Health workers express concern with growing number of multiple births
(sz) As women delay having babies and - consequently, since fertility decreases with age - more couples turn to in-vitro fertilization, numbers of multiple births are increasing.
Since 1979, the number of multiple-birth babies has increased 35 per cent, while the total number of births has decreased 7.7 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.
In 1982 there were 6,794 twins born in Canada, 138 triplets and four quads. By 1990 that had grown to 8,322 twins, 237 triplets, and 32 quads. In 1999, there were 8,867 twins, 375 triplets, 20 quads and five quintuplets.
Nearly half the women in Canada who gave birth in 2003 were 30 or older; that same year, Nova Scotia recorded 8,706 births - including 269 multiples. The following year, there were 300 multiple births here.
But experts in the field aren’t exactly happy with the growing multiple-birth rate, said David Young, head of obstetrics and gynecology at Dalhousie Medical School and the IWK Health Centre.
“Although it went up, we’re hoping it’s on its way down again,” said Young, whose IWK department oversees the Atlantic Assisted Reproductive Technologies, where local in-vitro fertilization treatments happen.
“The risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity goes up significantly with everything above one (fetus) … somewhere in the future, the goal is single-embryo transfer.” more…
From: »The Daily News« (Hailfax)