I’ve gotten behind posting the news (sorry!), but there have been a lot of interesting articles lately, so here’s a quick run-down:
The top story today is about the possibility that women in Britain may soon be restricted to the implantation of one embryo during an IVF procedure. Currently, there are strict rules that restrict women under 40 to two embryos at a time, while women over 40 may have three. From the article:
The move to cut the number of embryos implanted follows research showing that multiple births are not only costly but put a mother’s health at risk and lead to a higher rate of disabilities in babies.
Twins and triplets are more likely to be born prematurely and be underweight. Triplets, for instance, are typically born at 34 or 35 weeks. There is also a greater risk that babies will be stillborn or suffer a long-term disability such as cerebral palsy.
Research from Sheffield University showed that families conceiving triplets by IVF cost the NHS £32,354 in their first year of life – 10 times the cost of a single baby – because of the health complications suffered by the mother and children. Currently, the twin birth rate is 23.6 per cent for mothers undergoing IVF, compared to between one per cent and two per cent in the general population.
But some fertility experts have warned that a one-embryo policy – adopted in the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden – would deprive tens of thousands of women the chance of having a baby.
The above news about the possibility of a limitation to a single embryo transfer in Britain has run in a number of British publications. Check out this editorial, written by a father of twins.
I love this article about a twinmom speaking up about her public transportation struggles. And, there’s a comment from a British twins club at the bottom of the article.
A very detailed article about the separation-in-school issue and the legislation wending its way through the Georgia legislature.
And, an editorial about the bill.
Article about four-year-old twins, separated in an orphanage in China and adopted by different sets of American parents, are reunited in Disney World.
Fun article about jazz-playing triplet teens.
A school in Mumbai, India has 13 sets of twins. Nice comments at the end of the article about whether to keep twins together in school.