THE that a woman in California had given birth to eight babies left a lot of people gasping. Anyone who has cared for even one infant knows how physically, emotionally and financially demanding they can be. Initially, the press and American public were euphoric about the births, but when the details started to emerge – that the mother was single, unemployed and already had six children under the age of 7 – the mood turned to a sense of tragedy.
It is time to ask what the fertility industry is up to. Indeed it’s worth asking why it has taken the birth of octuplets to shake us from our complacency: the in the number of twins and triplets being born through IVF and other assisted methods of conception should have set the alarm bells ringing long ago over fertility clinics’ high-stakes practices.
The mother of the octuplets, Nadya Suleman, has said that the babies were conceived via IVF – the eggs were fertilised in a laboratory using donor sperm and the resulting embryos implanted in her womb. While implanting so many embryos goes against all fertility guidelines, doctors will argue that implanting two or more – standard practice at many fertility clinics – will increase the chances of at least one baby being born. The trouble is it also increases the chances of more than one being born and a woman’s womb is suited to support just one. About half of assisted conceptions end in multiple births.
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That is worth thinking about, given the considerable risks to mother and child in multiple births. Twins and triplets are much more likely to be born before they reach full term, which is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a child. Single babies will stay in the womb for around 39 weeks, but for twins the average is 35 weeks and for triplets just 33 weeks (the octuplets were born 9 weeks early). The proportion of babies born more than two weeks premature has risen by , largely due to the huge increase in the use of fertility treatment.
A preterm baby is much more likely to suffer cognitive impairment, problems with speech and motor development and behavioural difficulties. Studies suggest that many deficits associated with early birth persist throughout a person’s life. Furthermore, once they are born the babies must compete for their parents’ care. This can be highly stressful for parents as well as babies. Parents of twins, for instance, are much more likely than parents of singletons to suffer from serious depression.
While none of this may sound surprising, the message seems not to have been well absorbed by fertility doctors or would-be mothers. You don’t have to talk to many women undergoing IVF to meet one who would be happy to have three embryos implanted and disappointed when only two take. Many are so keen to ensure the health of their future child that they overhaul their diets and cut out all caffeine and alcohol. Yet they remain under the impression that it is okay to allow their fetus to do one of the most dangerous things possible: share a crowded womb.
