Fertility link to baby health

Women who take more than a year to conceive could run twice the risk of pregnancy complications.

Low fertility means women are more likely to give birth prematurely, have an underweight baby or need a Caesarean, scientists found.

It made no difference whether the women had undergone successful fertility treatment or eventually conceived naturally.

While the scientists could not explain what was behind the link, they said in many cases the underlying causes of infertility could also be responsible for triggering later birth complications.

Mothers who were older, overweight or smoked suffered more problems. Other factors are thought to include sexually transmitted infections, hormonal imbalances, placenta problems and stress.

The team from the US and Canada hope the study of 56,000 births will encourage better pre-natal care from doctors for women who struggle to get pregnant. 'If infertility is a risk factor for poor pregnancy outcomes, identifying such pregnancies as high risk so they can be closely monitored might reduce adverse events,' Dr Olga Basso told the journal Human Reproduction.

Britain has the highest rate of premature births in Europe, with 100 babies born each day.

About ten per cent die or develop disabilities.

Meanwhile, a separate study has found women who donate eggs to fertility clinics do not compromise their own chances of having a baby.