ABSTRACT
AIM: To explore the impact of IVF on pregnancy complications and birth outcomes in women of advanced maternal age. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 3325 women were divided into the ART pregnancy group (n = 241) and the natural pregnancy group (n = 3086). The differences in maternal general conditions, pregnancy complications and birth outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The ART group had higher rates of primiparity (78.4% vs 20.4%), cesarean section (90.5% vs 76.2%) and twin births (28.6% vs 2.1%). The risk of gestational hypertension (5.8% vs 2.9%), preeclampsia (5.0% vs 2.3%) and preterm birth [28 â¼ 31 + 6 weeks (2.9% vs 1.1%), 32 â¼ 33 + 6 weeks (5.0% vs 1.4%), 34 â¼ 36 + 6 weeks (15.8% vs 9.4%)] was significantly higher in the ART group than in the natural pregnancy group. Neonates in the ART group had lower birth weights (2882.61 ± 657.70 vs 3223.05 ± 534.28). However, in the singleton-only comparison, only gestational hypertension still showed a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: For women of advanced maternal age, IVF-ET pregnancies may result in higher rates of pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes, but this is likely to be due to increased rates of multiple pregnancies.
