Assisted reproductive technology (ART) offers infertile patients and couples carrying hereditary diseases the possibility of achieving normal conception and delivering healthy offspring. However, ART is also associated with certain risks of complications. This paper primarily elucidates the potential factors and mechanisms through which ART may induce epigenetic alterations, particularly abnormalities in DNA methylation. It further explores the adverse effects of DNA methylation abnormalities at different genomic loci on fetal development, including an increased incidence of placental abnormalities, a higher risk of preeclampsia, and elevated rates of adverse perinatal outcomes. In addition, several improvement strategies are proposed, such as supplementation with moderate doses of folic acid and the implementation of single-embryo transfer, aiming to reduce ART-related epigenetic abnormalities and the risk of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes.

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