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by Anai Rhoads
This page discusses in detail all of the potential problems fertility drugs may cause.
You must be monitored on a daily basis for hMG. It requires taking blood samples to monitor your serum hormone levels; performing transvaginal ultrasounds to monitor the growth, quantity and quality of the follicles, checking the size of your ovaries; taking vaginal smears to detect the quality of cervical mucus, also using a marker for hormone levels.
The purpose of all this monitoring is to make sure that:
In addition, you should also be tracking your basal body temperature and the changes in your cervical mucous at home with a BBT chart, ovulation monitor or ovulation kit. (Note: You should not be on either clomiphene or hMG unless you're being monitored).
This is a condition that develops when the ovaries are overstimulated by either clomiphene or hMG, and suddenly double in size and overproduce follicles. The condition is more common with hMG.
What are the symptoms of OHSS?
The symptoms of OHSS are abdominal bloating, discomfort, nausea (which is often mistaken for morning sickness), and difficulty breathing.
How common is OHSS?
This condition is quite rare when the dose is low and the drug is used correctly, but the higher the dose and the longer you are on the drug, the higher the risk of OHSS.
| Decade | Natural Twins |
|---|---|
| 1960's | 1 in every 75 pregnancies |
| 1970's | 1 in every 95 pregnancies |
| 1980's | 1 in every 104 pregnancies |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Twins | 8 out of every 100 pregnancies |
| Triplets | 6 out of every 1,000 pregnancies |
| Quadruplets | 4 out of every 1,000 pregnancies |
| Quintuplets | 1 of every 1,000 pregnancies |
| Length | |
|---|---|
| Singleton | 40 weeks |
| Twins | 37 weeks |
| Triplets | 35 weeks |
The more fetuses you are carrying, the shorter the gestation period. While gestation is shorter, the chance of premature labor is higher.
If you have an existing condition that puts you in the high risk category, the condition can be compounded by multiple pregnancy.
Pregnancy loss also increases, and the risks of developing other pregnancy related problems such as toxemia, gestational diabetes, hypertension, protein in urine, and water retention.
