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Infertility

Should I try to have twins?

Infertility treatment can be challenging and may not be well covered by insurance, so it can strain a family budget. It can be tempting to say "put as many embryos back as possible" or "twins would be just fine with us." While RESOLVE hears from grateful families built through multiple birth, you should know that multiple gestation pregnancy and multiple birth (even twins) are associated with a higher potential for medical difficulties. Possible complications for women may include high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, increased risk of bleeding, premature labor and higher cesarean-section rates. Risks to the infants include prematurity, low birth weight, developmental disabilities, respiratory and eye complications and cerebral palsy. (Even twin births result in a near six-fold risk of cerebral palsy to the infants over singleton births.)²

Multiple gestation pregnancy and multiple birth can put a family at financial risk, as well. Women pregnant with multiples often have to be on bed rest or restrict their activity during the last trimester of pregnancy. This can affect family income. One couple who gave birth to triplets after IVF reported spending $1,200 a month for day care in 1996 and nearly $1,000 a month for food. Triplets typically require 27 bottles in a 24 hour period, and the milk bill alone can run more than $100 per month. While many new parents of multiples adjust well to parenthood, for some the stress of parenting, feeding and caring for several infants can lead to marital difficulties and depression. Housing, social isolation, and abrupt lifestyle changes are other reported problems.

^{2 Pharaoh POD, Cooke T. Cerebral palsy and multiple births. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal ED 1996; 75:F174-177.

This study found the prevalence of cerebral palsy was 2.3 per 1000 infants in singleton births, 12.6 in twins and 44.8 in triplets. The higher rate in multiple births was partly due to the lower birthweight distribution and partly due to the higher risk among normal birthweight infants born from a multiple gestation pregnancy.}

Source: This information is used with permission and courtesy of RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association.