I know that this is a sensitive question so I am trying really hard to word it right- sorry if I do a bad job!

There are a few discussions on the AC board at the moment about how many embryos to put back at a time.

I am doing IVF #1 so it is a decision I too am also trying to make.

I have positive twin experiences around me which has led to me to think we will put back 2. I have watched family members with twins cope and have lots of family support and medically everything went fine. However I know that there are huge risks of prematurity/ complications and the chances of losing a baby/ both babies are higher, let alone the extra stress and work involved.

As mothers of multiples what opinions do you have on this? Would you recommend that in general it is better/safer to just put back one or take take your chances on 2? I know every case is different, I was just wondering.

Thanks ladies!

Cat
Wife to Nathan
Mummy to 1 cat (Ally) and 1 dog (Jasper)
Hoping to be a mummy to a human bubby really soon. TTC 2+ years.

Started sniffing. IVF #1 EPU start of April.

Hi cat-its a tricky question. From what I understand these days the 'norm' is usually to try with one embryo first go.......but It does depend on your situation (age diagnosis etc.etc)

I wouldnt change what we have for the world....BUT it has been a very difficult couple of years. We put back 2 embryos and both stuck.

Good luck with your decision.




Caz Joel and Cam at 2 1/2years old




nb-Ive just read the original post and couldnt agree more with the message written by 'expat'............very true words!

This message was edited by cmf on Saturday, 12 March 2005 @ 9:17 PM

Hi Cat,
It looks like you are looking into things which is a good start, and getting info. We fell pregnant with out twins while on Clomid (also family history). Here are a few pros and cons...

Pros: I love having twins, love the looks you get, love they always have a friend, You change a nappy, you change 2 etc and God gave us women 2 boobs!

Cons: Negative and Dumb comments,premature births, shocking morning sickness, financial stress...

But on the whole, I love every minute of being a twin mum. With being a parent, you are going to have hard times, sometimes harder with twins but you find a way to deal with it. I think having twins first is great, no other experience to compare.

All the best with your decision, I remember just wanting to be pregnant, we knew about the twin % but never thought we would have twins!

If you want to chat, feel free to send me a PM & lots of baby dust your way.

Cheers
Rhonda
Mum to fraternal twin boys Jackson and Hayden 21/1/04
Rhonda

[color=Blue]Well, there's pros and cons for having twins, and there's no doubt that I wouldn't change our situation for the world. BUT...... if I had my time again, I would only put back 1 embryo. I fell pregnant on my first round of ICSI, and even though we only put 2 embryos back, one of them split and I was originally pregnant with triplets!! Unfortunately I lost one at around the 12 week mark.

Our clinic has changed their policy and tends to only put 1 embryo back now, as their success rate is getting better and better all the time.

Of course, it's a very personal decision, and something that only you and your partner can make. Best of luck.

Vanessa

Hay there ... Our soon to be baby boys where concieved through IVF/FET we collected 21 eggs on our first egg retrival. 19 survived and 2 where placed back, that cycle failed, on our FET cycle 7 where thawed and only two survived the thaw, we placed two embroys back and they both took. (A BLESSING) Anyhoo i think its a personal choice on how many you wish to placed back. If you think you could handle having two babies, well go for it. There is nothing more exciting than knowing you are going to have two babies to have and to hold.. As i say double the smiles double the love double the fun, forget all the bad things that is said, its your body your choice. Best of luck with what ever you may choose. And feel free to PM me if need be. Happy to help on the subject of AC.

I conceived my twins naturally so (fortunately for me) have never had to consider the AC issue. But I have thought a lot about having multiples. It's very hard for me to word this without sounding negative about my wonderful girls but here goes...I love my girls more than anything in the world but if I had the choice I would not have had a multiple birth. Obviously there may be medical reasons why having 2 embryos put back is a good idea for you - but that's how it feels for me. I feel like I missed out on a lot of "first baby" stuff. I said to DH last night that I don't remember ever just sitting and holding one baby and gazing at them, enjoying them. It always felt like go, go go, stress and tiredness. Of course there are good things about having twins but for me they weren't outweighed by the difficult parts (especially in the first few months). Of course other multiple mums will feel differently but that's my experience.

Also you need to consider the social/emotional/financial costs of the risks of prematurity and multiple births on you and your partner.

I hope reading this I don't come across too negative about having twins - I wouldn't change a thing about my girls. But as a twin expert said "the problem with twins is that there are two of them"!! Knowing what I know now and having experienced the past 20 months, if I was given a choice at conception as to whether I had 1 or 2 babies I would choose 1.

