IVF babies on the rise
12 December 2001
Australian and New Zealand women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) have an almost one in 5 chance of becoming pregnant with each treatment cycle, new figures show.
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on assisted conception found the chance of pregnancy with each IVF treatment cycle was 18 per cent in 2000.
Professor Michael Chapman from the institute's national perinatal statistics unit said major advances in IVF in the past 2 years including advances in culture mediums and laboratory incubators had doubled viable pregnancy rates from a decade ago.
The report shows that more babies than ever are the result of IVF - in Australia in 1999 more than 4300 babies or 1.7 per cent of all births resulted from IVF.
Although the incidence of triplets and quads was reducing, twin pregnancy rates remained a concern.
Professor Chapman warned that women needed to be aware that delaying conception could result in disappointment despite improvements in the technology.
The report also compares pregnancy rates for all IVF centres.
Last Reviewed: 12 December 2001
- Medical Observer Weekly 7 December 2001
