Is guided, targeted information about the risks of twin pregnancy able to increase the acceptance of single embryo transfer among IVF couples? A prospective study

Objective: To assess whether receiving information about twin pregnancy in the form of oral presentation given by a physician could affect the acceptance of single embryo transfer (SET) by couples undergoing IVF. Study design: Prospective interventional study. Setting: University hospital IVF unit. Patients: One hundred and forty patients (70 couples) undergoing IVF. Interventions: A questionnaire to measure patients’ emotions about twin pregnancy was administered to IVF patients just before and immediately after attending a slide presentation in which the risks of twin pregnancy were explained. Patients scored (1 to 6) ten adjectives linked either to positive or negative emotions; scores before and after presentation were compared. The patients’ preference between double embryo transfer (DET) and SET was also registered before and after the presentation. Results: The presentation about twin pregnancy caused a significant (p < 0.001) shift of the score distribution toward lower values for positive adjectives referred to twin pregnancy and higher values for negative adjectives. Information impacted similarly on women and men. Despite the relevant change in the emotional attitude, after presentation, 45.7% of women and 48.6% of men were still favorable to DET, whereas 24.3% of women and 37.1% of men preferred SET. Conclusions: Oral information on the risks of twin pregnancy can affect the emotional attitude of patients toward twin pregnancy, but the wish of getting pregnant after fresh embryo transfer overcomes all rational consideration, and the majority of patients still prefer DET.