In vitro fertilization as an independent risk factor for perinatal complications: Single-center 10 years cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has made great strides in the past forty-years, but no medical treatment comes without side effects. Despite several studies reporting high incidences of perinatal complications, the association is inconclusive. Also, the effect of racially and ethnically distinguished Asian population undergoing ART on perinatal outcomes is not well studied. Therefore, this study attempts to compare various perinatal outcome parameters in ART, and spontaneously conceived singleton pregnancies from a single high-volume tertiary care center. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study from a single tertiary infertility center, carried out from January 2011 to September 2020. The study included 1,125 IVF conceived babies (AB group) and 7,193 spontaneous conceived babies (SB group). The groups were compared using the Pearson Chi-square test and adjusted odds ratio, calculated using the multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Most of the perinatal complications, such as preterm birth (PTB), early preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW), extremely low birth weight, small for gestational age, large for gestational age babies, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, need for surfactant, meconium aspiration syndrome, neonatal seizures, intraventricular hemorrhage, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and patent ductus arteriosus was significantly increased in the AB group when compared to the SB group (p<0.05). In-vitro fertilization (IVF) independently increases the risk of LBW (aOR 2.530; 95% CI 2.194-2.917), PTB (aOR 4.004; 95% CI 3.496-4.587), NICU admission (aOR 2.003; 95% CI 1.610-2.492) and neonatal seizures (aOR 9.805; 95% CI 5.755-16.706). Conclusions: All ART-conceived pregnant patients should receive antenatal counselling regarding perinatal complications and should deliver at a tertiary care center with appropriate NICU support.