New guidelines to reduce multiples from IVF
September 8, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
Getting pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) has enough issues on its own, by adding multiples to the equation, the stress may become severe for many couples. Multiples are harder to carry to term and have a higher risk of the babies having some sort of problem after birth because of prematurity and low-birth weight. In cases where the multiples are 5 or more, there is the added anxiety of wondering if there should be an attempt at "reducing" the number of babies.
Now, doctors in the United Kingdom have come up guidelines that should help reduce the number of multiples resulting from IVF-assisted pregnancies. The new guidelines are published in the journal Human Fertility. The guidelines encourage clinic to adopt a single embryo transfer policy, as well as a careful assessment of patients’ suitability. You can read more about the guidelines in this article: Single embryo advice to IVF clinics will reduce the number of multiple births.
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Tags: pregnancy blog, in vitro fertilization, IVF, prematurity, fertility, multiple births, IVF clinics, single embryo, babies, low birth weight babies
