Selective reduction for multifetal pregnancy. Early opinions revisited.

Multifetal pregnancy reduction has emerged as a staple of infertility therapy. With increasing utilization of aggressive infertility therapies, thousands of couples have been able to achieve pregnancies who otherwise would not have, but an increasing number and proportion of patients have multifetal pregnancies. Multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for reducing the number of pregnancies, thereby reducing both perinatal morbidity and mortality in resultant pregnancies. The world experience suggests that the risks of MFPR are directly related to the starting number of fetuses but that in the majority of instances, healthy children can be achieved.