IVF success rates on the rise: report
(wz) This is a transcript from AM. The program is broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio.
TONY EASTLEY: It’s an extraordinary statistic, but in just about every primary school classroom in the country there is one IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) baby.
It is of course only an average statistic, but IVF babies now account for three per cent of the birth rate.
A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows technology has come a long way.
Jane Cowan reports.
JANE COWAN: Since 2002, the Fertility Society of Australia has recommended single embryo transfer in women younger than 35 and never more than a two embryo transfer in any woman.
But this report shows for the first time there’s been a dramatic increase in the numbers of women and doctors heeding that advice.
Professor Michael Chapman is an infertility specialist at IVF Australia and clinical adviser to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Perinatal Statistics Unit.
MICHAEL CHAPMAN: We believe that by putting two embryos back we maximise the chance of pregnancy.
But in fact, putting one embryo back reduces that chance only very, very slightly, maybe one percentage point. And so the benefits of not having twins far outweighs that, the very tiny drop in pregnancy rates. more…
From: »ABC Local Radio« (available also as audio-download)