eSET – That’s the new term for the latest recommendation to only transfer ONE embryo at a time into a woman’s uterus. Why is eSET the lastest craze? First, because women were not designed to have ‘litter’ births. And second, one baby at a time is better for the baby. DUH!

I am no fan of the Human Fertilisation Embryology Authority (HFEA) in the United Kingdom, but they actually hired an independent consultant who came up with this recommendation. They stated that “multiple birth is the single biggest risk to the health and welfare of children born after in vitro fertilisation (IVF)”. And that the time has come to make this change, back to eSET, in the United Kingdom.

Here in the U.S. “The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday the shift in medical standards to encourage more women undergoing in vitro fertilization to implant only one embryo to reduce the risks and additional costs associated with multiple births.”

Finally, some sensible advice after years of multiple births being at epidemic highs and intensive care neonatal care units being maxed out with low birth weight preemies.

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.