A slew of articles recently released by major publications like the Washington Post, MSNBC, Businessweek, and HealthDay News highlight the CDC’s recent report revealing the rise in twin births in the US.

According to the report, there has been a 76% increase in the birth of twins since 1980.  Experts contribute the upward trend to women waiting to have children, as the chance of having multiples increases after 30, with much of the rise being attributed to fertility treatments.

As these articles point out, and we here at New Hope have argued time and time again, the rise in multiple births is not among the healthier “trends” to which fertility care specialists should be contributing.  Rather, multiple births suggest fertility care specialists and their patients are opting for multiple embryo transfers as they undergo fertility treatments, which only put the mother and child in more danger if they are to become pregnant with multiples.  Multiple pregnancies often coincide with an array of difficulties that put both mother and child at risk; and it should be noted that “more than half of [all] twins are born with low birthweight” (source: HealthDay News).

The upward twin trend should inspire more fertility doctors to advise their patients about the dangers of multiple births that can result from multiple embryo transfers and encourage single embryo transfers (SET).  Some may argue that patients prefer the “faster” track of conventional IVF, which commonly involves hyperstimulation to increase the woman’s chances of producing viable eggs; however, when it comes down to the long-term health of the mother and child, single embryo transfers and minimal stimulation protocols such as Mini-IVF™ offer a much safer alternative to conventional IVF protocols.  We believe if more patients were educated on the health and cost effectiveness of single embryo transfers and minimal stimulation options, the twin trend could be controlled, resulting in healthier pregnancies and therefore healthier children.

You can read more on our single embryo transfer protocols here.

According to an article in UK publication The Telegraph last week, there has been an increase in women reducing their pregnancies after undergoing IVF treatments.

Between 2006 and 2010, The Department of Health found a 70% increase in women who were pregnant with multiples choosing to reduce their pregnancy. The process, termed selective reduction, is closely linked with IVF treatments where multiple embryos are transferred, therefore resulting in (some instances) unwanted multiple pregnancies.
Considering the stress multiple pregnancies can put on both the mother and child, not to mention the cost of pre and postnatal care, it is understandable why more and more women are choosing to undergo pregnancy reduction; however, this emotionally and physically stressful procedure can be avoided with the standardization of single embryo transfers within the fertility care field.

Too often do we hear of risky multiple pregnancies that lead to unfavorable outcomes, which we feel at New Hope, can be avoided with the proliferation of single embryo transfers within the fertility care field.   You can read more on the fertility industry’s call for more single embryo transfers here. Together, we can minimize unnecessary selective reduction procedures!

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) called on the fertility care community to expand the practice of single embryo transfers (SET) when performing in vitro fertilization procedures.  The societies made the announcement last week at ASRM’s 67th Annual Meeting in Orlando.

New Hope Fertility Center has been a longtime advocate of the practice of SET and continually push for its increased use in the fertility care field.  As we’ve reported before, SET is essential when conducting more patient-centered care, as it decreases the health risks associated with multiple pregnancies.  In addition, the practice of SET lessens the chance for unnecessary procedures, such as pregnancy reduction, and cuts back costs associated with perinatal and neonatal care often needed in the case of high risk births due to multiple embryo transfers.

The report also aligns with New Hope’s observations on single embryo transfer success rates.  As the report states, “clinics promoting eSET (elective single embryo transfer) may be at a disadvantage as they appear to have lower ‘success’ rates than those utilizing DET even though the total ‘success’ rates are comparable” (source: ASRM/SART Practice Committees).  This evidence only serves to strengthen the call for more SET, as it shows the practice still has healthy success rates, while also serving to promote the use of the method in an effort to popularize customized fertility care.

While the committees are understandably concerned about push back from patients desiring twins and those concerned with the potential of having to pay for additional IVF treatment if the first round of IVF fails, the ultimate goal of spreading the practice of SET is to increase the chance of a healthy pregnancy.  With the right amount of patient education, fertility care experts can ensure their patients understand SET considers long-term cost effectiveness, as it reduces the chance of multiple births that eventually acquire more healthcare costs due to complications from low birth weights, premature births and other issues.

You can read the full report from ASRM and SART’s Practice Committees here, and visit us to learn more about our “One Good Egg” and single embryo transfer policies.

We recently came across a story in the New York Times Magazine and felt the need to respond.

Earlier this week, New Hope highlighted the benefits of single embryo transfers as expressed in an article over at the Fertility Authority.  As longstanding advocates of single embryo transfers with IVF treatments, it is our belief that unwanted multiple births can be easily prevented in the fertility field by trending away from multiple embryo transfers.  Not only is single embryo transfer less risky for both mother and child, but generally more healthy and cost effective in the short and long-term.

“The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy” profiles a woman pregnant with twins via donor egg IVF who plans to reduce her pregnancy to a single fetus.  The decision for a pregnancy reduction was made by her and her husband to alleviate the financial weight of twins along with the potential emotional weight of balancing two newborns with other children to concentrate on already.

While we understand and take into consideration the issue of reproductive rights, pregnancy reduction as a result of IVF treatment is avoidable.  The processes behind IVF, and any type of care associated with treating infertility, are already understood to be both physically and emotionally challenging for women (and couples) undergoing treatment.  When the issue of pregnancy reduction comes into the equation, this additional concern unquestionably adds more stress to an already stressful situation.

It is clear that a more customized fertility plan would have been more effective in this case.  Rather than implanting multiple embryos as practiced under conventional IVF protocols, this unwanted multiple pregnancy could have been avoided with the application of a single embryo transfer and an understanding between doctor and patient that a multiple pregnancy was not the desired outcome.

You can read the full story here.

Last month we mentioned the possibility of Nadya Suleman’s fertility doctor getting his license revoked due to negligence.  As of Wednesday, the Medical Board of California has gone through with the revocation (source: NYTimes).

Better known as the “octomom,” Suleman became pregnant with eight children through the fertility treatment of Dr. Michael Kamrava, who admits to implanting the then 33-year-old with 12 embryos.  As reported previously, Suleman’s case is not an isolated incident – two other patients have suffered complications from Kamrava’s IVF treatments.

Already the mother of six children as a result of IVF treatments through Kamrava, Suleman’s case is a prime example of the importance of standards in dealing with women’s reproductive health.  Conventional IVF treatments, coupled with high doses of medication and multiple embryo transfers, has consistently proven to be a high risk treatment that leads to multiple child pregnancies that carry risk for both mother and child.  Suleman is only the second mother in the US to give birth to octoplets alive, with many other instances leading to low birth rates and other complications.

At NHFC, we take pride in treating each patients individual needs with an emphasis on taking the most natural and minimally evasive routes in the quest to get our potential mother’s pregnant.  For more information on our natural and Mini-IVF protocols, click here.