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Michigan Assisted Reproductive Technology Summit

In May 2016, the MDHHS Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology Section, in collaboration with the Michigan Infertility Advisory Committee (MIADCO), held a one-day Michigan Assisted Reproductive Technology (MiART) Summit.

The MiART Summit related to the Governor’s Dashboard and Michigan’s priority to reduce infant mortality and eliminate disparities, specifically by reducing premature birth. Although births resulting from Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) accounted for 1.2% of all births in Michigan during 2013, 44.2% of ART births were multiples, 37.4% were born preterm, and 30.1% were low birthweight.1  While both preterm birth and low birthweight are common among all multiples, the incidence of preterm and low birthweight is higher among ART infants. A number of factors may underlie this increase among women undergoing ART; however, several factors are amenable to intervention.

The Summit brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to examine the contribution of ART to preterm births in Michigan and develop recommendations for state action in key issue areas including:

  1. Provider practice,
  2. Policy/insurance coverage,
  3. Patient education, and
  4. Understanding the contribution of other, non-ART fertility treatments on multiple birth and preterm birth.

Recommendations generated during the MiART Summit will be used to develop a State Action Plan to improve ART access, practices and birth outcomes in Michigan.

The MiART Summit was open to anyone with an interest in ART and reducing preterm births including practitioners, researchers, public health professionals, policy makers, insurers/health plans, consumers, legal experts, ethicists, genetic counselors, and other healthcare professionals working in infertility, prenatal and neonatal settings.

MiART Summit Preliminary Agenda

MiART Summit Presenters

MiART Summit Report

Support for the MiART Summit is provided by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)

 


1 Sunderam, S., Kissin, D., Crawford S., et al. Assisted Reproductive Technology in the United States—2013, MMWR Dec. 4, 2015 / 64(ss11); 1-25.