Home OBGYN and Women's Health Assisted Reproduction May Up Risk of Placental Anomalies

Assisted Reproduction May Up Risk of Placental Anomalies

Risk of placenta previa, placental abruption up in ART vs. spontaneously conceived singleton pregnancies

TUESDAY, May 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Among singleton pregnancies, assisted reproductive technology (ART) is associated with an increased risk of placental anomalies, according to a review published online May 8 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Belinda G. Vermey, from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating whether ART singleton pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of placental anomalies versus non-ART singleton pregnancies.

Based on 33 low- to moderate-quality studies (124,215 ART and 6,054,729 non-ART singleton pregnancies), the risk of placenta previa, placental abruption, and morbidly adherent placenta was higher in ART versus spontaneously conceived pregnancies (odds ratios [ORs], 3.76, 1.87, and 2.27, respectively). Similarly, risk of placenta previa and placental abruption was higher in ART than in non-ART (subfertile patients; OR, 2.51 and 1.61, respectively). Among frozen-embryo transfer ART pregnancies, risk of placenta previa was higher, but not significantly, versus spontaneously conceived pregnancies (OR, 2.42; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.63 to 9.3).

“Singleton ART pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of placental anomalies compared with non-ART singleton pregnancies,” the authors write.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.