Single egg transplant increases birth rate

Many people can’t help but feel that with in vitro fertilization the more eggs the better the chances that a baby will come. But the data doesn’t support it. In fact, one clinic in Iowa has found their birth rate increased, as incidences of twins decreased, with single egg transplant became the policy.

The goal for the Dr. Jessica Kresowik from the University of Iowa in Iowa City was to reduce the twin rates in her clinic. She wanted to “increase the outcome that we want, of one healthy baby at a time,” she said. Twins increase risks of diabetes during pregnancy, premature birth and cerebral palsy not to mention increased development disorders.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, no more than two embryos should be implanted. That guideline has been slow to catch on. “In the past, you did need to implant multiple embryos in order to maintain those pregnancy rates,” Kresowik said. She referenced a time when six embryos might be implanted while families hoped that even one of those might make it. Now technology for the procedure has improved greatly as has egg and sperm selection. Everything is better.

For a young woman, otherwise healthy, single egg transfer has a high probability of working without any of the health concerns that multiples cause. In Kresowik’s clinic, for women under 38 on their first round of IVF who were healthy, single egg transplant became the policy in 2005. Her birth rates prior to that time were around 51%. Now they are 56 percent. And multiples dropped from 35 percent to 18 percent.

Source: Fertility and Sterility, Reuters