This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 803958).

Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) is one of the most important achievements of medical science in the last generation. In developed countries, the number of MAR treatments increases every year. Over the last four decades, more than five million MAR conceived children were born, and many more families received treatment. Given this trend, it is a public health priority to find out whether MAR affects the wellbeing of families. Prior findings are mixed and often hampered by low statistical power or conceptual limitations.

We will conduct a programme of cutting-edge research, the first of its kind to comprehensively analyse the effects of MAR on children, adults, and families. This investigation will be carried out through a combination of uniquely rich data (including the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), and Population Register Data from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Utah), previously unused research designs, and conceptual innovations.

First, in contrast to past work using small or convenience samples, we use extremely detailed and large datasets from population registers and surveys. Second, we compare the impact of MAR on different domains of life by analysing its effects on a range of adult and child outcomes (e.g., physical/mental health, education, union stability), thereby allowing us to investigate trade-offs that have not been previously tested. Third, we use innovative research designs to test whether the impact of MAR is causal by comparing children conceived through MAR treatments to their spontaneously conceived siblings, and adults who successfully conceive through MAR to those who are unsuccessful.