Miracle octuplets
I ran into a fellow RE at the hospital we eventually came around to discussing the news of the octuplets who were born yesterday. Our initial reaction was like a fishing expedition for gossip with each of us asking the other “Do you know who the RE was? I wonder if it was so-and-so.” We both said “It wasn’t me.” Neither of us knew, but it’s likely that in the next few days, we’ll eventually hear more of the details.
Although I know zero specifics of the case right now other than what was reported in the news, my professional opinion is that I’m more than 99% sure this involved injectable fertility drugs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that this was the work of an RE. Some general OB/Gyn’s also prescribe injectable gonadotropins. In fact, I’ve also heard of cases in which patients went to Mexico, procured the drugs and self-medicated without a doctor’s supervision.
My medical curiosity springs up with two immediate questions. How old was the mother? How many follicles did she have? What was her infertility history? If forced to speculate, I would venture to guess that she is not over 35 and that there were at least twenty follicles and that this might have been her first treatment cycle.
Hopefully, the public is not misled by this into thinking that all octuplet pregnancies will have this good of an outcome. On the contrary, there has only been one other time in history, where there were surviving octuplets. On another note, I hope the public is not misled into thinking that this type of high-order multiple pregnancy is a common occurrence when taking fertility medications.
January 28th, 2009 at 7:42 am
“I hope the public is not misled into thinking that this type of high-order multiple pregnancy is a common occurrence when taking fertility medications.”…
My mum, freaked out at reading the octuplet news… sure that I will suffer the same fate. Of course shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 did not help me explain that it is not all that common… love the media *sarcasm*… especially, when my mum refers to celebrities in the their 40’s having babies “You see you are fine, maybe you will just be ready for a baby later in life like -insert celebrity pregnancy news of the wee-” Ugh, love love love the media.
January 28th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I’ve concluded that the fundamental problem is not that the media reports deceptively. They could argue that they have the free speech right to say whatever they want. Throughout the ages, there has always been propaganda where somebody tries to convince the public of things that are not entirely accurate. The problem is that many of the general public actually believe it and buy into it unquestioningly. Today, I am floored how politicians can take their favorite assorted spending projects, slap a label of “stimulus package” on it, and actually convince the public that this will improve the economic growth of our country. It’s really ridiculous.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:30 am
My understanding is that in the vast majority of these cases the IUI was canceled and the patient decided to have sex against medical advice - or it was unmonitored cycle by an OB/GYN who doesn’t fully appreciate the dangers involved with fertility drugs.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
You are correct. Those are two very real possibilities. It is highly unlikely, in my opinion, that a reputable RE was involved in this. Bear in mind we know nothing about the particulars of this case. Who is to say that this is even a traditional couple who want to start a family? Hypothetically, if an emotionally unstable teenage girl wanted to drive to Tijuana, buy some fertility medications, learn how to self-inject through YouTube and then go have a lot of sex, she could well end up in this situation.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I have to ask why are there midwives and obs around the internet blaming fertility specialists when this has all the hallmarks of an outcome that no one who had any medical ethics would want?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
As an addition - I’m hearing midwives, especially, saying this is “obviously, IVF.”
January 30th, 2009 at 10:08 am
it seems like the mother might not have needed fertility treatment since she already had 6 children