Hello ladies
I wondered if anyone here knows of any scientific evidence to support whether one or two embryos should be transfered. Whilst I would like to have more than one child, there seem to be many reasons not to carry twins. I had read somewhere before that having two transfered increased the chance of success, but today read it can actually have the opposite impact.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Thanks all
Xxx
For me I dont believe it... quite a few ladies on here had two transferred and and had one baby. This happened to me too... had 2 transferred and one had taken... and currently 14 weeks.... I did wonder had I only transferred one will I be pregnant now.... totally up to you tho as there is always the chance of ending up with 2.... good luck xxx
Thank you. I would love more than one baby but more than anything I would like to be a mother. And if transferring more than one could lower the chances or somehow impact on one somehow then I would go for 1. But I am not getting any younger (coming up for 42). In saying that, how would I cope with 2? Or one 1 year old and a baby? Eeek.
My gp recommended having one transferred as the intention is to have a healthy baby. She suggested that clinics may push people to have two transferred presumably as it increases the chance per round of a pregnancy, but as you actually want a healthy baby, not just a pregnancy it is best to do them one at a time.
My clinic didn't push me to have two transferred as they use live birth rates to measure their statistics.
I had been very clear though that I only wanted one transferred.
On the day of my transfer I read an article from the guardian that suggested that if you have two transferred and one is poor, it can cause them both to fail.
I had two blastocysts but they did not recommend transferring both. I had the best one transferred and got a bfp. I was really hoping the other one would be freezable as I would love two children, but sadly it didn't make it.
I think this is particularly important for women of our age as we have a higher chance of complications. Perhaps my clinic would have made different suggestions if I were younger. It was a UK clinic.
It was more me asking my clinic rather than them suggesting to me. They are against 2 but have said it is up to me. Thank you for sharing your story xx
I did a lot of research on this and it comes down to balancing the risk of twins with the possibility of pregnancy. Twins increases risk of miscarriage and premature birth once you are pregnant, and baby death due to low birth weight, plus more risk to your own health, but putting in two embryos also increases chance of at least one sticking. Basically your risk of twins decreases as you get older, but so does the possibility of pregnancy. The NHS recommend only 1 embryo if you are under 37, but two embryos if you are over 40. In between they recommend one the first round of IVF and if that fails then two next time. The goal with putting two in is not to get twins but to increase the chances of one pregnancy sticking. Which it does by about 10% I think. More info here nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/what-...
Note a private clinic will be trying to increase their numbers of successful pregnancy so may be more willing to put two in even if it's not best for you.
This is the article I read. It says IVF pregnancy less successful with two embryos, study finds
Research shows if a healthy embryo is transferred alongside one of poorer quality then chance of pregnancy is reduced by 27%
google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theg...
I found that today too. Which surprised me. But if there really is more chance of something going wrong with two then I really would veer towards one. We got so close last time. This time it is going to work and I really don't want anything to add complications or worry to it. The clinic have said it is up to me but given me some scary stats to put me off 2. And that was before I found the article.
If you have two good quality then you could freeze one and stats show a higher success rate with frozen embryos, but obviously there is the chance that it might not survive the freeze.
I should have said that we have three on ice. I had 7 (from donor), 6 fertilised. We transfered 1 first time and bfn, last time we transfered 2. We got our first ever BFP but then it was anembryonic (two empty sacs) so we had to medically manage.
We now have 3 left and off next month to transfer.
As it is donor eggs then perhaps the age doesn't come into it. Then all things considered perhaps one is the better option?
I think age still comes I to it. Mine was also donor, which lowers the risk of things like Downs Syndrome, but I think the age related risks in pregnancy still exist. I get extra scans, extra appointments and due to my age, I may not be able to use the birthing centre.
You are very lucky to have another three and your chances of success are very high. If you can afford it financially, I would do them one at a time. That is just my opinion. I know others have recommended that you have two transferred. As you are using donor eggs, there is no medical reason to rush things.
I would have loved twins and still hope that I can have another despite my age, but I'm so glad I only had one transferred. Good luck whatever you decide.
Thank you. I really do think I am veering to one. Thank you so much xx
Sorry to jump in, but my wife is 34 weeks and she's 42, they were pushing her into Obs ward and getting induced at 40 weeks (due to her age, and as it was a donor egg) , but she stood her ground and we're having a midwife led waterbirth, and she will refuse to be induced at 40 weeks, if they can't come up with a medical reason that the baby is in danger.
Its your body, your baby, I have barristers in my family and apparently an unborn baby has no 'rights' so to speak, so in theory (you'd be crazy to do it) but in theory you can legally have a baby at home with no midwife if you're a pregnant 50 year old!
