transferring two embryos?

[anoushka]

Hi, I'm new here. Quick summary - I'm 34, husband is 37. We've been in the IVF process for about a year. Husband has some kind of morphology problem with his sperm; as far as they can tell, nothing is wrong with me, although I did have a miscarriage a year ago when I got pregnant naturally. First transfer was in December and failed, second was in February and also failed. They can't figure out what the problem is.

For my third transfer, the doc asked if I want to consider transferring two embryos. He said transferring two increases the chances of pregnancy by about 10%, and about 50% of transfers with two embryos actually end up with twins.

I'm so torn. Twins would be very difficult financially. I haven't had a ton of experience with babies or kids in my life; I imagine taking care of two at once will be totally overwhelming. Also, twins would increase the chance of a difficult pregnancy and/or health problems with the babies.

However... I want to have two kids, ultimately. With the transfer failures I've had... what if I can only get pregnant once?  And transferring two would increase my chances of getting pregnant, which is obviously the goal here. I really want to avoid another failed transfer

What would you do? Are any of you transferring two embryos?

[changedname]

Hi there and welcome,

I think my RE has a policy that the first ivf you can only do a single embryo transfer but that they recommend 2 after that. If I were you, I would do 2. Yes, the chance of twins/multiples is higher but it seems like you might need that extra 10% chance to get pg, kwim?
There are a couple of girls on the moms board who transferred 2 and are having a singleton.

I am about to do my first ivf and will transfer 1. If it fails I will move to transferring two for the extra chance. (I am out of pocket so I guess that plays a role in wanting to get'er done .  Honestly, if my RE allowed, I would seriously consider transferring 2. I am not opposed to twins but financially it would be a nightmare for us - we would do what we had to do though.

[G22]

I agree with what iced said. I'm only getting ready to start IUI, but I think if I were given the option to transfer 2, I would. But I've always wanted like 3 or 4 kids and now with all this infertility stuff, who knows if that will ever happen. If I ended up with one baby out of it I would be thrilled, and if we got 2 I'd be terrified but still thrilled. We would manage. I don't know that anyone is ever prepared completely for multiples. But I'm at a point where I would just about anything we could financially afford to get pregnant right now so there's that too.

[bronxgirl]

When I had IVF my RE said that in my age range (38-40) the recommended protocol is to transfer 3-4 embryos to increase odds of a viable PG. Before doing so however, you have to agree to do a reduction if it's more than twins. In my case they transferred 3 embryos that all looked wonderful. None of them made it.

[mae141]

I'm getting ready to start my first IVF and I will transfer 1. My RE is highly encouraging it (I'm 31). If it doesn't work then we'll probably do 2 the next time; my RE pretty much said that's what he would recommend. If I had already gone through 2 cycles I would be ready to transfer 2.

[discogranny]

I am 27 and transferred two embryos for my first IVF. Only one of the two took even though they were both perfectly graded embryos. With both your age and your previous failed transfers I would say that two is the way to go for this round, especially since your end goal is two kids. If you were adamant about having only one then it would be a different story.

[anoushka]

Thanks, everyone. I think I am going to go for two - wish me luck! You've made me feel a little better about the decision.

[murdock]

I agree with discogranny. I was your age when I went for my first IVF consult (still haven't pulled the trigger). I went to 3 different REs just to find one that I was comfortable with. All 3 stated that they would transfer 2, and we would have to sign our life away in agreement that it could result in twins or more.

[degal99]

Mar 10, 2013 14:24:42 GMT -5 anoushka said:

Thanks, everyone. I think I am going to go for two - wish me luck! You've made me feel a little better about the decision.

I think that's a good decision (I think just about everyone here would do it!).  Good luck with the transfer!