Multiple pregnancies are very common in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Parents also often prefer multiple pregnancies for convenience. However, according to a new study, opting for two single babies from two different IVF procedures can help in avoiding many pregnancy and birth related complications than having twins from a single IVF treatment.
IVF is the process of manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory. To ensure success, multiple embryos are transferred into the women's womb, increasing the chances of multiple pregnancies.
Multiple pregnancies pose many risks to both the mother and their babies. Women with twins are at higher risks of experiencing hypertension, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes during pregnancy and may eve die during pregnancy or while giving birth and babies also face the danger of premature birth, low-birth weight and stillbirth.
For the study, Dr. Antonina Sazonova of Sahlgren University Hospital in Gothenburg and colleagues used data that dealt with IVF treatments conducted between 2002 and 2006 at Swedish IVF clinics, Reuters reported. They included 991 women with twins and 921 having two children from two separate IVF treatments.
Nearly half of the twin babies had premature birth (47 percent) and low birth weight (39 percent) compared to singleton babies (seven percent and five percent respectively). Researchers also found twin babies experiencing many health complications like breathing problems, jaundice or sepsis.
Women pregnant with twins were found giving birth more via cesarean sections and reported experiencing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy.
"The neonatal and maternal outcomes were dramatically better for women undergoing two IVF singleton pregnancies compared with one IVF twin pregnancy after double-embryo transfer. These results support single-embryo transfer to minimize the risks associated with twin pregnancies," the authors concluded.
Concerned with the findings, authors urge couple planning to start IVF treatments to implant a single embryo.
Findings of the study have been published online in Fertility and Sterility.
