Selective reduction?

lexidana

OK please no flames.  Did any of you do selective reduction?  We are having triplets and doctor says that triplets are a very hard pregnancy and has major risks to mother and babies. I know that our RE does selective reduction and I am not saying that I am or will do it I just need more information.  Any experience or know anyone who has had it done.  TIA

JBSugar

We initially had 4 sacs and SR was discussed with us.  Fortunately and unfortunately for us 2 of the babies did not make it on their own so we never had to make the decision.  Do they think that at this point all babies will stick or did they mention that there is still a possibility that one might not make it?

I know for my DH, he would have reduced to 2.  For me, I don't know if I personally could have done it.  Yes I realize it's a higher risk for me and the babies but I think in the back of my mind I would always be wondering did I pick the right one, etc.  Especially if one of the surviving ones had problems. 

What time table did they give you before a decision has to be made?  I say give it a couple of days.  Think it over.  Do some soul searching.  If you want to talk more, you can email me at jbsugar411@gmail.com

Good luck honey and congrats on having good heartbeats!

FaeryStarGazer

When we saw the HBs- our two I was allready having problems. H and I talked about reduction and even full out abortion.We were not able to reduce and after 12 long agonizing weeks, we decided that abortion wasn't right for us. You'll not get any flames from me if you decide to reduce.

Did you do fertility treatments? Did you do IVF and put three in? Where did your three come from? (I'm just being nosey, you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable talking about this stuff).

mommyof4boys

No flames at all!  It is a sensitive subject for all involved.  It is my understanding that statistically there is not much more risk for having triplets than for twins.  I could be wrong though. 

We went through this talk with our RE when we were deciding how many embies to put back.  I refused to reduce.  IMO, RE's are more about their stastics and not wanting HOM than anything else and will push for a reduction on moms who have more than 2. 

I know of 2 people who have reduced (not on this board) and one went on to have very complication ridden pregnancy with just twins and it was the best decision she could have done.  She went into preterm labor with her twins so having more than that would have caused more issues.  The second person had spontanious triplets and was told to reduce since she was a tiny person and they felt she couldn't carry triplets when she was not quite 5 foot.  She reduced the identicals and was carrying one baby then.  She ended up losing the other baby and they didn't know if it was a result.  They think that it was a chromosomal.

2terps

It is a very difficult decision. I look at it as giving the remaining baby(ies) the best chance they can have to be healthy. There are also alot of risk factors for you involved. I am even finding that out with twins (I have been having a difficult pregnancy hand have been on bedrest since 22 weeks). ?I have a friend who had triplets and began having difficulty at just 16 weeks. With much intervention and hospital bedrest she was able to make it to exactly 28 weeks. Her children are truly miracles. There is a forum on ivfconnections.com for SR which may be helpful. GL

gymrat

No flames...this is a hard decision.

We were originally PG with triplets. Our doctor discussed it with us but in no way steered us toward doing it. Now looking back I'm glad we didn't because they would have went for my daughter's sac at the time. We ended up losing one of the babies between 9-12 wks and I think about how if we would have SR'd we wouldn't have our daughter, just our son.

 I'm sorry that you have to make this decision. I know your feelings of shock.

ancjph

We thought about it very early one, and I was sure we were going to go ahead with it, then I started to have some light spotting and I pray that all three babies were ok. And that is how we made up our minds that we wanted to go ahead with having. I know of one person on here that went throught it I can't remember her name off that top of my head.  I also see you are in NC. If you have any question about anything let me know.

sweater

I don't think you'll get any flames. We are realistic ladies.

Some of us have may have lost a twin/trip/quad and not even known it if we didn't know about the babies till later in the pregnancy. (I didn't know until 15 wks)

Sooo we were given the choice of SR since my twin's condition was so risky. It was an awful couple of appointments with the specialists. They could see that my twin A (jax) already had hard knots in his cord at 16/17 wks and his chances of survival where slim, and his chances of problems were very high. I believe the term "clip him" was said to save twin B. They felt twin A had a high chance of dying, and it could cause twin B to be gone as well. They did say tho it was risky since the cords were so tangled, there was a chance of cliping the wrong baby. The hardest part of this whole thing was that I was already so far along and we knew they were boys (and I already named them in my head).

Given how far along you are, I know it will be a hard decision, but better at this point rather than later. And like the others said...you should talk to the doc about your chances of all three even sticking.

Search your heart - whatever decision you make is the right one.

nbjenni

I know how overwhelming this must be for you - I'm sure all of us ladies felt the same fear when we first found out we were going to have mutliples. I know my DH and I have talked about SR if we get pregnant w/multiples again, since we had spontaneous fraternals the first time. We had a very difficult pregnancy and are very lucky to have our girls.

jodynjames2005

RobynK went through SR with triplets and recently had healthy twins. I don't think she is on much right now since she has newborn twins (can't imagine why lol!), but you might try paging her here or on the Seattle board.

raisingarizona2008

I would just do what your heart is telling you what to do. It is between your DH, you and your doctor. I would not, but I also am saying that based on my life(income,house,and the fact that we have no children). It is a difficult decision and I will pray for you and your family in whatever choice you make. Good Luck and keep us updated!!!

Melissa ?

RobynK

Hi -- I originally carried triplets and we reduced to twins.  It was a very difficult decision but once it was made DH and I promised not to look back.  We now have two very happy and healthy babies at home that are 100% healthy and wonderful.  I had sudden PIH during week 35 after a complication-free pg.

My story is in my blog (link in siggy) and you'll probably want to start your reading around March.  Just a warning, we had some complications with the SR which might make the reading difficult but it's good to be prepared for everything should you go forward with SR.

I found great support on the SR board on ivfconnections.com.  If you want to talk please page me on the Seattle Babies board and send your email -- I'm happy to to listen and answer any questions you might have.

Hang in there sweetie -- I know it's very, very scary.  This board is so supportive so please remember we are all here for you no matter how things turn out.

Skatcat

We transferred four embies only because I had told my RE I would be ok with SR.  At one point, we did have a third h/b, but it wasn't viable and soon disappeared. Had it not, I have no doubt that I would have gone forward with the SR. It would have been a hard decision,  but I was not interested or willing to carry triplets; it just isn't for me.

autumngigi

My husband and I were also given the option of reducing our triplets. The discussion started with our RE, but I said that I didn't want to make any decisions till I met with our high risk obgyn. We had originally opted not to have one when we first started our infertility treatments, but now that the situation was actually facing us we started to reconsider. After taking to our obgyn, we felt very comfortable with continuing on with all three girls. My RE had kind of scared us into thinking that the risks with a triplet pregnacy was much higher than that of a twin pregnancy. Our obgyn disagreed. Even though the idea of having triplets is scary, I've connected with a triplet mom group in my area and they have offered a ton of support.

I would suggest getting a second opinion from a high risk obgyn because I know that RE's like to keep their outcomes down to singletons and twins. 

July3wedding

You might want to visit the www.ivfconnections.com website.  They have a full board that is just on SR.

 

lilmsm

Just wanted to give you some support. We were pregnant with triplets at our first ultrasound at 6 weeks. We were very very seriously talking about reducing. It was agonizing. We ended up losing one of the babies at 7 or 8 weeks. I wish you the best of luck with your decision, I know how hard it is to have to consider it and I wish you all the best.