How many embryos should we transfer? That was the question that plagued us from the beginning of our IVF journey.

I'm 32 this year. Here where I live (Singapore), the legal maximum embryo transfer for my age group is 2. But the doctors vehemently encourage single embryo transfer to 'minimize risks of multiple births'.

Now that's the part where we were confused about. We were total noobs and had no idea what was wrong with multiple births. My cousin who went through IVF delivered a healthy set of triplets. So why the fuss?

I have never had any aversion to twins. In fact, I wanted 2 kids and having twins would mean I never have to go through with the IVF nightmare again! Also, there are numerous studies done which shows that the younger child typically inherits less of the mother's body resources due to the stress that comes with every pregnancy and childbirth. Following that line of thought, it's only right to assume that the mother's resources will be split evenly for twins. So like twins are the way to go, right?

That is, until Dr Jerry Chan impressed us on the risks of multiple births. He was appalled that we wanted twins. Multiple births apparently had a whole salad bowl of increased risks which includes:

- Gestational diabetes
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Pre-eclampsia
- Cerebral Palsy etc.

Woah. That sounds really scary. All I want are for my babies to be healthy. So hubby decided that we should do the responsible thing and only transfer 1 embryo. But even so, never mind not having twins; what if that single embryo do not make it? Each procedure costs 5 digit, and each time is a nightmare. And when I see all the photos of heathy twins behind the doctor's desk, I feel all brave again.

On the days leading up to the Fresh Embryo Transfer, the choice was difficult to make. 1 or 2 embryos?

On the day of the scheduled Fresh Transfer, I was still undecided. But then, OHSS kicked in, and the right to make the decision was wrenched out of our hands. My body did not allow me to go through with the transfer. 4 embryos were freezed and the 'prettier looking' 4 embryos went through blastocyst. 3 days later, the blastocyst embryos all failed to survive.

I now only had 4 little embryos left, sleeping in a -250 degree celcius box.

And so, for the Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET), the doctor's default recommendation was 2 embryos. I didn't have 2 pretty looking embryos with an "almost confirmed chance" of maturing into twins anymore. The pretty ones didn't make it after being 'blasted'.

It felt like some kind of poetic destiny or something. Some things are just not meant to be option.

I just did the FET last Friday with the 2 embryos I've nicknamed 'Alice and Bach' (the remaining 2 sleeping ones are Caeser and Destiny), and am now into the 3rd day of the the 2-weeks wait. I see the possibility that I may go mad with the anticipation by the end of the first week, never mind survive the 2 weeks with a sane head.

Will both embryos survive or will even one make it at all??

Share with me, would you want twins after knowing all the risks involved?