Too much happiness at once.
A natural multiple pregnancy is a phenomenon that occurs extremely rarely. This miracle of nature can bring a lot of happiness to parents-to-be, especially to those who very much want offspring. However, from a medical point of view, a twin pregnancy is already an anomaly that poses a risk to the health of mother and child. This makes it all the more obvious that doctors from recognised infertility clinics do not allow multiple pregnancies.
How common is multiple pregnancy naturally and with IVF?
The rate of spontaneous twin pregnancies is approximately 1.3% and that of 'multi' pregnancies is 0.4%. In France, the number of multiple births has tripled in recent years, in the UK it has quadrupled and in the US it has increased sevenfold. This is due, among other things, to the fact that women who are trying to have a baby in these countries and are using the in vitro methodsThey can decide on the number of embryos to be administered. What is the reason for this decision? Usually the ticking biological clock and the very high cost of the procedure. Patients hope to increase their family considerably and achieve IVF twins in one go. Doctors in this situation should take the woman's health into account and conscientiously inform her of the possible risks.
This is not practised in Poland. The patient is given one embryo during one IVF attempt. In exceptional cases, it is two embryos - if there are medical indications or the woman is over 35 years old. Age is one of the enemies of fertility. The more advanced, the more difficult it is to get pregnant. Giving two embryos increases the chance that at least one of them will implant.
Twins from in vitro
There is a common belief about in vitro fertilisation that it leads to twin pregnancies. In practice, such pregnancies can happen when two embryos are placed in a patient's uterus and both of them implant and develop a pregnancy. These will be dizygotic twins, with different genetic material. They may have different sexes and will also have separate placentas and chorionic villi. This situation affects approximately 98-99% of all IVF twin pregnancies.
In vitro fertilisation can also result in monozygotic twins, although this is a much rarer situation. However, the chance of a single embryo dividing and resulting in the development of children with identical genetic material is slightly higher after in vitro fertilisation than after natural conception.
Full security check
The number of embryos is also controlled during other methods of assisted reproduction, e.g. in hormone stimulationwhich is used to call ovulation. To ensure that too many egg follicles are not produced to be fertilised naturally or by insemination, doctors use low doses of hormones and frequent ultrasound monitoring. In this way, they are sure that the patient is safe. If two ova are released during ovulation as a result of the treatment, the couple decides after consultation with the doctor whether they will attempt to become pregnant. Sometimes the body produces more follicles, but as a rule only one dominates and the rest regress spontaneously. The maturation of the ova is monitored by the doctor, so the woman can be sure that there is no risk of a multiple pregnancy.
Common sense
A 'multi' pregnancy carries a greater likelihood of obstetric and neonatal complications. The mother-to-be is more likely to develop diabetes, hypertension and circulatory failure. She may have an overstressed spine and shallower breathing. In addition, there is an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight babies. Twins are more prone to anatomical defects. The birth itself has a higher risk, as perinatal complications often occur.
For this reason, press reports about the birth of IVF twins or multiples abroad often cause concern. Because is it really worth risking your health and that of your long-awaited offspring? Reason tells us that it is better not. Fortunately, patients of Polish reputable clinics can sleep well - they are in the hands of specialists who can assess this risk.
