Chances of twins with IVF?

“Chances of twins with IVF” In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the famous assisted reproductive technologies. This process includes medicines and surgical procedures. It involves the fertilization of a sperm and an egg in a lab. After an embryo forms, a doctor transfers it to the uterus for implantation.

As part of the process, doctors suggest taking certain medications that help the eggs to become mature. After retrieving mature eggs, they mix them with sperms in a lab, and this is how the eggs get fertilized. After this procedure, they transfer the embryo directly into your uterus. If the implantation is successful, the pregnancy occurs.

Chances of Having Twin Pregnancy and its Types

One out of every five pregnancy cases can result in twins with IVF. It happens due to the transfer of multiple embryos into the uterus during the procedure. It increases the pregnancy chances due to the implantation of more than one embryo on the uterine lining. There are three types of twin pregnancies. Among these, the most common type of twin pregnancies is identical and fraternal twins. The third type is some rare type of twin pregnancy.

Monozygotic twins or identical twins are twins born from one fertilized egg. When a sperm fertilizes an egg and splits into two parts after fertilization, it results in identical twins. Their physical characteristics are similar because they originated from the same egg and sperm. Both babies have 100% identical chromosomes by which they look alike and are of the same sex. On the other hand, Dizygotic twins or fraternal twins indicate the fertilization of two eggs of a woman by two different sperm from a man. They only have 50% chromosomes in common as they come from differing sperm and eggs. They are not identical.

Polar bodies or half-identical twins are the third type of twins. According to some doctors, in this type, fraternal twins look identical. The polar body refers to the two halves of an egg after its splitting. If the polar body survives and one sperm fertilizes it, it can cause polar twins. Their maternal chromosomes will be identical. Sometimes, these are of the same sex and sometimes not.

The Symptoms of Having Twin Pregnancy with IVF

IVF can increase the chance of having twin pregnancies. The women with twin pregnancies can have symptoms that include a high level of HCG, gaining a good amount of weight, experiencing round ligament pain in the third trimester, rapidly growing uterus, high level of foetal proteins.

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Why Twin Pregnancy with IVF is Risky

Twin pregnancy with IVF can be risky for both the baby and the mother. The risk factors of twin pregnancy with IVF are as follows:

• The risk of pre-eclampsia includes high blood pressure, increased protein in the urine, and general swelling. These problems are very concerning for the baby and the mother.
• Some people have gestational diabetes during pregnancy which can result in a large baby size. You and the baby can receive more injuries during vaginal birth, and the baby can suffer seizures, breathing difficulty, and feeding problems.
• The need for a C-section during delivery increases in the case of twin pregnancy. It increases the chance of hemorrhaging during or after delivery. It also takes more time for recovery than vaginal birth.
• The rate of a premature baby is 12 percent that is born before thirty-two weeks. They can face more medical complications.
• Twin babies can suffer from a low birth weight that can cause several problems in the child’s hearing, vision, heart problems, breathing, and cerebral palsy, etc.
• There is ten percent of twin pregnancies where the syndrome of twin-twin transfusion can occur. It can cause excessive blood flow to one child and a lack of it in the other.

Conclusion

If one is interested in having only one child and needs to go through IVF treatment, you can ask your doctor to transfer a single embryo to avoid the twin pregnancy. The doctors will identify the healthiest embryo to ensure a single pregnancy. Most doctors ask to avoid twin pregnancy to avoid further medical complications.