My wife met up with the consultant who examined her and the notes and when challenged, he couldn't come up with a valid reason other than its a precaution to induce at 40 weeks, same as not being put in the midwife led room. The stupid thing is , its all in the same hospital, god forbid things go bad, she can be transferred. Of course its all about choice and what you want, my wife wants a chilled out midwife room -she's having hypno birth in water, if there's a valid reason, she'd be the first to agree to be moved of course.
xx
I think it depends on your opinion on statistics and what is a valid reason. Older women who go to term are more likely to have stillborn. Of course the statistical chance of a stillborn is tiny, but the odds are improved if you give birth early. I still don't know where I stand on this. I would also like to be in the birthing clinic or even at home and would prefer for things to happen naturally, but it is a case of weighing up the (tiny) risks, versus the lessened risks against the benefits of each scenario.
For my wife, her uncle is a consultant and agreed, there is actually no valid medical reason for a healthy 42 year old not to have a midwife led birth and not to be induced, if baby or her are in no danger. Doctors like to do things, the moment a woman goes into an obs ward to have a baby,she's hugely increased her chances of having a casearan .
I should add my wife is having a hypno birth and so much of the anxiety around child birth has been eased since we've both been on the course. Its a real wake up call to the media image of woman screaming in pain on their backs. I cannot recommend it enough.
Hi I’m 43 had two transferred each time It was suggested by my clinic abroad and my clinic in the uk let me decide. First got bfp on scannat 5.3 weeks just one there miscarried shortly after. Second two bfn and just waiting for outcome of third transfer. It obviously increases your chances as you have two in. They did say obviously twins is a risk but still suggested at my age two. Think you have to go with you gut instinct. For us there was no choice, increase chances, ok lol. Good luck have everything crossed for you xxx
Thank you. Me too for you xx
I had 2 transferred but got BFP with one xx
Good luck on whatever you decide, I was having the same thoughts as you - but not quite as down the line as you are. You can always find stats for and against most schools of thought that’s the problem. X
Definitely is. I think I will opt for one this time. Xx
My clinic transferred 2 on my cycle which resulted on BFN last Wednesday.
From what they told me, you have a higher chance of twins/multiples if both embryos are of the same quality. If one egg is a lower grade then it can cause the body to reject both.
It was my consultant that made the reccomendation to put 2 back and I would always follow their advice although if safe I'd be overjoyed with twins. Xx
For me personally I’d only have 1 transferred now as I’ve had 5 cycles - 3 of which I’ve transferred 1 embryo and resulted in BFP (sadly 2 ended in mmc). The other 2 I transferred 2 embryos and both were unsuccessful, my consultant said statistically transferring 2 has a better chance but I guess I just go against the norm xx
I have just started my cycle and my husband and I talk nearly every day what will we do - 1 or 2? I think if by any miracle we produce top quality embryo I would have only 1 transferred. If the embryos are only average or poor I think I would consider putting 2 back. There are so many people who put 2 back but got only 1 baby but it is a very tough decision to make. Good luck x
Thank you. Good luck to you too x
The way our clinic has always told it is this; that having two put back doesn’t actually increase the chance of success but it does increase the risk of multiples. The only reasons we had two put back last time was because A- We’d never tried it before and B- financially it made more sense. Incidentally we’ve decided on our next transfer being a single xx
Ahhh the golden question! Well our clinic believes in a double transfer for better success, they have better success rates with a double than not but not necessarily with multiples. You do have to take into account whether you could hack a multiple pregnancy or not I guess as it is a risk. I've always gone for a double if possible, just my mind set I guess....not to mention the costs of a single vs a double is no different. Most of the ladies that I know of that had 2 put back have had had singleton babies, they think that doing double helped one stick......who knows!🤔 Is this a lottery or science....pretty sure it's just a gamble!!xx
I spoke to my embryologist about this.
On a day three transfer they advise two embryos because it increases your chances. One at least has the potential to thrive in your womb environment rather than the lab and it’s game over.
At day five your blasto has gone through all the hurdles and the likelihood if you had two transferred is that you will have twins.
Obviously there are other factors at play such as womb lining and conditions etc but that’s the gist xx
They usually do a day three transfer if you have less than four normally developing embies.
Rather than risk them to day five they will do a day three and give you the choice of one or two.
I’d snap them both up to be honest, they know what they are doing. If I had a day five blasto I’d have one.
Just found this. Reading right to the end has made my decision final on the single transfer:
conceptfertility.co.uk/2017...