Good luck with your decision.

Maree

Harriet Lorna 1/8/03
Eleanor Rosalind 1/8/03

Hi Cat,

We got pregnant with fraternal twins on our third attempt at IVF. The first 2 attempts we only put one embryo back but we decided for the third attempt to put two back because we were not coping with the physical and emotional aspects of going through IVF.

I think you need to carefully consider though how you are coping with the IVF program and any then also how you will manage logistically, financially, emotionally and physically with having multiples.

I would not change what I did, but having twins is very difficult. I had a very difficult pregnancy and the babies were born premature and in SCN for 4 weeks. They are now 6 months old and I feel like I am coping well, the main struggle now is not being able to get out as much as I would like.

I must say though when you have no other children you do just cope with having multiples. You have no choice. It is very rewarding though to have two babies smile back at you and to watch them grow, develop and interact with each other is enough to make anyones heart melt.

Good luck. I think only you can make the decision that is right for you.

Jodie (31)
Andrew (33)
Dylan born 34 weeks weighing 1780grams (7/9/04)
Chelsea born 34 weeks weighing 1475 grams (7/9/04)

Hi there, I had twins after ICSI (IVF procedure) the first time I tried it and so when I was ready to conceive again we just had a single embryo implanted. I gave birth to my beautiful daughter so for us it was the right decision to only implant one embryo. However the first time... I'm glad we did two and had twins. Good luck with your decision,

Maycee (35)
DH (33)
Twin boys (4/12/01)
DD (7/10/03)

Thankyou heaps for your help and honest replies.

Has certainly given me heaps to think about! I think my decision ATM is to discuss it with my specialist after they have taken out my eggs etc. and we see how I respond and what he suggests.

Again thankyou. You never know one day I may be in here with you all and have the benefit of hindsight- if only I had that now!

I know this is an old discussion but just thought I'd pop back in and let you know what happened. I had EPU on Wednesday and got 6 eggs, 3 fertilised. 2 Embryos made it to ET on Friday and we decided to put them both back in.
We discussed many things with this including the strong possibility that by putting only 1 back, the other may not survive freeze/thawing and when we only had 2 I didn't want to risk wasting one! (Ok probably sounds strange). Previously our specialist had also wanted to attempt Blastocyst (5 day transfer) which our clinic has much higher success rates so we thought we may only transfer 1 then but with only 2 little guys it was too risky that we'd lose both so we did an earlier transfer with both.

So thankyou for all of your responses earlier as they really did help. I naturally have all of my everythings crossed for a BFP of any kind and by transferring 2 I know there is a bigger risk of there being 2 munchkins, so a part of my mind is prepared for that- although I think I would still freak a little bit!!!!

I feel better about replying to this post in this section. Last time I answered it in AC I was attacked for giving my opinion about having twins, by people that didnt have them and thought they knew it all.

Anyway, this must be a tough call for you and I think only you can decide what to do. I concieved my twins naturally after having two singletons. I was shocked nervous and couldn't imagine what would happen. I now look back and feel soooo lucky that I have experienced this amazing wonder. I have been lucky enough to know what it like to hold one baby at a time and to enjoy that feeling, unlike NAKIGIRL. I still think that having twins first up must be very hard. From what I can gather from posts on other topics, it seems to be way harder to adjust than some of us that have had other children first.

We have really enjoyed every single day with our twins, havent found it stressful, and our marriage and relationship is stronger than ever. I dont know if it is because we already know kaos and the twins have just had to fit in, or like a few people here, we look at these babies as being absolute miracles times two. BTW I was told that I would never have children so when I have a bad day, I re-read my medical files LOL

I wish you very good luck with your journey.

Dolph

Mum to
DS Bailey 5
DS Jesse 3
DD/DS Summer & Taylor 26.5.04

Step-Mum to Elodie & Brooke

Just wanted to wish you all the luck in the world and hope that your dreams & wishes come true...

Just wanted to wish you all the luck in the world.

You may remember me from the TTC thread. We are lucky to be expecting Twins. On our second go of Clomid we got a BFP and although I knew the risks for twins was 1 in 20 I (we) didn't think it would happen to us

When I think of the twins I get flutters and it is so exciting. I'm sure that if both embys stick you will be a wonderful twin Mum.

Please let us know how you go

xoxox
Wendy
DS 10
DD 8