Full IVF funding would improve mother safety

A new report has said that full government funding of IVF could maintain low rates of multiple pregnancies following treatment and reduce associated complications for mothers and babies.

Published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the paper says that multiple pregnancy is the most common adverse outcome of IVF treatment and is often performed to reduce costs for patients who pay for their own treatment. Almost 20 per cent of IVF deliveries in the UK in 2011 involved a multiple birth, while six out of ten IVF cycles in the UK are currently funded by patients themselves.

Alongside costs to the NHS, there are also substantial health risks for both mothers and babies, including higher risk of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, haemorrhage following birth, and postpartum depression.

Tarek El-Toukhy, lead author of the report, said: “Multiple pregnancy is the greatest avoidable risk of IVF. The health and financial burden it places on women, families and the NHS cannot be overstated. To ensure rates of multiple births remain low, there is little doubt that the single most important factor that could enhance the acceptance of single embryo transfer among patients and practitioners is appropriate funding for IVF treatment.

“It is also clear from other European countries, such as Sweden and Belgium, that further reduction in the multiple pregnancy rate to single figures is feasible where generous IVF state funding arrangements have reduced the associated adverse implications of multiple pregnancies for both mother and baby.”