Since its introduction in the United States, assisted reproduction technology has helped allow women to conceive more than a million babies. However, with procedures such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has also come some concern -- many more multiple births often associated with complications. To address this issue, national guidelines recently recommended transferring fewer embryos per cycle as a means of curbing the rise in high-risk pregnancies. But, the question remained: would this sacrifice the overall success rate of IVF births? Now, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital published in the April 15, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, have shown that while the number of transferred embryos has declined, IVF results are actually improving in the United States.
It is estimated that infertility affects about 6.1 million people in the United States. Among this group, IVF accounts for about five percent of treatments. Since IVF has been offered in the United States, the rate of triplets and other higher order pregnancies rose by 423 percent (1980 through 1998). Studies have demonstrated that multiple pregnancies can be harmful for mothers and their children.
“Our study shows that IVF outcomes are clearly improving in the United States, possibly as a result of recommendations that encouraged physicians and patients to weigh the risks associated with multiple births and work together to lower the number of transferred embryos per cycle,” said Mark D. Hornstein, MD, senior author, and director, BWH’s Center for Reproductive Medicine. “The results demonstrate that infertility specialists in the United States are taking the initiative to lower multiple births. This is a responsible and encouraging development.”