misconeptions

Yes, some woman gave birth to octuplets , all of which appear to be fine, born at 30 weeks. I normally don't like to contribute to the hysteria surrounding these types of stories However, I realize that mandy people have not gone through infertility and are not familiar with the NORMAL course of fertility treatment, so I felt a duty to address it in the hopes that I can clear up even one person's misconceptions.

This is NOT normal. Despite the comments you read in any article on this story, this is NOT what happens when people "ignore god's will" and insist on undergoing risky fertility treatment rather than "just adopt". The reason this is in the news is because it is an anomaly. It is also the nightmare of any decent RE or patient.

Furthermore, this is VERY unlikely the result of IVF. I got angry when one of the stupid idiots on View referred to how the mother should have known that her "in vitro" would result in 8 babies. Women undergoing IVF rarely have more than twins. Most REs transfer 2 embryos in an in vitro cycle, occasionally 3 or 4 if the woman is (a) of significantly advanced maternal age, (b) has multiple failed cycles and/or (c) has very low quality embryos. I've never seen on my boards any more than 4 transferred, and have never seen anyone pregnant with more than triplets, and even the triplets are few and far between - in an anecdotal guess I would say fewer than 5%. This is not to say that it doesn't happen, and that doctors don't transfer more, but the standard of care in fertility treatment is to transfer about 2 absent extenuating circumstances. IVF'ers do not have 7 or 8 babies.

What could cause an octuplet pregnancy is probably ovarian hyperstimulation with injectable meds, followed by intrauterine insemination (IUI). However, MOST REs will cancel an IUI cycle if the patient shows more than 3 mature follicles, for the very reason of avoiding high order multiples. Most REs also recommend selective reduction for more than 3, and counsel patients before going forward with an IUI that this is a possible recommendation with more than 2-3 follicles, and the patient has the option to cancel if they are not comfortable with Selective Reduction.

Moral of the story? This is not a typical result of fertility treatment, it is likely due to someone's irresponsibility, either a doctor, the patient (sometimes when counseled against going forward with an IUI due to too many follicles, couples will still have sex in hopes of getting pregnant anyways), or both. I was grateful to see this was the angle on the story some papers took, rather than the sensationalist. Please don't mention the octuplets to someone you know going through fertility treatment and ask if this will be them (same goes for Jon and Kate plus 8).

So, please don't make cruel comments to those who are struggling to get pregnant. Even a "You might have 8 children at one time" or "This is what happens when you play God." is cruel and thoughtless.


I know that I'm lucky that my friends and family are more sensitive and understand that my children will not be science experiments or sources of topical levity, regardless of their method of conception. If more people knew the truth about fertility treatment, maybe others wouldn't be subjected to such cruelty either.