Perinatal Outcomes of Preterm Twins <34 Weeks after IVF Pregnancies versus Natural Conception: Same Oral Feeding Tolerance?

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare the oral feeding tolerance that reflects a general maturity of organization of behavior and response among preterm twins less than 34 weeks of gestation conceived after in vitro fertilization with/without embryo transfer (IVF-ET) with that of natural conception. METHODS: Medical records of 135 preterm twins less than 34 weeks of gestation (74 twins conceived after IVF-ET and 61 spontaneously conceived twins) admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Dong-A Medical Center during the period from January 2003 to December 2010 were used for a retrospective study. The primary study outcomes were perinatal mortality and overall short term morbidity. The secondary study outcome was oral feeding tolerance. RESULTS: There was no difference among the two groups in the gestational age and birth weight. Perinatal mortality rate and morbidity rate was not different between the two groups. In terms of feeding practice, there was no significant difference in terms of the starting date of first enteral feeding (4.1+/-4.5 days vs. 3.5+/-3.6 days, IVF-ET twin group vs. spontaneous twin group), the time it took to reach full enteral feeding (26.7+/-20.5 days vs. 27.6+/-24.3 days), the time it took to reach full oral feeding (34.4+/-21.7 days vs. 34.3+/-24.1 days) and PMA upon full oral feeding (36.0+/-2.2 weeks vs. 36.0+/-1.8 weeks), the duration of total parenteral nutrition (23.1+/-21.0 days vs. 24.9+/-24.3 days), displaying similar oral feeding tolerance. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in oral feeding tolerance between two groups.