Approximately one out of every five high-tech treatments administered at U.S. fertility clinics during 1995 resulted in the birth of at least one child, and 37 percent of those cases resulted in twins, triplets or more, according to the first federal survey of individual facilities' success rates.

The report, released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help consumers make informed decisions on the technology, also found that large and small clinics had about equal "take-home baby rates" (averaging 196 births per 1,000 procedures nationwide), that the age of the woman providing the eggs is the single most important criterion for success, and that procedures using frozen embryos were in general considerably less effective than those employing "fresh" eggs.

The 400-page report, which includes information about fertility clinics in the Washington area, is intended to assist the thousands of frequently anguished infertile couples who are wondering whether to embark on an emotionally trying and costly course of treatment, but often have little idea what the odds are, or even what clinics are available in their areas.