A New Study Found That Having A Single Embryo Transferred In An IVF Procedure Resulted In Healthier Babies At Birth. Keep Reading For More Info.
A new study found that having a single embryo transferred in an IVF procedure resulted in healthier babies at birth. Keep reading for more info.
A new research study printed in The Guardian and reported by NHS Choices (from the UK) found the following with regard to In Virtro Fertilization (IVF):
“Women who have one embryo transferred during IVF treatment are five times more likely to give birth to a healthy baby,” reported The Guardian. It said that “those who have two embryos are more likely to get pregnant but are at a greater risk of delivering apremature or low-weight child."For the study, a meta-analysis was conducted that compared cases of single embryo transfers to double embryo transfers. Eight different studies involving data from 1,367 women was reviewed. Note that when two embryos were transferred, live births resulted in 42 % of the cases. When one embryo was transferred, live births results in 27% of the cases. That's quite a notable difference. Furthermore, 2% of the women who had a single embryo transferred had a single birth while 29% of the women who had two embryos transferred had multiple births. As far as interpreting the results of the study, the researchers noted the following:
- The researchers point out that nearly all of the trials studied in this review were in women with a good prognosis for having a successful IVF outcome (younger women with good quality embryos). As such, it may not be possible to generalise these findings to older women or women with poorer quality embryos.
- Most of the trials had looked at single or double embryo transfer of embryos that had not been frozen. Only two of the eight studies looked at the cumulative outcomes of fresh followed by frozen single embryo transfer. Further research is needed to see how this would affect cumulative birth rate in a larger population and to see whether this strategy would result in a birth rate similar to double embryo transfers.