   | | Public Health |  | | Story of the Week | March 05, 2008 | | What's behind the rise and success of IVF in the United States? | By Mike Magee, MD Since the beginning of In Vitro Fertilization (IVP) in 1978, IVF babies have been on the rise. In the United States each year roughly 100,000 procedures are performed in some 400 clinics, resulting in approximately 50,000 babies.
IVF is a four step process in which the mother receives medication to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs, which are then retrieved through an ultrasound-guided aspiration needle which reaches the ovary by being placed through the wall of the vagina. The eggs are then combined with the father's sperm in a laboratory and fertilized in a culture medium. Finally, the growing embryos are retrieved between 3 and 5 days after fertilization and transferred back into the mother's uterus.
It’s an advanced and expensive process, but it is has become increasingly common over the last 30 years. Why?
First, it is quite successful compared to other approaches. Second, as we have become more aware of the impact of age on fertility, and as access to infertility specialists and clinics has expanded, both patients and physician specialists have been less inclined to watch and wait for a natural pregnancy. Societal factors, such as a trend toward delaying the age of first marriage, continue to drive the age and fertility question. Thus the window of opportunity between decision to become pregnant and maximum capacity to achieve pregnancy with ease has been progressively narrowing.
The most common risk associated with IVF is multiple births – and approximately one third of parents who have live births after IVF have twins. The impact? Twins have higher rates of pre-term birth and low birth rate. Mothers giving birth to twins require more bed rest, and are more vulnerable to premature labor, hypertension, birth hemorrhage and the Caesarean section delivery. But with the growing popularity of IVF, it appears parents are often more than happy to make whatever sacrifices are necessary. For now, it is likely that both rates of IVF births and rates of twin births in the US will continue to rise side by side.
To learn more about IVF, be sure to watch this week’s video, embedded in this blog post, and, as always, leave a comment expressing your thoughts.
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