No medical procedure is without risk. While IVF is certainly among the safest procedures, it is no exception to this rule. One of the most common risks associated with this approach has historically been multiple births. The number of embryos transferredduring an IVF cycledirectly influences the risk of twins or multiples. In the past, the number of embryos transferred was higher and led to an increase in multiple births.
Natural twin rates are at about 2%. Put simply, twins are rare.
Assisted reproductive technologies changed this. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research found that of infants conceived with ART:
- 43% were twins
- 3% were triplets or higher-order infants
Put another way, while infertility treatments account for up to 3% of all single live births, they may account for up to 50% of twins born and 75% of higher-order multiple births.
What if we want twins?
But wait, you may be thinking, twins sound great!
Due to a complex set of circ*mstances—including the cost of IVF in the U.S. and increasing maternal age—transferring multiple embryos during the embryo transfer stage of IVF became desirable. Rather than pay for multiple rounds of IVF, parents could opt to increase their chances during the first try.
And, at first glance, this may make sense. Unfortunately, the risks and cost involved are much higher. While these couples may save money during the initial fertility treatment process, they often end up spending far more money in the long run to support twins, triplets, quadruplets, or more.
Make no mistake about it. Multiples are more expensive, from the costs of their births to feeding, clothing, and otherwise caring for them. That’s even before the inherent risks of carrying IVF twins or multiples.
