Multiple pregnancies after IVF treatment
They want to have the highest chance of getting pregnant after infertility treatment. And they are not alone. Infertile patients and doctors are together in this. The challenge, though, is to minimise the risks, in particular, keep the chance of having a multiple pregnancy as low as it gets.
Many reasons can explain why multiple pregnancies are still quite common after infertility treatment, although much has been done by international medical societies to highlight the risks linked to multiple pregnancies.
It all starts with providing detailed information on a significant public health issue, this of multiple pregnancies following infertility treatment. Physicians and couples alike, need to have a clear picture of the increased risks related with multiple pregnancies, both for the pregnant mother and the embryos as well. Women need to be informed about an increased risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and suffer sudden vaginal bleeding, among many other complications, more commonly present during a multiple pregnancy.
However, the increased risk of premature birth in multiple pregnancies is maybe the most serious complication, as it is linked to both short and long term medical problems with babies. Prematurity is a serious condition that, sometimes, may result in long periods of hospital care for newborns, critically affecting the early stages of neurological development.
However, the increased risk of premature birth in multiple pregnancies is, maybe, the most serious complication, as it is linked to both short and long term medical problems
Health insurance coverage for IVF and infertility treatment overall may not be there for many couples going through treatment, making it hard to go through repeated treatment cycles. But costs from hospitalisation, both in the short term, as well as lifetime costs linked to chronic illness, rehabilitation and other services that may be needed in certain cases, should prompt all stakeholders providing infertility services to rethink: education of health professionals and patients comes first, so that informed choices are made; then, infertility treatment reimbursement could be combined with mandatory preventive strategies, such as the transfer of single embryo transfer during IVF treatment.
As awareness increases about the risks related to multiple pregnancies, following infertility treatment, the need to adopt preventive strategies in everyday clinical practice becomes ever more urgent. Once information is accurately communicated, the key to effective prevention of multiple pregnancies in infertility treatment will inevitably focus on adequate state funding.
A step further, infertility clinics that commit their practices to minimise the rate of multiple pregnancies should receive special accreditation and higher ranking, so as to acknowledge their contribution to provision of safe practices.
©2021, Nicholas Christoforidis, Fertility Matters
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