Purpose of investigation: To determine whether in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) singleton pregnancies are at increased risk for maternal and fetal complications than spontaneous singleton conceptions.
Materials and methods: The pregnancy outcome of 634 singleton pregnancies after IVF/ICSI delivered at the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics during the period January 2006 to January 2010 were compared to 634 matched singleton controls, matched one by one by age, parity, education, and body mass index (BMI). Differences in pregnancy outcomes between the groups were assessed using Student's t-test with Yates correction for continuous variables and Chi-squared test for categorical variables.
Results: The mean gestational age at delivery of the IVF group was 38.13 +/- 1.72 weeks, slightly shorter than spontaneously conceived singletons at 38.65 +/- 1.79 weeks. The diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was frequently made in the IVF group (11.82% vs 8.35%, t = 2.052, p < 0.05). Total preterm delivery rate of IVF pregnancies was 9.30%, significantly higher than the controls 5.85% (t = 2.33, p < 0.05), especially at the 30-32 weeks gestation period. The predominant mode of delivery after IVF pregnancy was cesarean section (80.75% vs 31.38% at spontaneously conceived, t = 17.71, p < 0.001), while vaginal route was the choice for naturally originated pregnancies 68.6% vs 19.24% (p < 0.01). No differences were found in the average birth weights, LBW, VLBW, SGA, and LGA regarding the pregnancy origin. Perinatal mortality rates were comparable among singletons with different pregnancy origin.
Conclusions: Singletons from IVF/ICSI pregnancies have poorer perinatal outcome associated with higher rates of cesarean sections, preterm birth and prematurity, fetal malpresentation (breech presentation), and the occurrence of maternal GDM in pregnancy.