IVF: Two Embryos No Better Than One?

It is a common practice during in Vitro Fertilization to transfer multiple fertilized eggs at a time, in the hopes that if multiples are transfered, there is more of a chance that one will implant and lead to pregnancy.

However, with multiple embryo transfers, bearing multiple children becomes possible.  Why is that bad?  Multiple pregnancies (like bearing twins, triplets, or the horrific octuplets) carry extra risks for the mother and the babies. Multiple birth children are more likely to suffer chronic disabilities, more likely to be stillborn.  Mothers of twins are more likely to have complications, or die in childbirth. And whats more, transferring 2 embryos barely increases the odds of successful IVF at all!

Studies have found that for women 35 years and younger, chances of successful pregnancy are not too different in single embryo transfer procedures vs double.  In one study, 43% of women who transfered 2 embryos had successful pregnancies, and 39% of women who transfered one embryo had successful pregnancies. That's only a 4% difference! However, in the 2 embryo group, 33% of the births were twins, compared to 0.8% in the one embryo group.  Is that four percent increase worth the increased risk to mother and child?  I would say no!

And yet, IVF patients and doctors continue to insist on multiple embryo transfers, usually because they are just unaware of the risks or think that 2 embryos are twice as good as one.  If you are considering IVF, be sure that both you and your doctor are informed about single embryo transfer methods and success rates!

Read more here
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Read the results of the research here

Reducing IVF Cost

We all know that IVF can cost a huge sum of money - the drugs that go along with one cycle can cost up to $2000.  Well the other day I read a helpful little article called How to Save Money on Fertility Drugs from Conceive magazine that might help you to keep a bit of cash in your pocket. This article is full of money saving tips and phone numbers to call, I definitely recommend reading it through.  In the mean time, I'll summarize it here.  The main tips for reducing IVF cost are as follows:

Double-Check Your Insurance Coverage to See if it Covers Fertility Drugs - Not all companies are forthcoming about how much they actually cover.  Be sure to read the fine print of your plan, and call for clarification.

Shop At Specialty Fertility Pharmacies - Compare prices of big drugstores to smaller fertility pharmacies.  You might find that pharmacies specializing in IVF cost much less than the mega drug store down the street.

Take Advantage Of Drug Company Discounts on Fertility Drugs - Some pharmaceutical companies might offer discounts on their own drugs, if your insurance does not cover costs at all.  Be sure to do your research with the company that makes the drug.

Look Into Philanthropy Programs that Subsidize Fertility Drugs - Companies like The InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination and Serono offer aid for couples from many different walks of life. Ask your doctor about local programs that might be able to help you, too.

Take Part In A Fertility Drug Clinical Trial - (I, at first, raised an eyebrow at this suggestion, but its actually a lot more sensible than it sounds.) One way to reduce the drugs for IVF cost to free, is to free is to take part in a clinical study.  Few brand new drugs are on the market, so what is mainly being tested is the nuances of administration, or possible a drug that is already on the market in Europe. Taking part in a study brings your IVF drug costs to zero, with generally no risk.

Finding Fertility Drug Bargains Safely -  Don't go snapping up the cheapest drugs you can find on the internet...This tip is more about how to say safe while still saving money.

If any of those options sound unfamiliar to you, go ahead and read that article! You just might save yourself a couple hundred bucks!

Acupuncture and IVF: New Study Suggests No Connection

Acupuncture and IVF - possibly the two most popular medical and traditional methods to help combat infertility.  Acupuncture has played a growing role recently, since it was found that it can increase blood flow.  IVF too has been growing in popularity in the last few decades, as couples wait longer and longer to try to have children.  Couples often try acupuncture and IVF treatments in conjunction, in the hopes that the acupuncture will facilitate the implantation of the embryo in the uterus.  However, a recent review has lead the British Fertility Society (BFS) to state that there is "no evidence" to support the idea that acupuncture leads to an increase in successful pregnancies. 

The review looked at 14 studies, involving a total of 2,670 women, and compared the rates of successful IVF and rates of miscarriage between control groups receiving only IVF and groups receiving acupuncture at a number of different times during IVF cycles.  The review concluded that no matter when acupuncture and IVF treatments were given in relation to on another, there were no measurable gain from using acupuncture. The BFS states that women seeking infertility treatments are being misled into believing that combining acupuncture and IVF treatments, will maximize the chances of IVF success.  The BFS wishes to inform TTC couples that there is no evidence to support this and that they'd be better of saving their money. 

However, according to an article in the BBC News, top acupuncturists like  Dr Xiao-Ping Zhai, of The Zhai Fertility Treatment Clinic, debate the methods of the studies. 

"Certainly for those with unexplained fertility problems in particular, we know acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can be beneficial. What matters is both the expertise and experience of the practitioner, but most of all the treatment of the patient as an individual. It is the tailored treatment which is key.

"We need clinical trials that take this into account."

Combining acupuncture and IVF might still carry some yet-undetected benefit.  But until there is measurable evidence to support this conjecture, I, at least, would caution you to err on the side of doubt.

IVF Cost Plummets! ...A bit...

If you live in the United Kingdom, In Vitro Fertilization aka IVF cost just got a little more affordable.


According to this article the supermarket Asda will be selling IVF drugs at cost price, saving couples who are paying out of pocket hundreds of pounds per each IVF cycle. 

"Asda Pharmacy will charge £1,171.41 for drugs to accompany one IVF cycle, a saving up to £820 compared with other high street pharmacies, it claims."

If you're in the USA, this translates to a drugs for IVF cost of about $1,700, with a savings of around $1,240.  Thats a lot of money!  But when a single complete round of treatment of IVF cost at least $10,000... Well, I guess IVF is still a pretty serious monetary commitment. But every bit counts, right?


In any case, it is nice to see a large pharmacy taking an interest in helping consumers afford medication. This is a better (though possibly short term) alternative to having taxpayers pay to keep IVF cost down, like is up for debate in Canada right now.  


With the IVF cost so high, are we left with only these three options: make individual couples pay out of pocket, ask tax payers to subsidize costs, or hope for the charity of big pharmaceutical companies?  These all seem like pretty grim options, lets hope some better alternatives present themselves!