IVF twins most likely in London

London fertility clinics are producing more risky twin births than elsewhere in Britain, figures reveal.

But the capital's IVF doctors also have better success rates than the average.

Twins or triplets account for more than one in three births in some city clinics, compared with one in four births nationally.

The highest rate was at Mohammed Taranissi's Reproductive Genetics Institute near Regent's Park, with 33 per cent of live births producing twins. Overall, seven of the 15 London clinics studied had a higher twin rate than the national average.

This week the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said doctors should cut the twin or triplet rate to 10 per cent by 2012.

The fertility watchdog said the rise in IVF twins puts babies at greater risk of stillbirth and defects such as cerebral palsy.

But women desperate for a baby fear the new HFEA strategy will deny them the best chance of a family.

Today's figures, for 2005, show the NHS unit Chelsea and Westminster will have to cut the multiple rate by two thirds and Bart's by less than half. The centre for reproductive medicine at Bart's had a twin rate of 17 per cent, almost seven percentage points lower than the national average.

Mr Taranissi, whose private clinics both have a twin rate of more than 30 per cent, said: "It is crucial that we do this carefully to make sure the pregnancy rate does not drop dramatically."

It is estimated that if all IVF babies were single births, 126 fewer would die each year.

Clinics can transfer a maximum of two embryos back to a women's womb during IVF, or three if she is in her forties. The HFEA ruled out a ban on the transfer of more than one egg at a time but clinics are under pressure to cut back.

Sucess rates % live births per cycle started % of multiple births
Name Under 35s 35-37 38-39 40-42 Twins Triplets
King's College Hospital 19 17 14 4 26 1
Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre 61 49 39 * 32 1
The Bridge Centre 31 22 14 9 22  
Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Barts 28 22 22 9 17 1
Chelsea and Westminster 33 25 * * 30 *
CRM London 34 27 * * 28 1
+Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre 34 30 12 7    
Guy's Hospital 32 24 13 9 23 1
Harley Street Fertility Centre 25 * * * 20 *
Homerton Hospital 15 15 * * 16 *
IVF Hammersmith 28 24 14 6 24  
Lister Fertility Clinic 43 33 23 14 28 0
London Fertility Centre 32 28 25 14 20 1
Reproductive Genetics Institute 42 37 30 14 33 1
UCH London 41 32 29 * 25 *
National Average 29.6 23.6 18.2 10 23.6 1.1

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in