[TracyB]

Ladies (and gents too),
I am thinking of having 3 embryos transferred with my frozen cycle. I had 2 transferred on IVF #1 and 1 embryo stuck and later miscarried. Do any of you know the chances of transferring 3 embryos and actually having all 3 stick? Is that common?

I would like to increase my chances but not necessarily have triplets. I would only do 3 embryos if the chances were very slim.

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by TracyB

Ladies (and gents too),
I am thinking of having 3 embryos transferred with my frozen cycle. I had 2 transferred on IVF #1 and 1 embryo stuck and later miscarried. Do any of you know the chances of transferring 3 embryos and actually having all 3 stick? Is that common?

I would like to increase my chances but not necessarily have triplets. I would only do 3 embryos if the chances were very slim.

Be careful.

Ask your clinic for their implantation rate for frozens that are just like yours (same age group and developmental stage). Success rates with frozens vary a lot.

They might not even allow it. Recently revised ASRM guidance holds frozen transfers to the same guidelines as fresh.

[Kay]

I would say in any kind of a transfer to only transfer the number you are comfortable with actually implanting. There might be a slim chance, but there is always a chance. I have seen many cases on this forum where poor quality embies have made it or people end up with multiples when the "odds" were slim. I say I would do this, because I could not make the decison to reduce. That might not be the case for you.
I really wanted twins, but my high risk OB told me to only transfer one frozen embie because a multiple pregnancy would be too risky. He said even with transfering only one, I could still have twins if the embie split. We transfered one good quality frozen embie and I am now pregnant with one.
This is a hard decision, but I would say if you aren't afraid of a multiple pregnancy.... go for it.

Kay

[daisy2006]

We transferred 3 on my 1st IVF cycle and all 3 took. Unfortunately, we did not have a full term sucessful pregnancy. This time we are sticking w/ just transferring 2. Honestly, that even makes me nervous.

It's a difficult decision, good luck w/ whatever you choose.

[TracyB]

Thank you for the advise ladies. Good stuff to know. I think I will talk to my RE about it and check out the success rates with my age group and situation and see what he recommends doing. I was reading my documentation I received today and it said that 80% of embryos make it through the thaw process. Maybe I will thaw 3 just to be sure that at least 2 make it and just transfer 2. I wonder if when they thaw them if you can re-freeze them. It doesn't sound like that would be good for them...but I don't know.

[Kristin3d]

My RE said you can not re-freeze embryos after they have been thawed. I do know that they watch them closely as they are thawing and will know before as they watch if one isn't going to make it - then they will start thawing another for you so you have the number you want. Good Luck!

[Brooklyn]

I agree - be very careful here. I totally appreciate the horrible game of odds we have to play with this whole IVF process but seriously, only put back as many as you would be comfortable implanting.

My entire life I only wanted one child. I almost implanted three embryos thinking the entire time it wasn't going to work - I implanted two and am 24 weeks pregnant with twins. I was seriously depressed about this at first and it messed with my head. I have now embraced my two beautiful babies and can't imagine it any other way but it was tough to swallow in the beginning.

Good luck with your decision.

[jerseyjandj]

My first ivf i transferred 2 re said 3 was ok but at the time i was nervous about triplets ... one beautiful baby took shes now 10 months old ..... we just did a fet a few wks ago we defrosted 8 embies and 3 thawed and we transfered all 3 ... it was a ....i agree with the other ladies feel comfy on what you can handle just remember 2 embies can become triplets too BOL

[thebunn]

I absolutely agree that you need to be careful. You also need to take into account your past pregnancies and your specific situation. I'm 27, have great eggs, and am overall healthy, but because of my situation most RE's suggest transferring 3-4 which is shocking for people to hear. Who in their right mind would put that many back in a 27 year old!?!? We needed to have some serious discussions with our RE before making any decisions- I didn't want to end up endangering myself of babies. And once we understood our situation better, we were comfortable with the idea.

The first time we transferred 3 "perfect" and BFN. This time we transferred 3 "perfect" again and are currently pregnant with a singleton. So, out of 6 perfect embryos (all transferred day 3) only one stuck!! Some patients just need a higher number, but make sure to get several opinions before jumping on board with an above-normal number of embies. And it's just as important to make sure that you are comfortable with it.

Good luck!!

[hj'smommy]

We were going to transfer 3. My Re said it doesn't the increase odds of triplets as much as it increased odds of twins. We were ok with whatever happened, but transferred 2 and are having 1. We decided against transferring 3 because I had OHSS and RE said he wouldn't do it unless I absolutely wanted him to...and I think we made the right decision for us.

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by TracyB

I wonder if when they thaw them if you can re-freeze them. It doesn't sound like that would be good for them...but I don't know.

My clinic re-freezes embryos sometimes. We have had several successes with twice-frozen embryos, including at least a few live births so far. They can be refrozen and they can work.

[Kay]

I was told we could re freeze as well. The number thawed will probably be dependent on how they are frozen. I had two straws with single embies and several straws with 2 embies. They started with a single, it didn't make it. Next they thawed a double. One did not make it and the other is the baby I am pregnant with now. You might want to ask how yours were frozen. I think most common in in pairs.
Kay

[dndtaylor]

Hi Ladies. I agree, this is a tough topic. But here is my two cents ... For our FET after a long discussion with our RE and DH, along with lots and lots of prayers, we decided to ET 4. At the time, I was 28 and we had had 2 failed IVF cycles and we were doing a new lupron protocol with our RE. Even though we were so eager to become parents we knew that transferring 4 was a bit risky. Of our 4, two were great quality and two were not so good. But we talked about it and prayed and decided on ET 4 anyway. At the end of the day, we were blessed with a pregnancy and we now have a one year old little girl.

I think what I'm trying to say is that only you, your DH and your RE's advice can determine what is best for you and your family. I know that it is nice to hear what others have to say and have input from all around, however please base your final decision on what you truly feel is right in your heart. I had many people tell me that I was nuts, careless and over the top for ET 4, especially being young. To this day I'm proud of our decision, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Who is to say that if I would have listened to what others said, or how others judged me versus doing what I felt was right for our circumstance, who knows if I'd be a mom right now?

[Kay]

I agree with you Devon, but I know you considered what you would do if all of them took. For some, that decision is very painful. I would rather deal with the what ifs BEFORE the transfer.
Kay

[GinaG31]

I would say do whatever you are comfortable with. Like PP said, 2 can become 3 or even 4 if they both split. Stranger things have happened. I had 3 embies put back in all 4 of my IVF's. I have one child from my 1st IVF. You never know. My embryo quality is poor so that is why my RE suggests we put back 3. I'm glad we did. GL with whatever you decide.