Plans by regulators to cap the number of multiple births could spell heartache for thousands of childless couples. At the moment, clinics are allowed to return two or even three embryos to a woman's womb during IVF treatment. This maximises the chances of at least one of the embryos resulting in a successful pregnancy. But proposals - from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority - aim to limit women to one embryo wherever possible. The Authority say that this will cut the number of multiple births and reduce the health complications associated with them.
One in four IVF babies is a twin or triplet. They are more likely to die before or during birth or to be premature, underweight or disabled. It is estimated that if all IVF children were single births, 126 fewer babies would die each year. Critics claim, however, that limiting the number of embryos would reduce the chances of a successful pregnancy and make fertility treatment even more costly for desperate couples. Health Service funding usually covers just one cycle of treatment, explaining why three out of four couples pay thousands to go private - and have more embryos implanted.
Keith Reed, chief executive of Tamba, the Twins and Multiple Births Association who have around 2,000 members who conceived multiples following fertility treatment, said publicly-funded treatment must be made more widely available. He said, "It would be unfair of the HFEA to proceed with their proposals in the current climate. If they carry through their plans, then they could shatter the dreams of thousands of patients."
The fertilisation authority says it is generally agreed in the medical world that multiple births have to be curbed on safety grounds. Multiple pregnancies are also more dangerous for mothers, who are at increased risk of miscarriage and complications.
The success rate for IVF is 21.6 per cent and there are fears this figure could fall under the new policy.
A spokesman for the British Fertility Society said: "In the early days the desire to help patients meant more than one embryo was frequently used but the evidence shows this leads to health problems caused by multiple birth. Clearly having one embryo and one baby is much closer to nature. We are moving towards agreement about using one embryo wherever possible."
December 2007
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