“I couldn't think that far”: Infertile women's decision making about multifetal reduction

Abstract

In this phenomenological study women's experiences regarding their decisions to undergo or forgo multifetal reduction of their higher-order multiple pregnancies were explored. Seven women who had conceived higher-order multiple pregnancies as the result of in vitro fertilization were interviewed. Four participants accepted reduction, whereas three participants declined. Three themes were discerned: (a) the presence of infertility as a barrier to contemplating hyperfertility; (b) multiple-birth pregnancy as yet another form of loss for infertile women; and (c) the lasting effects of having made the decision.