I just came across a very interesting article about the desire to have multiples through fertility treatments, entitled Twins in Demand Through IVF? – http://www.fertilitycommunity.com/uni/frame.php?url=http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/twins-demand-through-ivf. This article found on Web MD and written by Miranda Hitti, describes the differences in the mindset of the fertility patient and their doctor. Just last night my husband and I were talking about our twins and how blessed we are to have both of them in our lives. He, with complete sincerity, said that he was honestly and completely shocked when we found out that we were expecting two babies. He knew, of course, that with the transfer of two embryos twins were a possibility, but his only desire was to have one child and was very guarded and skeptical in his hopes that even one would “stick.”
I, too, was surprised to see two sacs and two heartbeats on our initial ultrasound, but I was also ecstatic and not nearly as shocked as he. I had thought about the possibility before and although I knew it was a long-shot I couldn’t help thinking that since this was our one and only chance at IVF (financially), and knowing that we wanted more than one child that twins would be perfect. I never mentioned anything of the sort to my doctors, or never even talked about it as anything more than a childish dream to my husband. This article outlines it well, it is only natural to want your expensive IVF cycle to be successful and if you get two babies out of it, even better. The fears and concerns about the dangers of multiple pregnancy and the risk factors are secondary to the desire to have a child (or two).
After reading an article like this I get the sense that I should feel guilty for feeling like I got a two for the price of one deal. It wasn’t until well into my pregnancy when I was forced to slow way down and completely alter my lifestyle that I even began to realize that twin pregnancy was riskier and scarier than a singleton pregnancy. Once I developed pre-eclampsia and was forced to deliver six weeks early it began to become apparent why doctors only want to help you conceive one child. Visiting my newborn babies in the NICU and realizing that their prematurity set the stage for a whole slew of challenges like RSV and delayed milestones, did finally drive the point home that my babies would probably not have been born prematurely if they had not been conceived at the same time. Nevertheless, if we were beginning IVF today with the luxury of knowing what I know now I would still do everything exactly the same in hopes of the same result and I would be furious if my doctor insisted on the transfer of only one embryo. I think single transfers are a great option for those who know they absolutely don’t want twins and I also know that there are great successes for those only transferring one because that is all they’ve got. But, I think that if you know the risks that you will face if by a slim chance you do conceive multiples, then it is completely acceptable (and normal) to want to transfer two or even three and take your chances that more than one develops. Pregnancy, whether with a singleton or twins or more, is scary no matter what and things can go wrong with one baby or three. I don’t think the percentages reveal a need to limit the number of embryos transferred to only one and hope that doctors continue to give individual care to each patient and will continue to transfer the number of embryos that best gives their patient the most chance at having a baby (or two)!
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