Statement from HFEA Chair Sally Cheshire regarding the RCOG report “multiple pregnancies following assisted reproduction”
Read our response to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ report on multiple pregnancies and births, which carry significant risks to both mother and child, and IVF funding.
“Multiple births represent the biggest avoidable risk in fertility treatment and we have worked hard with our colleagues across the sector since 2009 to reduce their incidence from 1 in every 4 live births. I am delighted that in 2018 we have seen a fall in the multiple births rate across the vast majority of the UK’s IVF sector, so that we are now very close to the 10% target we set without impacting pregnancy and birth rates.
“We welcome the publication of the RCOG paper, which sets out clearly what a public health success story the reduction in multiple births has been. We also support the paper's findings that improved NHS funding for full cycles (single fresh embryo transfer followed by the transfer of all remaining frozen embryos), will give patients their best chance of achieving their much longed-for families. We are committed to working with all our partners to reduce multiple births still further for the health of mothers and their babies.”
Review date: 20 December 2020
