Infertility clinics are doing a better job helping couples have children, and overcoming some of the problems that accompanied the creation of so-called test-tube babies. Doctor Alan Munson says Iowa has three facilities that offer “assisted reproduction,” the University of Iowa, McFarland Clinic in Ames, and its branch clinic in West Des Moines.The initial impetus was that they achieve the highest possible pregnancy rate, and early on when that rate tended to be low the doctors would use one, two or more embryos. Often the process failed and doctors and their patients were happy if even one implanted embryo produced a successful pregnancy. And then as science and the quality of embryos improved, the number increased, and there were more twins, triplets, even quads and the occasional quintuplet. While we see multiple pregnancies in the news, Dr. Munson says the successful ones are rare and many involve serious complications. When you go beyond twins, the neonatal mortality rate goes much higher, and even if they don’t die before or after birth, premature birth is common in triplets or more, requiring long hospitals stays and bills of 150- to 100-thousand dollars. But improving technology has brought doctors another benefit — fertilized test-tube embryos more likely to implant, survive and grow, which means they can use fewer for each case. Dr. Munson says that’s meant fewer multiple pregnancies.His estimate that there hasn’t been more than twins born to a couple in a couple of years, out of perhaps 100 IVF or in-vitro fertilization pregnancies in that time, though he says the perfect case would be to have zero sets of triplets, and all pregnancies a “singleton” — just one baby per mother at a time. When there are too many to successfully carry to term, parents must make a heartbreaking choice to risk miscarriage of them all, or to use “selective reduction” to remove some of the developing embryos from the womb. The new national report on I-V-F, and Iowa’s clinic results, mean that choice does not have to be made.
RECENT NEWS
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
UNI receives grant to turn old photos into interactive exhibit
UNI receives grant to turn old photos into interactive exhibit - Radio Iowa
An archival photography project at the University of Northern Iowa has landed a federal grant to help its users ...
www.radioiowa.com
Home test
Home test - Radio Iowa
www.radioiowa.com
Unhealthy air detected in parts of the state from Canadian wildfire smoke
Unhealthy air detected in parts of the state from Canadian wildfire smoke - Radio Iowa
The wildfire smoke from Canada is back over Iowa once again. Brian Hutchins at the DNR Air Quality Bureau says ...
www.radioiowa.com
Banks in Sioux, Lyon County the target of check cashing fraud
Banks in Sioux, Lyon County the target of check cashing fraud - Radio Iowa
The Sioux and Lyon County Sheriff Departments are working with local police trying to identify individuals involved ...
www.radioiowa.com