Is it the patient or the IVF? Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome in both spontaneous and assisted reproductive conceptions

Objective: To describe two children diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) arising from a spontaneous conception and an assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle from one patient with a long-standing history of subfertility. Design: Case report. Setting: Academic medical center. Patient(s): Two children with the morphologic features of BWS as a result of a spontaneous conception and an ART cycle from the same patient. Intervention(s): Assisted reproductive technology. Main Outcome Measure(s): Neonatal and pediatric morphologic evaluation by geneticists. Result(s): Two children with the morphologic features consistent with the criteria for the diagnosis of BWS. Conclusion(s): Patients with subfertility may be carriers for genetic disorders that can be passed to a child with or without the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The use of ART may bypass natural selection mechanisms.