I was very cautious and only transferred more than 1 embryo if the second one was going to be discarded and I didn't want it going to waste. I am 40 and the idea of twins terrified me as I know the risks of problems in pregnancy including fetal mortality are raised up to 6 fold with twins over a singleton pg. From my experience IVF is a numbers game and the more number of transfers you do increases your chance of conceiving. From what I have read and spoken about with my FS, transferring more than one embryo doesn't double your chances in a cycle, rather it may increase you chance of a BFP by 5-10% depending on your age and health. However, it also increases your chance of twins by 50-100% if you can get your head around that (ie it is very unlikely that 1 embryo will create twins but much more likely two will create twins). Unlike some FS my FS doesn't recommend multiple embryo transfers even after repetitive negatives and/or if you are older.
For me it is a very personal decision and I always felt uncomfortable for me with the idea of a multiple transfer knowing the risks involved and my desire not to have twins - even after years of infertility I just couldn't cope with the idea of the risk or stress of twins.
Good luck with your decision making.
ETA - there used to be a thread discussing the pros/cons of 1 versus 2 transfer. I will have a look around for you.
ETA2 - sorry had a look around and I can't find it.
Dusty can I ask you a question about your embryo's, you mentioned something about still being able to use an embryo so that it wasn't discarded. Did your clinic offer or did you have to ask them? I also feel really awful about mine being discarded, the scientists at my clinic assure me that my unsuitable embryos stop developing but I'm just not comfortable with it. Last cycle I had a day 3 8-cell (if I remember correctly) embryo that was still 8 cells on day 5 (it didn't form into a Morula or blastocyst) so they wouldn't transfer it. And this cycle just been I had 2 or 3 that were also slow aswell (i think at day 6 one was 11-cells and one was a morula) but because they didn't grow to be blastocyst they told me they couldn't be frozen. I think that they had been at the same stage for a few days as well. Does this sound right to you? I hope so, I wanted to keep them just in case they had any sort of chance.
Zigzag I think my clinic might operate the same way yours does - only freezing day 5 blasts? Maggie you also said you had a 2-cell embryo that they transferred. I'm very confused
MM, I think I only did it twice and both times they were slower embryos (morulas I think) that were still growing but a lot slower than the blasty. We definitely had at least one or two embies discarded each cycle that were slower or which had stopped growing. Its always awful which is why we are now big fans of day 2 freeze as we feel in our situation it gives our embryos more of a chance to be transferred and hence a chance at life.
And yes the clinic gave us a chance at them being transferred although we were supposed to have decided on the number of embryos to transfer prior to the cycle even starting and our choice wasn't revisited until the day of transfer. If your clinic is opposed to transferring a slower or degraded embryo I think you can mount a good case (I've know women to have strongly and successfully advocated for their poorer embie while they have their legs up in stirrups!) to give the embie the chance of life. Just know that while you have some rights over your embies (they rarely mention or acknowledge this), there are also guidelines in Australia for Drs to follow regarding multiple transfer and they may still refuse.
They have a responsibility to take the time to discuss these issues with you, although I know in reality there is sometimes a rush on to get all the transfers done and that the FS needs to rush off for another appointment. If you can, try and discuss all these issues the day or so beforehand with the embryologist and FS to have a game plan and a smooth relaxing transfer.
I think a lot of IF couples get bulldozed into doing what the FS/embryologist wants and are working to their timetables and factory line process of IVF (especially in the big clinics) that is prevalent in Australia now. I finally found a smaller more personal clinic that treats each patient with respect and gives you time and a say in what happens to our embies. I believe this was one of the factors in our eventual success.
Hey my clinic is the same, they only freeze them if they get to day 5, i also hav one frozen at day 6 which is a good thing, as it means if they defrost the day 5 embryo and it dosnt make it apparently they get day 6 embryo out and thaw that one and because it has developed a day longer it dosn't need much thawing time so it means my cycle isnt cancelled.
For our first cycle we had a 2nd day transfer I think. (EPU on Thursday then transfer on Saturday) On the Saturday we were told that we'd probably only get one embryo to freeze because the other one wasn't growing well.
When they called on Sunday though they said that they'd frozen both embryos even though one was only a 2 cell.
That's why we didn't really expect that embryo to do well for our FEt cycle but after the thaw its growth took off and it was perhaps 8 cells by transfer.
Just goes to show- you never do know. I like to think of it as the little runt of the litter who ends up doing well.
Good luck with your cycle Bea06 and anyone else who's about to transfer.
x
Maggie
Maggie, congratulations on getting a positive! I'm always impressed that anyone makes it past the first ivf cycle, it's so horrible. I take my hat off to anyone who can perserve in the face of it AND end up with the desired result! I'd be keen to hear if your pregnancy turns out to be twins.
I agree with you Mandyjane, the repeated disappointment makes it so much more tempting to opt to have 2 put back in.
The scary thing is that i'm absolutely aware of all the stats you noted there dusty and still, I'm so overwhelmed by a desperate desire to have this chapter of my life done and finished with I'm tempted to have 2 put back. It is wearing me down and exhausting me. (Although I can't imagine how worn down and exhausted I might feel with twins)!
The idea of twins also appeals to me on one level as I don't see myself ever going back to do this whole IVF nightmare process again, and I'm greedy and would so love to have more than one!
I can't make up my mind! I suppose I'll see how this cycle goes and no doubt I'll spend the next month worrying about it. It'd be so much simpler to just have sex and get pregnant! I'm sick to death of the whole thing.
Our FS was quite against twins, but nonetheless wanted to t/f two with our more recent FETs. I was keen for one only, but she convinced me and DW to go for two. Ironic as we now have twins on the way, but I can't honestly say I'd change that. That's not to say that twins isn't a big call, expensive and bloody intimidating, especially when you know bugger all about babies like me.
Thanks for your reply Slyder. Can I ask what sort of embroyos you had transferred, were they 2 or 3 day
embroyos or were they blastocysts?
My specialist makes you sign a form if you 2 put back in that says something along the lines of "I understand
that I am doing this against all medical advice". I find it very alarming when it's put like that! And, still, the
thought of having another 50 injections, and internal ultrasounds, medication, of feeling loopy and constantly
coming into work late due to blood tests and the sheer time and energy this whole process takes combined
with the uncertainity of whether it will ever actually work, makes me lean somewhat towards the idea of 2.
What did your specialist say to convince you to put 2 back in if you were feeling reluctant?
That's great that you've made it to 33 weeks, what a relief to be past the danger period for very premie
babies. My other half's cousin had ivf twins which came 3 months early, so the fear of that happening is
lurking about in my head as well.
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