The knowledge of the increased risk of complications in multiple pregnancies does not affect the desire to transfer more than one embryo in in vitro fertilisation treatment

Abstract

Objetive: One of the main complications in in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is multiple pregnancies. This study was designed to investigate how many embryos subjects participating in an online survey would want to transfer in their IVF cycles. Methods: This study was conducted in a Brazilian private assisted fertilisation centre. Individuals who accessed the centre’s website were asked to participate in the survey. The survey was based on important information concerning multiple gestations, followed by a single multiple choice question, as follows: ‘Knowing that the transfer of one embryo reduces the chance of pregnancy, and that the transfer of more than one embryo could result in multiple pregnancies, which comes with risks to the mother and the babies, answer: how many embryos would you transfer in your IVF cycle?’. There were three available answers: one, two or three embryos. Results: A total of 1,049 subjects participated in the survey: 109 males and 940 females. The majority of the participants answered that they would like to have two embryos transferred (53.7%); followed by three embryos (35.0%), and one embryo (11.3%). Conclusion: Men and women tend to underestimate the risks of complications associated with multiple embryo transfers and multiple gestations. It is the physician’s responsibility to consider single embryo transfer (SET) as the method of choice and perform double or triple embryo transfers only in special circumstances.