More babies, fewer multiple births, are resulting from assisted reproduction

2014 saw the birth of more babies than ever who got their start in the petri dish of a fertility clinic in the United States. In its yearly review, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported a total of 65,175 live births resulting from a variety of procedures -- up from 63,286 in 2013.

Amidst growing concern about the numbers of twins and triplets born to women who undergo infertility treatments, the assisted reproduction industry also detailed its progress in driving down the rate of multiple births, and for the first time reported pre-term births among its patients. Some 78% of babies born to women who underwent such procedures as in vitro fertilization were singletons, up from 75.5% in 2013.

In 2014, between 22% and 31% of women undergoing infertility treatment were electing to have just a single embryo transferred, with women under 35 choosing that option at higher rates than women over 40. That rate of "elective single-embryo transfers," however, remains much lower than physician groups have called for.

Infertility treatments generate an estimate 18% of all twin deliveries...