by Ronald F. Feinberg MD PhD, Barbara A. McGuirk MD, George Kovalevsky MD, and Adrienne B. Neithardt MD

Modern fertility care works magic for growing families, but the field has often been blamed for the higher rate of multiple births and pregnancy complications, such as preterm delivery. Even a twin pregnancy increases the risks, with most twin births occurring at an average of 4 weeks earlier than singleton babies.

There are numerous medical reasons why many women shouldn’t conceive twins. For example, any woman with a previous history of preterm labor, preterm delivery, or a late pregnancy loss would have a safer pregnancy with one baby. In addition, some women have a small or abnormally shaped uterus, and would not likely carry twins safely. For some families, having twins to care for and raise can create a real burden.

Recently, exciting advances with IVF (in vitro fertilization) have allowed certain specific centers to offer single embryo transfer with very high rates of success. We just presented our results at a national meeting in Washington, D.C., showing that, when a group of women under age 37 proceed with IVF, there is a 60% chance of achieving a normal pregnancy when just one embryo is placed into the uterus. And the chances of that embryo ‘splitting’ to yield identical twins appears to be just 2-3%. Traditionally, most twins conceived following fertility treatments are fraternal, resulting from separate eggs and embryos.

Overall, with new technologies utilizing embryo freezing, we now believe that the cumulative chance of achieving pregnancy with IVF and single embryo transfer for women under 37 is approaching 80-90%. And the risks of these pregnancies, especially when just one baby is ‘cooking,’ appear to be quite low. Statistics like this indicate a real victory in our efforts to help thousands of Delawareans build their families in a safe and healthy fashion.

Reproductive Associates of Delaware is an infertility practice with offices in Newark, on the campus of Christiana Care Hospital, Dover in the Eden Hill Medical Center and Wilmington on Silverside Road.

Reproductive Associates of Delaware is home to four nationally recognized reproductive endocrinologists:

Dr. Barbara A. McGuirk: Medical Director,

Reproductive Surgery, Board Certified: Reproductive Endocrinology and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Ronald Feinberg: Medical Director, IVF Program, Board Certified: Reproductive Endocrinology and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. George Kovalevsky: Medical Director, Academic Affairs, Board Certified: Obstetrics & Gynecology, Board Eligible: Reproductive Endocrinology.

Dr. Adrienne B. Neithardt: Donor and Third Party Services, Board Certified: Reproductive Endocrinology and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Reproductive Associates is proud to have some of the finest and brightest endocrine and andrology lab staff: Linda Morrison, M.T. Stacey Carney M.T., Heather Ray B.S., Cai Wang MD, and Caitlin Boylan B.S. who are led by our Lab Director, Marc Portmann, M.T., MHA.

Our facility is also home to four of Delaware’s finest practitioners: Nancy Lorber, CRNP, Melissa Aiken PA-C, Rhonda Wright PA-C, and Susan Carr, CRNP.

For your convenience we have 3 locations across Delaware to serve you: Medical Arts II Pavilion on the campus of Christiana Care, Dover, at the new Eden Hill Medical Center, and at Silverside Medical Plaza in North Wilmington.

Please call 302-623-4242 to make an appointment.

Please visit www.wjfertility.com to take our fertility challenge survey, or visit our website www.reproductiveassociates.org to learn more about our practice.