An article in the October 29th edition of the Los Angeles Times, “1 in vitro embryo may be best” reports on data from the New England Journal of Medicine that shows by transferring more than one embryo doctors are increasing the odds of having twins, creating a riskier pregnancy for both mother and baby.
Increased risks of twins over a single IVF baby include a greater chance of prematurity, cerebral palsy, birth defects, developmental delays and death for the babies, and gestational diabetes, bleeding and preeclampsia for the mother.
Researchers from Sweden expanded the results from a 2004 study showed a difference of 43% live birth from two embryo transfer; 39% from a single embryo transfer. That difference was not statistically significant. One third of the patients in the double-embryo group had twins or triplets, compared with only 1% in the single-embryo group.
At Reproductive Partners we have been encouraging single embryo blastocyst transfer in appropriate couples who have a good prognosis for success and excellent embryo quality. The biggest barrier to acceptance of this concept seems to be financial. In the U.S., most couples pay for IVF out-of-pocket, where in many European countries the procedure is covered by national health insurance. So a couple with a failed cycle not only has to deal with teh disappointment of not succeeding, they are faced with paying for another fresh or a frozen cycle.