In Belgium this understanding has resulted in laboratory costs for IVF and ICSI being reimbursed under a strict embryo transfer policy to secure the prevention of multiplepregnancies.
Epidemiologist Dr Jacques de Mouzon, who has carried out work on the costs of multiplepregnancies in France, predicts infertility treatments are the cause of 30% of all twins and 60% of all triplets born in his country.
The number of multiple births in the UK was low - only just over a quarter of pregnancies resulted in more than one baby, whereas nearly half the successful fertility treatments in Spain resulted in a multiple delivery.