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Multiple Pregnancy
Too Much of a Good Thing?
By Michele St. Martin
In some cases, the couple may be willing to take a risk – for example, if the woman is older or if the couple has been in treatment for a long time. According to Drs. Keith, Klock and Gandhi, "The desire for twins and triplets increased with the age of the couple ('Let's get it over with') ... and as the length of infertility increased, infertile couples became more receptive toward the concept of having a pregnancy with twins or triplets." The doctors noted that this receptivity did not extend to quadruplets or quintuplets.
Dr. Erickson's clinic generally follows the SART (Society of Advanced Reproductive Technology) guidelines for IVF, which suggest transferring a maximum of two embryos in the case of a patient younger than 35 and a maximum of three embryos in a patient who is older than 35, but she says they do sometimes deviate from these guidelines. "There are no absolutes," she says. Dr. Erickson's clinic is, however, strongly committed to reducing multiple pregnancies, and following the SART guidelines reduces the chance of this happening.
The National Center for Health Statistics reports that between 1980 and 1997, the number of live births in triplet and other higher order multiple deliveries "soared 404 percent. Singleton births, in contrast, rose 6 percent."
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