The benefits of using frozen embryos

I'm just back from the annual meeting of the British Fertility Society where there were some fascinating presentations, including one detailing some new research about babies born from frozen embryos. Researchers found that babies born from frozen embryos are heavier and have a longer gestation than babies born after fresh IVF cycles - and are therefore more likely to be healthier.

It's important news at the current time when more and more people are putting back one embryo at a time and using freezing techniques. We often assume that using fresh embryos must be better when possible, but this new research suggests that may not be the case. It isn't yet certain why frozen embryos do so well, although previous research had suggested that it was linked to the fact that only the strongest, healthiest embryos would survive the freezing and thawing process.

Whatever the reasons, this is reassuring news for anyone having fertility treatment. You can read the press release from the British Fertility Society here.