IVF and risk of multiples

[sheri-ct]

I did IVF for both of my pregnancies. I developed pre-e at 32 weeks with my twins. For my 2nd pregnancy we did 2 frozen transfers with 1 embie and both were BFN. For our 3rd FET we decided to transfer our last 2 b/c they both lost cells during the thaw and the chances of both taking were very low. We lucked out and one took! It is such a difficult decision. Have you thought about only transferring one? IVF is the safest ART treatment b/c you can choose to only transfer one and freeze any remaining "good" embies that are left. Good luck and please feel free to e-mail me with any questios you might have. I am an IF vet.

Sheri

[norlisa k]

We decided to do another IVF/FET cycle after we had post-partum preeclampsia with our twins. The FET did run a risk of multiples (two embryos, frozen together in one vial), and the risk of preeclampsia was still there. What made the difference for my husband and myself was our perinatologist having a say in every step throughout the process and giving his "blessing" for going forward with the transfer. We all knew the risks going into a pregnancy, but knew that we were in good hands with our doctor.

Although he could not guarantee that preeclampsia wouldn't come back (like you, we also have the chronic hypertension), we knew that we were in the best hands possible, and had the best chances of a good outcome. Not doing the IVF/FET wasn't an option for us, and our doctor worked with us from preconception and is still working with us now.

I hope that you find a perinatologist who will help manage your hypertension and who will work with you through the IVF process. IVF is stressful in and of itself, but having a peri who will help you work through it to achieve as good an outcome as possible will hopefully give you some more peace of mind.

Wishing you the best,

[beth11]

We didn't do IVF, but we did do IUI with injectibles to get pregnant with our twins. IUI w/ injectibles actually carried a 30% chance of multiples. We are now faced with hoping to get pregnant again, and trying to decide which route to go. IVF would actually give us a lower chance of multiples than would IUI, and our RE said that, if we were really concerned, we could always do IVF and only transfer one embryo. That may be something for you to consider, although of course the success rates are lower.

My doctors think that the fact that I was carrying twins played a huge role in my developing HELLP so early. That said, we will try to get pregnant again, and some type of ART is our best/only option. We are thinking we will try IUI with injectibles again and just ask to be more closly monitored/ stimmed more slowly. I have been diagnosed with several clotting disorders, so hopefully treatment of those disorders will put off pre-e until the baby(ies) can be born healthy.

I know this didn't directly answer your question, but hope it helps a little!

[emccl]

I was told by our RE yesterday that, because of my severe endometriosis, our best chance of pregnancy is to do IVF, which in their clinic has a 20% chance of multiples. I had preeclampsia (and hyperemesis, but that's another story) in the pregnancy with my 3yr old daughter (conceived spontaneously after 5 early miscarrages), but was able to avoid delivery until 37 weeks, 3 days. I am now a chronic hypertensive, but I do not have any of the other underlying disorders that create a high risk of pre-e.

Has anyone done (or decided NOT to do) IVF after having preeclampsia? How did the risk of multiples and the risk of recurrence of the pre-e play into your decision? Thanks for your input - this news took me and my DH somewhat by surprise yesterday.