Turns out the Octomom is truly one of a kind.
The rate of triplet births and births of a higher order — like quadruplets, sextuplets and octuplets — dropped 62% in the US between 1998 and 2023, according to a Thursday report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The researchers noted that white mothers accounted for the largest decline in these types of births (71%) compared with a 25% decrease for Hispanic mothers and a 25% increase for black mothers.
“This decline in triplet and higher-order births over the last 25 years has been associated with changes to guidance related to the number of embryos transferred during assisted reproductive technology use,” the report read.
Implanting more than one embryo created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) increases the chance of pregnancy — and is cheaper than going through several cycles.
However, implanting several embryos increases the risk of babies born prematurely or at low birth weight, as well as ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes for the mother.
As multiple births became more common, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASMR) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology issued guidelines in the late 1990s recommending the maximum number of embryos for transfer.
Three was the upper limit for women younger than 35. “Below-average” prognosis patients — women over 40 and those who had several failed IVF cycles — could implant up to five at the same time.
Now, ASRM recommends transferring just one embryo in most cases. For women older than 40, no more than four untested early-stage embryos should be implanted at once.
“These guidelines have evolved as the technology has evolved,” Dr. Micah Hill — president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, who was not involved in the new report — told CNN.
“I think it’s been successful in making fertility treatments safer, which is really what we care about when we’re talking about reducing these higher-order multiples,” Hill added.
The decision is ultimately left to the physician and patient.
The CDC reports that the triplet and higher-order birth rate decreased from 193.5 births per 100,000 total births in 1998 to 73.8 births last year, with the largest declines recorded between 2009 and 2023.
It was in 2009 that Octomom Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets, sparking a media frenzy and ethical questions about embryo implantation.
Meanwhile, Kate and Jon Gosselin’s sextuplets and twins were already headline-makers at that point. The fractured family stayed in the TV spotlight for more than a decade starting in 2005. The sextuplets turned 20 and the twins 24 this year.
