importance to assisted human conception. Numerous books have presented virtually every aspect of follicular growth, fertilization, male and female sterility and implantation.This is among the rare books dedicated to pr- nancy,birth and infant growth. Since the introduction of IVF,it has been clear that various problems could be associated with pregnancy after assisted human conception. The first clinical IVF pregnancy after the transfer of a 5-day blastocyst turned out to be ectopic,and this subjecthas neverbeen farfrom debates on the safety of assi- ed human conception ever since. Ectopic and heterotopic pregnancies were two factors stressed in early days of wor- wide IVF,and multiple pregnancies emerged as perhaps as an even more serious problem as high degrees of ovarian sti- lation began to be practised in some clinics. These chapters add the experience of the author, working in a large German IVF team,to discussions on these topics in this book.

1 A Follow-up of Pregnancies in Assisted Reproduction: Necessity and Problems

Why Is It Necessary to Perform a Follow-up of Pregnancies After an ART Procedure?
Why Do Not All Centres Perform a Follow-up of Pregnancies After an ART Procedure?
Conclusion
2 Incidence of Early Abortions and Ectopic Pregnancies in Assisted Reproduction
Definitions
Incidence of Spontaneous Abortions
Incidence of Ectopic Pregnancies
Incidence of Heterotopic Pregnancies
Incidence of Disappearing Gestational Sacs
Is There a Higher Abortion Risk Following ART?
3 Incidence of Chromosomal Abnormalities in Abortions After Assisted Reproduction
Monosomy
Trisomy
Triploidy
Tetraploidy
Structural Chromosomal Anomalies
Mosaics
Factors that Might Influence the Incidence of Chromosomal Anomalies
Conclusion
4 Assisted Reproduction and Prenatal Diagnosis
Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis
Non-invasive Prenatal Diagnosis
Conclusion
5 Obstetric Outcome of Pregnancies After Assisted Reproduction
Singletons Conceived by ART Versus Spontaneously Conceived Pregnancies
Singleton Versus Multiple Pregnancies After IVF or IVF/ICSI
Multiple Pregnancies After ART Versus Spontaneously Conceived Multiple Pregnancies
Higher Order Multiple Pregnancies Following ART
Obstetric Outcome of Pregnancies After Cryopreservation
Conclusion
6 Oocyte Donation
Oocyte Recipients and Donors
Obstetric Outcome in Oocyte Donation Pregnancies
The Impact of Age
Conclusion
7 Congenital Malformations After ART
Congenital Malformations After IVF
Congenital Malformations After ICSI
Congenital Malformations After SUZI
Congenital Malformations After GIFT or Intrauterine Insemination
Congenital Malformations After Cryopreservation
An Increased Risk for Certain Malformations
Conclusion
8 Perinatal Outcome and Follow-up of Children Born from ART
Descriptive Studies Without Control Groups
Controlled Studies
Follow-up of Children From Cryopreserved Embryos
Conclusion
9 Development of Children of Lesbian Mothers After Using Assisted Reproduction Techniques
Development of Children of Lesbian Mothers in General
Children Conceived Via Donor Insemination by Lesbian Mothers
Conclusion
10 Development of Children and Family Structure After IVF and Gamete Donation
Children and Their Parents After IVF
Children and Their Parents After Gamete Donation
Conclusion
11 General Conclusions
Abbreviation List
References.