[Maha]

i'm 11 weeks pregnant with dichrionic twins conceived through ivf and i was wondering if there will be a difference between them and twins conceived naturally? I often hear about that bond between twins... is it the same for ivf twins? i mean i could have only put one back and frozen the other and used it in a few years making them just siblings...

 

[suitcase of dreams]

Maha - I'm also carrying non identical twins (both boys) conceived through IVF
What I have read in a couple of twins books is that there is often a strong bond between identical twins, and sometimes less so with non identicals, where the relationship is more that of siblings...but this is regardless of how they were conceived - and varies hugely from person to person
But overall as far as I can see, the fact that you/we had IVF has no bearing on how the twins will relate to eachother 

Suitcase
x

 

[Cuthbert]

I have 8 year old boy/girl twins from ICSI and my two have a much closer relationship than my father-in-law has with his twin sister so I'm not sure that the IVF aspect makes much difference. I do have identical twin brothers and identical twin Aunts and their bond is quite different from the non-identical twins in my family so in my case that aspect has much more effect than IVF.

Jules

 

[glitter89]

Congratulations everyone, can i ask what are the risks you and babies have if you have having a twin pregnancie??

Just im having IVF and we are unsure if we should have two embrios put in or just one.
We really want to go for two but are a little unsure of the risks of twins having disabilitie.

Hope to hear back from you soon.

Thanks Carly

 

[suitcase of dreams]

Carly - I don't think there is necessarily any higher risk of the babies having disabilities - the likelihood of Downs and other chromosomal abnormalties is more related to age of mother and not to number of babies (I had donor eggs so less of an issue for me anyway as donor was young) - at least as far as I am aware

There are higher risks to the pregnancy though - there can be a higher chance of miscarriage (and it's quite common to lose one twin before 12 weeks), twin pregnancies often experience more bleeding early in pregnancy which can be very stressful and scary. You are more likely to go into premature labour with twins and the babies are more likely to need special care etc
Pregnancy is also physically much harder on you especially once you get to the 3rd trimester...

I'm single and 40 and have had many failed attempts at IVF with my own and donor eggs. I knew that I was unlilkely to be able to try again after this so for me it's ideal as I never wanted an only child but it has been very hard work being pregnant with twins (both emotionally and physically) and I'm not even at the hardest bit yet (I'm 28wks but measuring/feeling more like 35 and still 10 to go..)
And of course financially it's tough too as you need 2 of everything straight away rather than being able to re-use things for 2nd child etc

I wouldn't change it for the world and I'm delighted to be expecting twins, but you do have to weigh up the pros and cons carefully and think about your own personal circumstances etc

Best of luck
Suitcase
x

 

[chocolate_teapot]

The higher possibility of disability with twins is (I believe) due to the higher probability of prematurity which can cause problems - but only in a minority of cases. I don't remember the statistics but most twin pregnancies do make it to term (or near enough that prematurity is not a problem). It is a difficult decision to make though. Personally  I didn't want twins and wanted just one embryo put back    but my doctor changed my mind! Of course I wouldn't change them for the world now....but I found it quite difficult to get my head round at first.

 

[Guest]

You aren't the only one who only wanted one and not twins CT!! I admit that we had two put back to give a better chance, not for wanting twins but I wouldn't swap them now, they're great.

The potential difference between ICSI/ IVF babies (singleton/multiple whatever) is that if ICSI is used, the selection of sperm to egg is determined by the embryologist rather than leaving it to nature. 

Conventional IVF is more like nature in that the sperm and eggs are left to their own devices therefore the strongest sperm gets itself the 'prize' egg.

My parents have a friend who is an identical.  She and her sister are so different it's amazing that they are identical.  Our two have a much stronger bond with each other and they cannot possibly be identical since they are boy/girl.

There is nothing else that would make an IVF pregnancy / birth / upbringing any different to naturally conceived.