The Link Between Infertility & Prematurity
Posted on March 31, 2008
According to RESOLVE, about 7.3 million people are impacted by infertility. Fewer than 3% of the infertile population will need advanced procedures such as IVF to become pregnant. My husband and I are one of those in the 3% category. With MF infertility, IVF is one of the few options for a couple to become pregnant and/or have a biological child.
Depending on where you get statistical data from, IVF success rates hover around 50%. Again, we were lucky here. We became pregnant via IVF. With IVF, your chance for conceiving twins is fairly high. Many clinics report twins in 30-50% of all pregnancies resulting from IVF. Considering that naturally conceived twins are only 3% of all births, the 30-50% from IVF is a staggering number!
So here is my point…in the blogosphere you’ll see March of Dimes banners on infertility blogs. Why are these banners present when the topic is about infertility? Because, if you undergo fertility treatments you’re chances of having a premature baby increase. If you become pregnant with a single baby your chances are 15% rather than the national average of 12.8%. Although the increased risk doesn’t seem drastic, the percentages are converted as: a 1 in 6.5 chance instead of a 1 in 7.8 chance. With a twin pregnancy your chances of delivering your babies premature are 1 in 3, not great odds!
What I find interesting is that, like me, a lot of women who have experienced both infertility and premature birth support the March of Dimes. We raise a lot of money for that organization during the annual March for Babies (fka WalkAmerica). The reason, our infertility treatments caused our twin pregnancies or increased our chances of having a baby born too soon. Hopefully these blogs will address Infertility Awareness Week later this year, I suspect they will.
I support both the March of Dimes and RESOLVE. These two organizations have a very special place in my heart. I don’t think that one is more important than the other, at least not in my world. If you haven’t spent much time learning about RESOLVE and the efforts they are making toward insurance coverage for fertility treatments, I recommend you stop by and visit. Also, consider visiting the MOD to see what efforts they are making for the health of all babies.
Do you agree with me that there is a link between infertility and premature birth?
» Filed Under Infertility, Premature Births
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Thank you for your support!