The latest report on assisted reproduction from the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Fertility Society of
Australia shows that the number of babies born to women who had a
single-embryo transfer (SET) is on the rise, and that those babies
had better outcomes compared to babies whose mothers had a
double-embryo transfer (DET).
The report, Assisted Reproduction Technology in Australia
and New Zealand 2005, is the eleventh in the series and shows
that SET cycles accounted for 48.3% of embryos transfer cycles in
2005, compared with 28.4% in 2002.
Professor Michael Chapman, clinical adviser of the AIHW National
Perinatal Statistics Unit at the University of New South Wales said
that since 2002 when the Fertility Society of Australia recommended
single embryo transfer in women under 35 years of age and never
more than a two embryo transfer in any women, there has been a
significant increase in the number of single-embryo transfers and
so a reduction in twin pregnancies with their associated increased
mortality and brain damage.
'In 2005, 86.0% of deliveries following embryo transfer cycles
were singleton deliveries, the highest proportion ever reported,'
Professor Chapman said.
'Only 8% of SET live-born babies were low birth-weight, compared
to 25% of DET live-born babies. These SET babies had a mean
birth-weight of 3,302 grams, which is markedly higher than the
average birth-weight of 2,937 grams of DET live-born babies,' he
said.
For singletons born as the result of a SET, the proportion of
preterm birth was 9.6% but rose to 11% for singletons born as the
result of a DET.
Similarly, low birth-weight was reported for 5.8% of SET live-born
singletons but 7.9% of DET live-born singletons.
The perinatal death rate was also lower in SET singletons (7.3
deaths per 1,000 births) than in DET singletons (12.2 deaths per
1,000 births).
In Australia and New Zealand in 2005, there were 51,017
treatment cycles, including 3,356 donor sperm insemination cycles.
Of these cycles, 91.1% (46,481) were from Australian fertility
centres and 8.9% (4,536) were from New Zealand's centres. Not
surprisingly the number of babies born after IVF treatments has
reached an all time high, accounting for almost 3% of births in
Australia.
Of the 9,764 babies born to women who had treatment in Australia
and New Zealand in 2005 75.6% (7,381) were singletons, 23.5%
(2,298) were twins, and 0.9% (85) were higher order multiples.
16 October 2007
Further information: Professor Michael Chapman,
tel. 02 9350 2315, mob. 0412 900 120 or Dr Elizabeth Sullivan, tel.
02 9382 1014, mob. 043 999 4820.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for the availability of Assisted Reproduction
Technology in Australia and New Zealand 2005.