Fewer in vitro (IVF) multiple births in 2013 SART report

More than 1.5% of babies born in 2013 owe their lives to in vitro fertilization, and fewer of them were twins or triplets, according to new figures from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

A total of 63,286 babies were born as a result of 174,962 attempts to use assisted reproduction treatments, according to the report. Both figures represent small increases from 2012.

Women younger than 35 had the most success with these fertility treatments. In this age group, attempts involving a woman’s own, fresh eggs resulted in live births 40% of the time. In cases in which women used their own eggs that had been frozen and then thawed, the success rate was 44%.

The older the patient, the lower the birth rate.

For women between 35 and 37, 31% of assisted reproduction cycles using fresh eggs ended with a baby, as did 40% of cycles involving previously frozen eggs.

For women 43 or older, 5% of cycles using fresh eggs and 21% of cycles using thawed eggs led to a baby.

The most striking figures in the report involved the number of embryos women elected to transfer at a time.

The hefty expense of fertility treatments has prompted many women to transfer many embryos at once to maximize their chances. But that also makes triplets, quadruplets and other higher-order multiples more likely — a potential danger for mother and children.

So fertility specialists have made a point of encouraging women to transfer fewer embryos at a time.

It seems to be working: 23% of women under 35 opted for a single embryo transfer in 2013, up from 15% the year before.

The total for all age groups was 12,085 twin births and 376 triplet births in 2013, down from 12,436 twins and 411 triplets in 2012.

At RPMG we have been trying to reduce multiple birth rates for years by encouraging elective single embryo transfers (eSET) in appropriate patients. In 2013 RPMG reported no triplet or greater pregnancies. Our trend toward more single embryo transfers has been strengthened by an increase in patients electing to have preimplantation genetic screening for chromsomes (PGS) allowing us to transfer one embryo known to be chromosomally normal resulting in excellent success rates with a greatly reduced chance of multiple pregnancy.