More twin births in the city

June 19, 2012 06:16 pm | Updated July 12, 2016 04:34 am IST - CHENNAI:

Changing lifestyles and busier work schedules are inducing changes in the physiology leading to an increase in numbers of working professionals to opt for fertility treatments. These in turn lead to the numbers of multiple births at hospitals in the city. In effect, multiple births come with a higher risk of developing complications along with added expenses.

While the government hospitals stated that the numbers of twins being born in hospitals across the city have notably increased in the past year, prominent fertility clinics affirmed the same. According to the fertility clinics, the reason can be attributed to busier lifestyles of people, especially working full-time.

Doctors point out that due to hectic work schedules, factors such as irregular food habits leading to obesity, inverted sleep cycles may contribute to growing cases of infertility. More number of couples are thus opting for fertility treatments, relying on various fertility drugs to help them conceive. Moreover, age is another issue that needs to be factored into the matter. According to Dr. Sarat Battina, the infertility specialist at Apollo hospital, “Upto 35 years of age, a woman is in the most fertile phase. Between 35 and 39, she enters into a plateau zone and finally 40 years onwards, her chances of conceiving begin to drop steadily.”

According to a fertility specialist, normally for a single embryo, a woman goes upto nine months before her delivery. The gestation period is shorter for multiple births. Due to a reduced gestation period, the fetuses have lesser time to develop thus requiring the support of incubators after birth thereby increasing the chances of infant mortality. As a result of these factors, the mother goes into preterm labor which can have several complications risking the life of the unborn child along with the mother.

Shedding light on the likelihood of side effects of fertility drugs, a senior official of the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynecology (IOG) said, "Patients who use certain fertility drugs, need to be closely monitored as there can be possible side effects such as accumulation of fluid in the lungs and other body cavities."

Referring to the science of the issue, fertility treatment drugs, especially gonadotropin used to induce ovulation, causes generation of multiple ova increasing the likelihood of fertilisation of more than one ovum. Patients using fertility treatment therefore require close monitoring. “We monitor them very closely. We ask them to come in every day or atleast every alternate day to the clinic for a checkup,” said Dr. Battina.

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