According to the 2004 CDC report titled "Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance," 127,977 assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures performed in 2004 and reported to the CDC resulted in the live birth of 49,458 infants.

Of those, 32.2% of these infants were from twin, triplet, quadruplet or higher order multiple deliveries. The MOST Birth Survey data shows that approximately 85% of triplets are the result of some type of fertility treatments and around 15% are conceived spontaneously. The percentage of spontaneous conceptions in the MOST survey decreases for quadruplets to approximately 4%, and <1% for quintuplets or higher, but not all triplets, quadruplets, or even quintuplets are the result of fertility treatments.*

Below are additional facts on multiple gestations and ART from the 2004 CDC report:

• 50% of all infants born through ART in 2004 were multiples including twins.
• ART was responsible for 17% of twins and 40% of higher order multiples in 2004*.
• Higher order multiple infants represent 5.9% of all births conceived from ART procedures, meaning 94.1% of births that result from the use of ART are singletons or twins and not triplets or more (Wright, et al., 2004).

*Due to recent improvements in many ART procedures and recommendations for the increased use of techniques like single-embryo transfers (SET) by organizations such as the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the percentage of respondents to the MOST Birth Survey indicating their higher order multiples were conceived as a result of one or more ART procedures has declined. Since 2003, more respondents to the MOST birth survey indicated conceiving their higher order multiples following the use of ovulatory stimulating medications alone rather than the use of one or more ART procedures. While statistics are available on how ART procedures have affected the number of multiple births, statistics are currently not collected or available in the US on how ovulation induction (through the use of medications alone or with insemination) affect the number of multiple births. For more information, see the MOST Recommendations on the Responsible Use of Fertility Treatments (PDF).

Regardless of the conception, MOST strives to support any family of multiples. We understand that many of these families have spent months and sometimes years coping with challenges and losses beyond their control, and that the ultimate goal is for a healthy pregnancy regardless of how the couple conceives. Unfortunately, families of higher order multiples face a high-risk pregnancy and many years of parenting 3, 4, 5, or more children all at the same time. Therefore, we encourage friends and family members to offer positive support for the couple's choices once they are expecting higher order multiples, as these pregnancies truly are not the norm even with the use ART procedures, and this support can be very beneficial to both parents and children.

For other information sources on infertility, see MOST's Infertility Resource Listing

RESOLVE also offers a report titled Multiple Births: Risks and Rewards

Visit the MOST Supertwins Statistics page to learn more about the conception of multiple births.

MOST Recommendations on the Responsible Use of Fertility Treatments (PDF)

Multiple gestation and infertility treatment: registration, reflection and reaction—the Belgian project

Please Note:
MOST provides these FAQs for informational purposes and cautions visitors not to use the content below to make treatment decisions without personally consulting a qualified health care provider. Reuse of this content without proper citation is a violation of copyright. To obtain permission to use Supertwins 101 content contact MOST.

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Copyright MOST 2005       Updated 3/28/08