Fertility doctors aim to lower rate of twin births

Fertility clinic doctors are reporting an epidemic of twins in the US and are now urging couples to try one embryo at a time.

Boston - US doctors are reporting an epidemic - of twins.

New federal numbers show nearly half of all babies born with advanced fertility help are multiple births.

In the five years since the "Octomom" case — when a California woman gave birth to octuplets — big multiple births have decreased substantially, but the twin rate has barely budged.

Twins aren't always twice as nice; they have much higher risks of prematurity and serious health problems.

Fertility help

Now fertility experts are pushing a new goal and that is a growing number of couples attempting pregnancy with just a single embryo, helped by new ways to pick the ones most likely to succeed.

New guidelines are also urging doctors to stress this approach.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent numbers show that 46% of IVF babies are multiples — mostly twins — and 37% are born premature. By comparison, only 3% of babies born without fertility help are twins and about 12% are preterm.

It's mostly an American problem and some European countries that pay for fertility treatments require using one embryo at a time.

Embryo transfer

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is trying to make it the norm in the US, too. Its guidelines, updated earlier this year, say that for women with reasonable medical odds of success, those under 35 should be offered a single embryo transfer and no more than two at a time. The number rises with age to two or three embryos for women up to 40, since older women have more trouble conceiving.

The medical director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, a Manhattan fertility clinic, Dr Alan Copperman, said: “Our goal in 2014 is to minimize the birth of twins.

"This year I'm talking about two versus one. Several years ago I was talking about three versus two" embryos.”

The one-at-a-time idea is catching on. Only 4% of women under 35 used single embryos in 2007 but nearly 12% did in 2011.

It's less common among older women, who account for fewer IVF pregnancies, but it is gaining among them, too.

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Yoga for Computer Users: Releases Lower Back Pain

Twenty percent of all those who undergo surgery for lower back pain will get no relief. The remaining 80 percent will have problems ranging from mild to severe. All will have trouble with spinal flexion.

Yoga does not offer cures. It simply promises that if you faithfully practice these asanas every day, there will be no pain and you will build up a strong and supple spine, restructuring posture and body image. Once you have back problems you must remain conscious all through the day of how you stand, sit and lie down. Here are a few guidelines:

Always sleep on a firm (not necessarily hard) bed, with a flat pillow under your head and a thicker one under your knees. This will help the spine to reposition and adjust itself.

Do not wear high heels as this promotes lumbar lordosis and throws the spine out of balance.

Do not go in for break-dancing, strenuous aerobics, jogging, running or anything where you need to bounce or jiggle. Guarded activity is the key here.

For lower back pain, sitting is the most painful. Sit on a firm seat, not squashy cushions, and sit on your buttock bones. Do not loll back on the tailbone or lower spine. Wedge a rolled towel or small cushion behind your back to keep you upright. Sit as often as possible in The Diamond Posture (Figure 1) in order to benefit the sciatic nerve and to cure a convex or a lateral curvature of the spine.

When the pain is acute and you can neither sit nor stand in comfort, rest in bed, take whatever anti-inflammatory or analgesic medications your physician prescribes, and wait until the pain is milder before starting on these postures.

All these asanas have healing and curative properties. They will act as a form of mild traction, gently stretching the spinal muscles in safe extension postures. Strength will be gradually built up in the paraspinal muscles and buttocks, abdominal organs will be toned and strengthened, and pressure points all along the spine will be stimulated. Practice each asana to the point where mild pain is felt.