What is the risk of IVF leading to multiple pregnancies?
IVF technology is one of the important means to help infertile couples realize their reproductive dreams. However, IVF technology may also lead to multiple pregnancies, increasing the risk of mothers and infants. This article will discuss the risk of multiple pregnancy caused by IVF from multiple perspectives and how to reduce this risk.
1. Causes of multiple pregnancy caused by IVF
The main reason for IVF multiple pregnancy is to implant multiple embryos into the uterus during artificial insemination or embryo transfer in order to improve the success rate of pregnancy. Although this practice does increase the chance of pregnancy, it also increases the risk of multiple pregnancy. Multiple pregnancy may lead to premature delivery, birth defects and maternal and infant health problems.
Another reason for IVF induced multiple pregnancy is the genetic tendency of multiple pregnancies. Some couples' physical or genetic factors make it easier for them to conceive multiple fetuses at the same time. In this case, even if only one embryo is implanted, it may also develop into a multiple pregnancy.
In addition, age is also an important factor in IVF multiple pregnancy. For older women, in order to obtain a better pregnancy success rate, doctors may recommend multiple embryos to increase the chance of pregnancy.
2. Risk of multiple pregnancy
Multiple pregnancy increases the risk of mother and baby. For pregnant women, multiple pregnancies can cause the following problems:
First, multiple pregnancies increase the risk of premature delivery. The uterus containing multiple fetuses will lead to early uterine contraction, which will lead to premature delivery. Premature infants face high mortality and health problems.
Secondly, multiple pregnancy increases the risk of hypertension, diabetes and other pregnancy complications. The burden of multiple fetuses on the mother is greater, which easily leads to the imbalance of various systems of the mother.
In addition, multiple pregnancies also increase the risk of birth defects. The competition between multiple fetuses may lead to insufficient nutrition and oxygen for the fetus in the uterus, increasing the probability of birth defects.
3. How to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy
In order to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy, the following measures can be taken:
First, doctors should follow accurate embryo transfer guidelines and select an appropriate number of embryos for implantation. According to the patient's age, health status and reproductive history, doctors can assess the most suitable number of embryos.
Secondly, single embryo transfer is an important measure to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy. Single embryo transfer can reduce the physical burden of pregnant women and reduce the risk of premature delivery and complications.
In addition, for older women, a comprehensive assessment should be carried out according to individual conditions to avoid blind implantation of multiple embryos and increase the risk of multiple pregnancies.
4. Summary
Test tube baby technology is an important method widely used in infertility treatment, but it also has the risk of causing multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancy brings certain risks to the health of mother and fetus. In order to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy, doctors and couples need to work together, follow the correct embryo transfer guidelines, select the appropriate number of embryos for implantation, especially promote single embryo transfer, to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy and ensure the health of mothers and infants.
