Infertility treatments sometimes result in multiple births. While these are most often twins, pregnancies of three, four, five and six babies are sometimes seen after the use of fertility drugs and procedures. Throughout the world, the rate of multiple births is on the rise. Infertility treatments are thought to be a contributing factor.
The rate of multiple births varies depending on several factors including the clinic, the type of treatments used and the type of fertility drugs used to help the couple achieve pregnancy.
Fertility drugs cause more eggs to ripen and be released. More eggs results in a higher rate of multiple births. The medications given by injection are more likely to result in multiple pregnancies, especially higher order multiples. Fertility drugs in pill form, such as Clomid, slightly increase the chance of having a multiple pregnancy. However, most of these pregnancies result in twins, rather than larger multiple pregnancies.
In vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies increase the likelihood of having more than one baby. In these procedures, more than one embryo is transferred into either the fallopian tubes or directly into the uterus. Since more than one embryo is transferred, more than one baby is certainly a possibility.
The clinic and reproductive endocrinologist you use may impact your personal risk for multiple pregnancy. Some doctors do more than others to minimize the risk of multiple pregnancies. In some cases, doctors implant more embryos in an attempt to increase the rate of success for the clinic.
Discuss the possibility of a multiple pregnancy with your reproductive endocrinologist. Ask about the rate of multiples for the clinic. If you are comparing two clinics, be sure this is one of the factors you consider in making your decision. If one has a higher success rate, but also a higher rate of multiple pregnancies, you may want to ask a few follow up questions to understand the differences.
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