Neonatal outcomes in triplet pregnancies: assisted reproduction versus spontaneous conception
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Antonio A. Zuppa
Abstract
Aims: The purpose of this study is to compare neonatal outcomes of spontaneously conceived triplets with triplets conceived by assisted reproduction.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all cases from assisted triplet pregnancies and controls from spontaneous triplet pregnancies. A total of 24 triplet pregnancies were studied: six spontaneous and 18 assisted. The following variables were evaluated in all newborns: prematurity, birth-weight, small for gestational age, birth-weight discordance, Apgar scores, major neonatal morbidity and perinatal mortality.
Results: Gestational age (33±1 vs. 33±2 weeks) and birth-weight (1760±256 vs. 1907±452 g) were similar in spontaneous and assisted triplet pregnancies. There were no significant differences in the rates of small for gestational age, discordance, and major neonatal morbidity. In the assisted reproduction group only the following cases were recorded: 1 surgically treated patent ductus arteriosus, 1 feto-fetal transfusion syndrome, 2 grade II intraventricular hemorrhage, 1 Cri du Chat syndrome and 1 stillbirth with malformations.
Conclusions: This study is unable to assess the influence of assisted reproduction on the neonatal outcomes of triplet pregnancies. However, the results suggest that the incidence of major neonatal morbidity, especially malformations, might increase due to assisted reproduction. This finding requires further confirmation.
©2007 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Umbilical cord blood collection: do patients really understand?
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- Role of visfatin, insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin in fetal growth
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- Neonatal outcomes in triplet pregnancies: assisted reproduction versus spontaneous conception
- Sequela of preterm versus term infants born to mothers on a methadone maintenance program: differential course of neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Vacuum extraction and autonomic balance in human infants
- Accuracy of second trimester fetal head circumference and biparietal diameter for predicting the time of spontaneous birth
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- Reply
- In memoriam: Prof. Shouichi Sakamoto
- Congress Calendar
Articles in the same Issue
- WAPM-Newsletter No 1/2007 8th WORLD CONGRESS OF PERINATAL MEDICINE in Florence, Italy, September 9–13, 2007
- Poverty and perinatal health
- Maternal mortality in Africa
- Lessons learned from four advanced abdominal pregnancies at an East African Health Center
- Incidence and correlates of cesarean section in a capital city of a middle-income country
- Metabolic changes, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and oxidative stress after short-term starvation in healthy pregnant women
- Does maternal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy and lactation lower BMI in late infancy?
- Feasibility of a randomized controlled trial testing nifedipine vs. placebo for the treatment of preterm labor
- Atosiban versus usual care for the management of preterm labor
- Umbilical cord blood collection: do patients really understand?
- Comparison between singleton- and triplet-specific “growth” curves to detect growth restricted triplet infants
- Role of visfatin, insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin in fetal growth
- Dynamic QT/RR relationship of cardiac conduction in premature infants treated with low-dose doxapram hydrochloride
- Risk factors and outcomes for ventilator-associated pneumonia in neonatal intensive care unit patients
- Neonatal outcomes in triplet pregnancies: assisted reproduction versus spontaneous conception
- Sequela of preterm versus term infants born to mothers on a methadone maintenance program: differential course of neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Vacuum extraction and autonomic balance in human infants
- Accuracy of second trimester fetal head circumference and biparietal diameter for predicting the time of spontaneous birth
- Reply
- Induction of labor with oral misoprostol for premature rupture of membranes at term in women with unfavorable cervix
- Reply
- In memoriam: Prof. Shouichi Sakamoto
- Congress Calendar
