Psychosocial Outcomes of Multiple Gestations

This study looks at the money issues and way people think and feel in families who have had children (aged 2–12) by assisted reproductive technologies. They looked at families who had a single child, twins, and other multiple births who received infertility services at centers which are a part of the Cooperative Multicenter Reproductive Medicine Network funded by the National Institutes of Health. Among the family groups, differences between the families who had a single child, twins, and other multiple births were found regarding the mothers’ employment, parenting stress, impact on the family, depression, and child behavior. The findings suggest the families are doing well, but compared to families with single children, families with twins or other multiple births had more family impacts. The authors hope that this information will improve information available to families when they have to make decisions about assisted reproductive technologies.