title: Reducing multiple pregnancies after assisted reproduction treatment: Québec says 'Yes, we can!'.
abstract: Multiple pregnancy (MP) is widely recognized as the single biggest risk to children born as a result of assisted reproduction treatment. There is an emerging trend in Europe and Canada to promote single-embryo transfer (SET). In this issue, Gleicher argues that twin pregnancies should not be seen as an unfavourable outcome of assisted reproduction treatment. He argues that SET policies 'make no sense' since they will aggravate already unsatisfactory population growth in some countries. He also argues that governmental intervention to impose SET policies, despite proving successful in reducing MP, are inappropriate. The overwhelming evidence in the literature indicates that his opinion is not supported by credible data. Views should be based on solid data rather than personal judgement. Governmental interventions to reduce twin pregnancies, as demonstrated previously in Belgium and now in Québec, have been successful. The risks of twin pregnancies are real and borne by women and children, not their doctors. Doctors managing infertile couples are no longer entitled to take risks with the health of the next generation.
authors.affiliation: Assisted Conception Unit and Centre for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis, London, UK. yakoub.khalaf@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Yakoub
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Khalaf
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bewley
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braude
mesh_terms: D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D059285:Pregnancy, Twin; D011792:Quebec; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012306:Risk; D056826:Single Embryo Transfer