WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., DEC. 9, 2004 -- The widespread use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as in vitro fertilization, and the associated rise in the rate of multiple births and premature births in the United States were described by experts speaking to a gathering of reporters today.

The event was the bi-annual luncheon of the March of Dimes National Communications Advisory Council entitled, "High-Tech Fertility Treatments: The Benefits, the Risks, the Questions."

"As of 2002, 16 percent of all preterm deliveries in the U.S. were due to multifetal gestations, which are usually a result of ART," said Charles J. Lockwood, M.D., Anita O’Keefe Young Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine.  "The twin birth rate rose 3 percent in 2002, to an extraordinary 3.1 percent of all live births. This represents a 65 percent increase over the past two decades and a 38 percent increase since 1990," he said.

Owen K. Davis, M.D., FACOG, Associate Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine & Infertility, and Chief of the Division of Gynecology, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, said, "Physicians practicing in the field of fertility have long recognized that, while some patients may welcome a twin pregnancy, multiple pregnancies present dangers to mothers and to babies and are not a desirable outcome of assisted reproductive technology." 

In order to increase a patient’s odds of becoming pregnant, Dr. Davis said, more than one embryo is typically transferred to the mother’s uterus in an IVF case.  Recent studies have shown, however, that for younger women with good quality embryos, transferring single embryos results in pregnancy rates very close to those achieved by transferring more than one embryo and drastically reduces the numbers of multiple gestations. 

He urged fertility clinics and patients to follow new guidelines on choosing the appropriate number of embryos to transfer issued in May 2004 by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).  The guidelines provide a framework for physicians to help them determine the optimal number of embryos to transfer to patients based on patients’ ages, histories, and embryo quality.

Nancy S. Green, M.D., medical director of the March of Dimes, said the organization is also  concerned about the use of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH), so-called fertility drugs used to stimulate a woman’s ovaries to speed the maturity and multiply the production of eggs.  While ART accounts for about 1 percent of all babies born in the U.S. each year, another large, though unknown, number of women conceive using COH. "Unfortunately, COH drugs are being prescribed by some health care professionals in this country who may not be fully aware of the risks involved when high order multiple pregnancies occur, including the very high risk of premature birth," Dr. Green said.

In 2003, the March of Dimes launched a $75 million, five-year national campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth.  The campaign’s goals are to increase awareness of the growing problem and to decrease the rate of premature birth.  In 2002, some 480,000 babies -- or about 12 percent -- were born too soon.  In an effort to highlight the severity of the problem, the March of Dimes held its second annual Prematurity Awareness Day on November 16, 2004.