Twins born through IVF ‘more likely to suffer problems’

"And what we found was that being a twin versus a singleton at birth increased the risk for all outcomes except for of course large for age," she said.

Multiple pregnancy is the single biggest risk of fertility treatment, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

It increases the risk of stillbirth, neonatal death and disability in children born. It also increases the risk of dangerous complications to the mother, such as late miscarriage, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia.

On average, one-in-five IVF pregnancies are a multiple pregnancy compared to one-in-80 for women who conceive naturally.

UK guidelines advise that wherever possible a single embryo only should be transferred, but some clinics still put back more sometimes because the patient wrongly thinks it improves their chances.

However, the research suggests that it is safer to transfer single embryos.

Dr Rebecca Sokol, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said: "We have long known the dangers of high order multiple pregnancies.

"This research shows us how risky even twin pregnancies can be. Clearly, the trend toward using single embryo transfer needs to continue."

The research was presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Read the original here:
Twins born through IVF 'more likely to suffer problems'