SAN FRANCISCO-A high-yield medium that nurtures IVF embryos until they’re blastocysts may lower the risk of multiple births.
Stanford’s Dr. Barry Behr says the extra two days in culture beyond the usual three days allows his team to select the most viable embryos and transfer just two or three instead of the conventional four or five.
Twenty-four of the first 30 women to opt for the new approach became pregnant, and 19 are well beyond the first trimester, Dr. Behr told the American Society of Reproductive Medicine meeting here.
One has delivered a singleton boy. Among 18 still pregnant, ultrasound shows two are carrying triplets, eight twins, and eight a single fetus. Of the original 30 women, 17 chose to transfer just two embryos and 13 opted for three.
