Fewer twins in proud surrogacy, which is why

When you think of couples in surrogacy in general and proud in particular, it is customary to think that bringing a twin into the world is the ideal. After all, if the process has already begun and there is agreement with a surrogate, why not bring two children into one procedure? But in recent years, the reality is different, and there is a clear reason for that

Proud family. Illustration. (ShutterStock)

Proud family. Illustration. (Photo: ShutterStock, ShutterStock)

In the past, it was common for same-sex couples to undergo a surrogacy procedure to bring about twins. Among other things, because in this way the intended parents wanted to bring a genetic offspring of each spouse. Over the past decade we have seen fewer and fewer twins' pregnancies and this is one major reason.

The stats don't lie. Twin pregnancy is an at-risk pregnancy and can lead to preeclampsia in the pregnant woman, neurological injuries in children and most often will end in premature birth. How early? 70% of twin pregnancies end before the 37th week, compared to only 10% of normal pregnancies. It is also worth noting that 30% of twin pregnancies end even earlier - before the 34th week and their newborn babies are defined as premature babies. 10% of these pregnancies end before the 32nd week in life-threatening situations.

In the early 2000s, fertility clinics used to return three, four, and even five fetuses in fertility treatments, with the goal of increasing the chance of fetal absorption and pregnancy. This has been the accepted practice and has also been applied in surrogacy, but in the case of surrogacy this does not make much medical sense.

Dr. Ohad Khoury - Specialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics at Beilinson Hospital, will direct the panel "Medical Aspects of the Egg and Surrogate Donation Process in the US and Canada" at the annual surrogacy conference on December 6 in Tel Aviv. It will be joined by five world experts in fertilization and surrogacy.

"Fertility clinics usually deal with women who have a fertility problem, so multiple returns and the chances of success of the process are relatively low," explains Dr. Khoury. "But in the case of a surrogate, the situation is completely different. It is a healthy woman who chooses to become pregnant to assist the intended parents and undergoes tests to ensure that she is able to carry a pregnancy, so the success rates in the process are infinitely high. "

"Returning a large number of fetuses to healthy women's brains has led to a high number of multi-fetal and at-risk pregnancies and so it is now customary to return only one fetus per attempt." Dr. Khoury reassures those concerned about the chances of embryo absorption: "If the artificial fertilization procedure is normal, the success rate of embryo recovery is about 20%, in surrogacy it is three times more. 60% -70% ".

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Tide families illustration. (ShutterStock)

Tide Families Illustration (Photo: ShutterStock, ShutterStock)

Another reason for choosing many pairs of twin pregnancies was the high cost of the surrogacy procedure. Although twins are an additional component to a surrogate, the total cost of a process whereby twins are historically lower than another is born to bring a second child and expand the family unit in the future. But this relative advantage is almost non-existent today.

In recent years, health insurance companies have realized that the risk of multiple pregnancies is particularly high and they are refusing to insure or compete for huge sums of money. "With thousands of dollars every day of the injury, and the chances of premature birth are so high - any potential savings lose meaning," says Asaf Rosenheim, a member of the MHB Executive Committee who lives in Israel.

Each year, MHB (Men Having Babies) collects information from dozens of surrogacy agencies, expert attorneys, and North American fertility clinics to allow designated parents to compare different providers. "In recent years, we have been hearing about more and more clinics and insurance companies that are simply no longer ready to accompany twin pregnancies," Rosenheim adds. And not only that, once twin pregnancy is no longer the "standard," many surrogates choose to help only families who plan to deliver one fetus.

He gathered with his two children and the surrogate. (Photo: PR)

He gathered with his two children and the surrogate. (Photo: PR, PR)

The waiting period for a surrogate who has medical insurance that covers surrogacy and is ready to carry twins, exceeds 12 months. I am a father to the twins, obviously where I am today with two healthy 8 year olds I would not do it any other way. But if you were to ask me during pregnancy, when we almost lost both of them at week 22, I would say without a doubt we would prefer a pregnancy of one healthy fetus than two with such a risk. Sadly, I know dozens of couples who lost twin pregnancies, each saying that if he knew then what he knows today, he would have behaved differently "

"My recommendation is to avoid multiple pregnancies," Dr. Khoury concludes.

The annual MHB surrogacy conference and Gay Fathers Association will be held on Friday, December 6, 19, at the EAST Event Hall in Tel Aviv, where Dr. Khoury Panel will discuss medical aspects of the egg and surrogacy donation process.