Hi there, I just turned 39. My RE said he usually transfers 3 in my age group, but there are lots of twins at his clinic and now he is suggesting 2. In the end, I decided on 3. I did get a BFP and my beta numbers are high which could mean I am carrying multiples. Since you have already done 2, I would suggest 3, depending on the quality of the embies.

My dh and I transfered 3 embyros and we are now PG.I am 35 and we did 3 day tansfer. We did a 5 day transfer the time before and did get PG but mc. Best of luck to you!!!

My RE makes a suggestion the day of ET based on the quality of the embryos and my age, lab work, etc. Last time they suggested two and we did two. I am assuming we will do two again this time around. But if they suggested three we would probably do that (not sure though). I am 34 right now.

Good luck with what ever you decide! :-)

Also, when they make a suggestion before ET, they tell us the odds of having one, two, three, etc.
I did a three day transfer the first time and am guessing they will do that again this time.

This opinion may not be popular, but I feel it is really problematic to transfer 4 embryos (or even 3 for that matter). My perspective is somewhat different, as I'm a Canadian and a lot of clinics up here refuse to transfer more than 2 if you are under 40 years of age.

Yes, having 3 or 4 transfered would increase your chances of success, but what if they all implant? Then you are in a terrible position of trying to figure out whether to do a selective reduction, or try to sustain a high-risk pregnancy--more risks for you, more risks for your babies. I know the temptation must be very great, but I would do more research about the possible risks involved with premature births related to IVF, as well as risks of miscarriage if you do a selective reduction before making that kind of decision.

I hope I haven't offended you, but I think you should hear all kinds of views/perspectives before you make this important decision.

I just had my ET this morning and decided on 4 because of my age. I am 42. Three of them were morulas (not sure of the spelling) and the ohther was an 8 cell embryo. I feel good about my decision as I really wanted to give this cycle my best shot and in my age group transferring 4 is acceptable.

Thank you so much for your advise and opinions.
Sophiah I'm not at all offended, I appreciate your input.
We still have a little over two weeks before of ER and ET, which will be the week of the 17th. Have a lot of praying and research to do before deciding.
Thanks again, :)

The other thing with tranferring two embryos, which is what I do, there is still a small chance one could split and then you could have three. When we went it was about a 5% chance of that happening.

I am 29. I am doing a day five transfer. For my age group the RE said they would transfer 2.

If I were you, I would do three, especially since you failed your first IVF, which suggests that it is very unlikely that all three would implant. It might help you, though, if you knew what you would do in the unlikely event of having three implant -- selective reduction versus trying to sustain a triplet pregnancy, which is very high risk. Ultimately, it depends on the risks you are willing to take and your own feelings on the matter. I wouldn't do four, though, at your age (although "advanced maternal age", you just barely qualify for that!) :-)

Im curious as to other than implanting more embryos than last time; what your RE suggested as far as a different course of treatment goes? I know theres usually no explanation for why embryos dont implant, but are they trying to do anything differently? I dont know, Id probably go for 3 next time and perhaps a 5 day transfer instead? I know sometimes they dont like to do 5 day transfers when there arent a lot of fertilized eggs (we had 11). With ours for example, they all did great until day of ET we found out only 1 progressed to a Blastocyst (day 5 embryo), others got stuck as Morulas (day 4 embryos). I was set on 2 embyros, so we put in 1 of the Morulas as well. Maybe if you did a day 5, you could have a Blastocyst and Morula put in; simply because we were told theyve implated Morulas before and seen pregnancy to where they implanted 2 perfect Blastocyst in other women and they did not get pregnant.
Its a tough decision but if youre prepared for 3; then go for it!

The most we ever got were 3 and we transferred them. Our doctor didn't blink an eye. I'm 36. If I had 4, I would have put them in, believe me!

We thought of it this way...the worse that could happen is we would have multiple and have an instant family and not have to go through any of the crap anymore!!!

...you know, maybe get on the Today Show and have Ann Curry follow the lives of our multiples...the town would donate a house and a mini-van...we had it all planned out!!

rhodygrl! I am laughing at your post about the house and minivan! Don't forget about the free diapers! HA!

I think you should stretch the number of children you want to have and then add another to leave room for the event that some might not take. it is very unlikely they will all take. I know selective reduction sounds horrible but when we have been through as much as all of us ladies have it is just one more bump in the road. You will figure out what is right for you when you are faced with that decision. If it should arise. if you know the number of multiples is threatening your other babies or yourself it may make the decision seem easier. They will be able to tell which ones are healthy. I hope none of us are faced with that decision. Just do what is right for you. For us after 3 rounds of misfortune we will be as aggressive as our next Dr. will let us. Sorry to go on, just reflecting on our own situation. Good luck and much love to you and your DH on your big day.

I had 2 transferred on Day 5 (8 cell, grade 4AA in blastocyst stage) and I am 37. If I go through another IVF cycle, I will only transfer 2. My RE will not transfer 3 because the risk is too high for triplets (or quadruplets of one splits). Funny how some of us are given a choice!