The second significant risk factor was
multiple embryos transferred in treatment.
Not exact matches
After the removal and fertilization of eggs with the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), some women with
multiple embryos (fertilized eggs) may decide to have a single
embryo transferred to the womb even when
multiple embryos are available (elective single
embryo transfer eSET).
Transferring more than one
embryo increases the likelihood of a
multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets, etc.).
Our low number of
embryos transferred has resulted in a low number of high - order
multiple pregnancies, so that we have not had a high order
multiple pregnancy among more than 1000 IVF pregnancies achieved since mid-2010.
Blastocyst
transfer is a procedure allowing the
transfer of fewer
embryos into the uterus while maintaining high pregnancy rates and reducing the risk of high order
multiple pregnancy (triplets and greater).
We are striving very hard to limit the number of twins, and eliminate the occurrence of higher order
multiples (see below) using techniques such as
embryo selection and blastocyst
transfers, and the introduction of «elective single
embryo transfer».
Single
embryo transfer reduces the odds of a high - risk
multiple pregnancy, improving safety for both the mother and her baby.
When deciding on the number of
embryos to recommend for
transfer, we carefully weigh all factors with the goal of offering each patient the highest chance of pregnancy with the lowest possible risk of a high - order
multiple gestation (we have this discussion again at the time of
embryo transfer).
San Francisco, CA — March 11, 2016 — Providing new data on the hazards of
transferring two or more
embryos after IVF, researchers at Pacific Fertility Center (PFC) report that
transferring two or more
embryos results in a high rate of
multiple gestation with a significant increase in the risk of preterm delivery.
Human
multiple births can occur either naturally (the woman ovulates
multiple eggs or the fertilized egg splits into two) or as the result of infertility treatments such as IVF (several
embryos are often
transferred to compensate for lower quality) or fertility drugs (which can cause
multiple eggs to mature in one ovulatory cycle).
Although recent studies suggest that
transferring more
embryos won't necessarily increase your odds of success, it does increase the odds of
multiples when there is a success.
PGS reduces the risk of
multiple pregnancies because we can more confidently
transfer one healthy
embryo and therefore reduce the incidence of twin pregnancies.
This helps us identify the healthiest, most viable
embryo to be
transferred, which helps increase the success rate and reduce the incidence of
multiple pregnancy.
«What we want this technology to achieve is confidence to switch to single
embryo transfers instead of the practice of
transferring multiple embryos without [an accompanying] reduction in pregnancy rate,» study co-authors Gayle Jones and David Cram, senior research scientists in immunology and stem cells at Monash University in Australia, wrote in an e-mail.
Campaigns for the widespread use of single
embryo transfer in IVF, he added, would lower the risk of ectopic pregnancy even further by minimising the number of
multiple pregnancies.
Several risk factors have been proposed, including abnormalities in the Fallopian tubes (an indication for IVF),
transfer of
multiple embryos, or the treatment technique itself.
The most important reason is the dramatic decline in
multiple births due to policies of choosing to
transfer only one
embryo at a time,» concluded Dr Henningsen.
«These data show that if there is a national policy to
transfer only one
embryo per cycle during assisted reproduction, this not only lowers the rates of
multiple pregnancies, but also has an important effect on the health of the single baby,» she said.
This means patients and doctors are under less pressure to maximise the immediate chance of pregnancy by
transferring more than one
embryo, which comes with the risk of
multiple pregnancy.
The practice of freezing
embryos and then thawing them and
transferring them to women's wombs (known as frozen
embryo transfer or FET) also increased by 27.6 % between 2008 and 2010; FET cycles had approximately half the
multiple birth rate when compared with fresh
embryo transfers, namely 13 % (2008), 11.9 % (2009) and 12 % (2010), with just 0.6 % triplet births in all three years.
These might include requests to select the sex of an
embryo for nonmedical purposes or to
transfer multiple embryos, despite the increased risks.
His current research interests include developing morphologic and biologic markers of
embryo viability in order to enable single
embryo transfer and avoid
multiple pregnancies; optimizing preimplantation genetic testing; and deriving human embryonic stem cell lines.
Take steps to avoid
multiple pregnancies, as a
multiple birth will exacerbate your already increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes i.e. if you're getting IVF, then consider only doing single
embryo transfers.