Multiple births down in Europe, but IVF pregnancy rates remain stable

IVF pregnancy rates have remained the same in Europe, despite a reduction in multiple embryo transfers, according to data presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Paris.

ESHRE's European IVF Monitoring (EIM) Consortium collates the largest dataset on medically assisted reproduction in Europe. The 2022 data represented over 960,000 treatments from 1371 clinics across 39 countries. These included IVF and ICSI cycles, as well as frozen embryo transfers, preimplantation genetic testing cycles, egg donation cycles and IUI treatments with both partner and donor sperm.

Professor Diane De Neubourg, chair of the EIM Consortium, said: 'The report confirms the continued high utilisation of ART and IUI across Europe... While total reported cycles decreased slightly compared to 2021, clinical pregnancy rates remained stable'.

The data revealed no significant differences in pregnancy rates between 2021 and 2022, across IVF and ICSI fresh and frozen transfers, despite more single embryo transfers.

Transferring a single embryo at a time is encouraged because it helps reduce the rates of multiple births – which are higher-risk for both mothers and babies. The proportion of embryo transfers using a single embryo rose to 62.6 percent, compared to 60.5 the previous year. Correspondingly, twin births fell from 9.5 percent to 8.4 percent, with triplet births remaining at 0.1 percent of deliveries.

In addition to treatment cycles, over 30,000 fertility preservation treatments were reported from 14 countries. These included egg and sperm freezing, as well as ovarian and testicular tissue cryopreservation.

'This year's report highlights the importance of consistent, collaborative data collection across Europe. Despite a slight decline in overall treatment cycles in 2022, the stable pregnancy rates and continued uptake of single embryo transfer reflect steady progress in clinical practice, said Professor Karen Sermon, outgoing chair of ESHRE. 'By strengthening standardised reporting, we continue to drive improvements in care quality and outcomes for patients undergoing medically assisted reproduction.'

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Professor Karen Sermon is both speaking at and chairing sessions at this year's PET Annual Conference, What Does Genomics Mean for Fertility Treatment?.

Find out more and register here.