Multiple Births With IVF

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Multiple Births With IVF

Postby *my3sons* » Feb 05, 2007 1:17 am

Got a question. How many eggs are taken with IVF? If we were to go the surrogate route we'd like to do it with my eggs but I don't want my unused fertilized eggs sitting around. I also wouldn't want to get into having to have a selection done if there are too many viable embryos. Is there a way around that?
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Postby IslandDreamer » Feb 05, 2007 1:39 am

Hi,

Welcome! I read your introduction post and want to say how sorry I am about the baby you lost. (I've had computer issues, so I'm not always able to post.)

I've not done IVF but was just reading at another board about this very topic. The women there posted that you need to be careful to find a RE that will only fertilize the number of eggs you ask for. That some cycles ALL eggs can fertilize and in others, none will. If you are opposed to freezing any embies, then you would do well to be conservative in your fertilization.

I need to go back and get those links for you.

Here are the reccomendations on the number of embryos to replace.
http://www.asrm.org/Media/Practice/NoEm ... ferred.pdf

The American Fertility Association has an excellent quarterly magazine devoted entirely to the issue of multiples; it's their Spring 2003 issue of their "In Focus" magazine: Why You Should Care.
http://www.theafa.org/secure/nobarriers ... re_103.pdf
If that link didn't work, then go to their main site and sign up for a free login:
http://www.theafa.org/

Love,
Suzanne
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Postby *my3sons* » Feb 05, 2007 12:56 pm

Thanks for the links! My DH and I have talked about adoption in the past but it doesn't sound like it is any easier than surrogacy and I really would like another bio child. The whole reduction aspect of IVF puts me off as well as having my eggs sitting out there.I am pro-life but not at all condemning of women who have had terminations (I have only walked in my own shoes and they have been bad enough).
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Postby IslandDreamer » Feb 05, 2007 10:34 pm

Hi,

If it is important to not store any embryos, then do not allow more to be inseminated than you would transfer to the surrogate. Will they all fertilize? Will any? Can't really say, but caution is your best bet.

If the embryologist selects the highest quality eggs, then your odds are probably quite good. I think the girls I know were saying 2/3rds fertilize, on average. So that means 2 of 3 embryos...that would be me...three ovums and no more, but I would inseminate three simply because I'm nearly 41. You can (hopefully??? don't know) try another cycle.

Oh, and vitamin B6 has been found to improve egg quality, so thought I'd pass that along, too.
Last edited by IslandDreamer on Feb 05, 2007 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby aaronsmommy » Feb 05, 2007 10:39 pm

How old are you? If you are young, then it it much easier to just fertilize the # you would be comfortable with implanting (and that # should not be more than 1-2)
Aimee

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Postby teddi » Feb 06, 2007 2:53 pm

Just to chime in. Just because you may fertilize even 1-2 eggs, you can still end up with multiples. IVF itself seems to encourage twinning. So you could put back 2 eggs and still end up with quadruplets. I don't know how likely but it's not a GARUANTEE if you put in JUST 1 or 2 you will only end up with 1 or 2 (if any at all of course).

I just mention that because I know of a family who ended up with quads after putting back three eggs (they got monoamniotic twin girls).
Teddi
Bert , 3/2000 HG#1, wk 6 - birth, GB removed @ 16wks
Chloe & Kaylie, 12/2004 HG #2, wk 7 - birth, pre-E/pancreatitis
~Angel babe~ March 2012
~ Baby Chuckles~ July 2013
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Postby *my3sons* » Feb 06, 2007 6:23 pm

This is very interesting to me. I would rather just have one egg done at a time, but it's not like we are millionaires or anything so it would probably be a one-shot deal if we decided to do it. I am 37 but have no idea what condition my eggs are in. I have always wondered how damaged they might be after multiple rounds of HG. I know I ended up with damaged teeth and bones and my skin is aging rapidly. More rapidly, it seems, than my HG-free sisters who are both older than me. My m/c was also early so that got me wondering about the condition of my eggs, as well. The B6 info sounds useful. I do take a good quality multi-vitamin regularly,vitamin C, and flax oil and had been taking extra calcium religiously until I stopped breaking bones. I had a bone density scan done a couple of years ago and they seem strong again so my hope is that my body will overcome any damage done. A good surrogacy would be a dream come true!
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Postby aaronsmommy » Feb 07, 2007 1:17 am

If you are serious, I think you should sit down with a reproductive endocrinologist and talk about it - and ASAP.

If you only want to fertilize one egg at a time, the benefit is that you can save about $5000 in medications each month of trying because you can do it with no medications, or oral ones that are quite cheap. The problem is that because of your age your chances of ending up with a good pregnancy would be EXTREMELY low. I won't hazzard a guess, but the REI could. Non medicated IVF cycles would probably cost $2000-4000. and I'd guess that the surrogacy costs wouldn't be too much if there wasn't even an embryo to implant (there is going to be some cost though because the surrogate will still have to take meds to be ready if you do get an embryo), so you do save a lot of money over what a typical cycle costs.
Aimee

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Postby *my3sons* » Feb 07, 2007 1:44 am

Can't anything in life be easy?

How did I get old so fast?

Why did I finally get a happy oops just to have a m/c?

And, why the heck did it take me this long to find this site???

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
my3sons
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Postby aaronsmommy » Feb 07, 2007 2:07 am

I'm sorry, I understand. My clock is ticking too, and I'm not too happy about it. I feel like I could handle another pg when my son is 10 or so, but since I had him at 31, I don't think that is realistic.

It's not fair.

Do find out the details though. You don't want to again be left wishing that you had more information sooner.
Aimee

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