Selective Fetal Reduction was developed in the mid-1980s, as people
in the field of reproductive health and family planning became aware
of the risks that multiple pregnancies carried for the mother and for
the fetuses. But in the history of reproductive health and IVF
Nepal/fertility center in Nepal, Dr. Swasti Sharma is the first one to
specialize in Selective Fetal Reduction.
Selective Fetal reduction is used when a mother is carrying an unsafe
or undesirable number of fetuses in a multiple pregnancy, which are
common in infertility treatment and medically-assisted pregnancies,
in order to reduce the number of fetuses to a number that is relatively
safe for the mother and the remaining fetuses.
It is also used in cases of multiple pregnancy where at least one of the
fetuses is implanted outside the uterus to preserve the life of the
mother and the fetus in the uterus, and when one or more of the
fetuses has a serious and incurable disease. Selective reduction is the
practice of reducing the number of fetuses in a multiple pregnancy,
say quadruplets, to a twin or singleton pregnancy. The procedure is
also called multifetal pregnancy reduction.