Informed consent in assisted reproductive technology: Implications for pediatric clinicians

This review discusses assisted reproductive technology (ART), which is a medical procedure that helps people conceive a child. Parents may worry that their use of ART impacts their child's health, and they may express these concerns to their pediatrician or other healthcare provider. The authors explore the difficulties that pediatric clinicians have when counseling parents on such topics.

The present article is meant to help pediatric clinicians understand ART, including the risks associated with the procedure and the complex informed consent process the parents must go through with their fertility doctor (called a reproductive endocrinologist). Informed consent, where a healthcare provider and their patient discuss important information about a procedure or treatment, including possible risks and benefits, is a vital yet challenging part of the ART process.

The authors describe what the family using ART may have experienced including the emotional, medical, legal, and financial stressors and the informed consent process they have been through, in hopes of helping pediatric clinicians improve their care.