{"id":51797,"date":"2019-10-02T11:31:45","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T09:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivi-fertility.com\/?p=51797"},"modified":"2022-04-12T17:35:34","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T15:35:34","slug":"set-a-healthy-mother-and-a-healthy-baby-the-primary-objective-of-assisted-reproductive-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivi-fertility.com\/blog\/set-a-healthy-mother-and-a-healthy-baby-the-primary-objective-of-assisted-reproductive-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"SET: A healthy mother and a healthy baby, the primary objective of assisted reproductive technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Double strollers, twin brothers and sisters, identical twins (though not so many) of different ages are not an uncommon sight in the streets\u2026 And that is because in recent years, Spain has registered a steady increase in the number of multiple pregnancies<\/strong>, a fact frequently associated with assisted reproductive technologies.<\/p>\n

There is clear evidence supporting the importance of choosing single embryo transfer (SET)<\/strong> and reducing the number of multiple pregnancies to the extent possible, but for now, the twin birth rate associated with a reproductive treatment is estimated at about 20%.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAware of this situation and in keeping with the scientific knowledge, the current IVI policy is to choose single embryo transfer whenever possible, as our data shows. SET<\/strong> numbers grew from 22% in 2009 to 88% in 2018 in IVI clinics<\/strong> across Spanish territory, which translates into a reduction of 75% in the last decade<\/strong>. They key to understanding how implementing this strategy for nearly 100% of our treatments was possible, lies in better knowledge of mechanisms controlling endometrial receptivity, technologies such as Timelapse, which allow for monitoring embryo development, and in improvements to the embryo selection process thanks to preimplantation genetic diagnosis, which helps discard embryos with chromosomal abnormalities. All this was complemented by educational efforts among medical staff and population to make everybody understand that multiple gestation is not an aim to achieve, but a complication to avoid\u201d says Dr. Agust\u00edn Ballesteros, the Director of IVI Barcelona, Lleida and Girona.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, 1 in 80 spontaneous pregnancies is a twin birth and in the case of women and couples who resort to reproductive medicine, the ratio falls to 1 in every 4 pregnancies, which emphasizes the need to confront such disadvantageous numbers. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAccording to the data by the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF), double embryo transfer dropped from 72% in 2012 to 56% in 2016, whereas single embryo transfer increased from 20 to 42%. We are on the right track, however; the efficiency of human reproduction is very low and it may decline if maternal age is more advanced at the time of first pregnancy. Postponing motherhood implies an increase in the demand for assisted reproductive treatments. Mothers and couples with reproductive problems choose to ask their doctors for a multiple embryo transfer on many occasions, believing that it means increasing their chances of successfully getting pregnant. Nevertheless, the results published by various studies indicate that there are no differences between cumulative pregnancy rates with a single embryo and clinical pregnancy rates with two embryos, neither in cycles with one\u00b4s own gametes nor the donated ones\u201d adds Dr. Ballesteros.<\/p>\n

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