The journey from infertility to parenting multiples: a dream come true?

Abstract

Infertility deeply affects psychosocial aspects of young couples, who often erroneously take fertility for granted. The inevitable transformation from apparently healthy adults into patients can lead to loss of self-esteem, confidence, health, close relationships, security, and hope. Frequently, when emotional and psychological resources are diminished after prolonged infertility, the couple may express their desperate wish for a family in the form of accepting without reservation the risks of a multiple pregnancy, ignoring the undeniable increased morbidity and mortality associated with these gestations. It is unclear why a couple embarking on the journey of infertility treatment may prefer a pregnancy that is tenfold as likely to have a serious adverse outcome. Of the three potential explanations for such an attitude--desperation, denial, and ignorance--only the last one can be solved with patient education and adequate counseling. At the same time, it is unjustified to avoid assisted reproductive technologies because of potential adverse outcome, however necessary it is to acknowledge the risk of multiple births.