Thanks for sharing the article. It is interesting and also heart breaking. The thought of having to decide whether to terminate one foetus to help the other to survive is so sad. I think for me, the key point is that it says that multiple pregnancies are very rarely carried to full term. So it means that if the clinics are considering a multiple pregnancy a success, from their point of view it is a success if there is a pregnancy that later fails, but obviously a live birth is the real indicator of success so it is better to aim for something that will result in that.
hey hun.we toyed and toyed with this on our last fet as our consultant suggested it with our last two..she said it slightly increased your chances if embryos were similar quality. ..if different quality I think it can be worse but I am no doctor. in the end we opted for one as just didn't want to lose both in one go..I guess time and money are factors too..we would have loved twins too but such increased risks..we fell pregnant on one but sadly lost our baby at 12 weeks...do a pro and con list and speak to your clinic about what they suggest xxx
Thank you. The guardian article mentions about the different qualities impacting negatively on the outcome, and the article above mentions so many negative things about double transfer. Also, my clinic gave me a few stats yesterday against 2. So I think overall 1 is for the best. Especially as it is donor egg frozen transfer.
I really hope all goes well for your next time. Xxx
for us both💜💜glad you made a decision that best for you. we off to new clinic on Monday. .same place you going so hopefully they a bit more lenient xx
Hi Camillage, I had 2 transferred. I think the question is also around the quality of the eggs. As I had my transfer day 3 and there were only 2 embryos they recommended implanting both. The second would not have been deemed appropriate for freezing so we went for it.
You also have to consider that from a freezing perspective there is no guarantee they will survive the thaw.
So as with this entire process, there is the theory and then there are the specifics.
I would go with the recommendation of your clinic as that will include the embryologists analysis of the eggs as well as the consultants.
Best of luck!
Thank you xx
Hello, I encourage you to read my posts as I've been through a tough time having transferred two. X
Thank you. I shall do. Xx
Wow. So hard and really not what expected when you think "Oh, I will go for two then we get them at the same time", people say "increased medical risks" but never really explain them. So I had sort of brushed that to the side before. I think I will definitely, with my situation (age, donor fet, history) opt for 1.
Thank you for sharing. So glad that your wee ones are doing well but it must be so stressful. Sending you big hugs xxx
Agreed - we were told about risks at a high level but having lived through them it's been pretty rough I tell ya! NICU life is like a time warp. It's pretty rough seeing an empty cot at home each night and leaving babies in the hospital. I wish you all the luck in the world xx
I cannot even imagine. Sending you all lots of hugs xxx
So much great info to help make your decision! Sounds like a good one - very best of luck 
🤞!!
Thank you and thank you all for responding. Nothing in this process is straightforward is it! X
Our consultant always said 1, but once you reach the big 4- zero, 2 as the chances of getting a bfp have decreased, along with the chance of both taking.
It's a gamble, but there is growing evidence that for women over 40, the best route are natural cycles, where of course there's only 1 egg to put back.
Best of luck whatever you decide. xx
I am on donor eggs but I would definitely prefer a natural 1 egg cycle if ideas doing my own. There just seem too many risks for more than one whatever the age x
My wife is over 42 and now 34 weeks , all looking fine with 1 transfer of donor. I think with donor its not worth the risk as both have a very good chance of working.
You have an excellent chance with just 1 and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you, best of luck xxx
Thank you so much Billy. Very exciting for you at this point! Eek. Good luck with the rest of your journey xx
You will have your baby soon, I'm sure. It took us nearly 5 years of IVF, 2 years of trying 'naturally', thousands of pounds and tons of tears and stress, but we never gave up, xxxx
Thank you. We do believe that we will. Hopefully in around 10 months time 😊 x
I was in the same dilemma. I was wanting to transfer 1 but the consultant encouraged me to transfer 2 given my age (42). I’m so glad I did as I am now 20 weeks pregnant with 1 baby xx
I had two transferred. I’m 39 (we’re unexplained infertility) and on the day of transfer was advised by both doctors present and the embryologist to have two transferred. Our 5 day blastocysts we’re average quality.
We were told it would give us the best chance of a singleton pregnancy. They said the risk of twins was very low.
We went with their advice. They explained it clearly and evidence-based.
I’m now 28 weeks pregnant.
But who knows if we’d have had the same outcome with one embryo?! Just go with your gut feeling.
Good luck x
Thank you and congratulations x
Good luck Camillage, hoping you get your BFP xx
Thank you xx
I had 2 with bfp now 17+6 with non identical twins - do what your head and heart tell you
Thank you and congratulations! 😁 xx
I had two embryos and questions if I want one or two to be put in .... so I ask embryologist what she think ....she say is accept to me but she recommends one and one to freeze. So that what we did and now I got my 16 Months old little princess 👸🏻😍😍 They say it just take this one .. Wishing u BFP Hun x
Oh thank you so much xx
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