More Babies being Born through In Vitro Fertilization, Report Says

Photo Source: wisegeek.com

Nearly 2,000 more infants were born with the help of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 2013, compared to 2012.

According to a new report from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), IVF is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, especially with millennial women.

More than 63,000 infants were born out of 175,000 cycles of the treatment, said the report. This is in comparison to 2012’s figures of a little less than 62,000 infants in 165,000 cycles.

The report also noted that more women are choosing to transfer a single embryo, eliminating the possibility of multiple pregnancies through one IVF cycle. This is especially true for women under 35 where 22.5% decided to have a single embryo transferred compared to the 15% of 2012. This resulted to a drop to 12,085 from 12,436 of twins being born from IVF. Triplets fell to 376 from 411.

“We are extremely encouraged to see the number of embryos transferred per cycle continue to go down and that more patients are choosing single embryo transfer,” said President of SART, Dr. James Toner.

“The goal of reducing the incidence of multiple pregnancies is extremely important, and patients can see from the data that fewer embryos transferred do not mean a lower chance of pregnancy,” he added.

IVF, as explained by parents.com is “a multistep process (called a cycle) in which your eggs are extracted and fertilized with a sperm in a lab. Once embryos develop, one or two are implanted in your uterus and the rest are stored.”

Its success rate varies by age: 41% for women under 35, 32% for ages 35 to 37, and 23% for ages 38 to 40. It can cost up to $8,000 per cycle, not including medications, according tp parents.com.


Sources:
March 3, 2015. "More Millennial Women Choosing IVF Than Ever Before". parents.com
March 3, 2015. "In Vitro Fertilization Birth Rates Continue to Rise". doctorslounge.com
March 4, 2014. "Increase in In Vitro Births Noted in the US". americanlivewire.com