[Multiple pregnancies: epidemiology and management]

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2003 Oct 4;147(40):1952-5.
[Article in Dutch]

Abstract

Since the 1980s, the percentage of multiple pregnancies in the Netherlands has increased. Nowadays, the percentage of triplets is decreasing but there is still an increase in the percentage of twin pregnancies. A major cause is that Dutch women tend to delay starting a family until an advanced age. This increases their chances of a spontaneous multiple pregnancy. Moreover, they are prone to subfertility and consequently have a greater chance of undergoing treatments involving assisted-reproduction techniques such as intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation. In the Netherlands, the majority of higher order multiple pregnancies result from mild ovarian hyperstimulation in combination with IUI. In case of in-vitro fertilisation, since the practice of transferring a maximum of two embryos still results in 20-25% twin pregnancies, single-embryo transfer should be advocated more often.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Fertilization in Vitro
  • Humans
  • Infertility / therapy*
  • Insemination, Artificial
  • Netherlands
  • Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome / etiology
  • Ovulation Induction / adverse effects
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy, Multiple* / statistics & numerical data