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In This Issue:
Lisa Gillis and her husband John always dreamed of having a family of their own, but for many years, struggles to conceive kept them from realizing that dream. Today, thanks to successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) performed at BWH, the couple are the proud parents of an 18-month-old boy. This past weekend, Lisa enjoyed a particularly special Mother’s Day, as she prepares for her family to grow once more with the expected arrival of a second child this October, again through IVF at BWH.
The couple turned to the BWH IVF Clinic, after having tried several other fertility treatments. IVF is a reproductive technology in which the egg and sperm are combined outside the body in a laboratory setting. The resulting embryo is then implanted into the woman, and if successful, will yield a healthy pregnancy. “For those in their early thirties, like Lisa, 15 percent of couples are faced with infertility, while 85 percent are not,” said Elizabeth Ginsburg, MD, BWH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who served as Lisa’s physician throughout her various fertility treatments. “So, when most of their acquaintances and friends in their age bracket are conceiving easily, those that are infertile truly go through a difficult time.”
Gillis went through four IVF attempts before successfully conceiving her son. “IVF is a long, involved process that can be quite stressful. John and I were literally at the mercy of the monitoring, injections and test results each time we tried,” she said.
“Although their IVF journey has been lengthy and stressful at times, Lisa and John were very thoughtful about the whole process—a couple with a complete understanding of limiting the number of embryos implanted to protect the mom and baby from the many risks associated with multiple births.”
Throughout the process, the Gillises were counseled on the potential for and the impact of multiple births. An algorithm, initially developed by IVF Laboratory Director Catherine Racowsky, PhD, in 1999, provides the most appropriate guidance for the couple based on a series of factors including age, number of IVF attempts, number of embryos available in the cycle, and the quality of the available embryos. The algorithm is constantly being tailored to address the ever-improving technologies and is now on its tenth iteration.
Thanks to application of the algorithm and better understanding of what factors are most likely to contribute to multiple births, BWH has seen a steady decrease in high order multiple births over the last five years. Such scientific advancement allows the IVF team to make even more accurate recommendations as to the optimal number of embryos to be implanted.
The rate of triplets or more at BWH has decreased significantly—just 2.4 percent in 2004. “The algorithm ruling the science is an incredibly powerful tool, helping BWH maintain pregnancy rates while minimizing the risk of multiple births,” said Racowsky, who has now set her sights on creating a table to tackle the ever-increasing rate of twin births.
“There is a tendency for patients to become frustrated with failed attempts and want to increase the number of embryos; however, that was not the case with Lisa and John,” said Ginsburg, explaining that only six IVF treatments are covered through insurance in Massachusetts.
“We never wanted to transfer more embryos than we were willing to parent,” said Gillis. “We were so lucky to have our first child. It just didn’t make any sense to push the envelope and put myself and any future children at risk.”
Following the birth of her son, Sean, Gillis elected to undergo IVF treatment again, conceiving her second child after only two attempts. “BWH gave us a family. It’s truly a miracle,” she said. “Dr. Ginsburg and the amazing nurses were incredibly supportive, really sticking by us throughout the entire process. They made us believe it would happen and inspired us to keep trying. I feel so grateful. No wonder why BWH has such great success rates!”