PGT pregnancies have a similar risk for post-partum complications as naturally conceived pregnancies

Research question: Do preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) pregnancies have higher post-partum complications compared with naturally conceived pregnancies?

Design: Retrospective cohort study conducted in 2008-2020 at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center (SZMC), including all patients aged 18-45 years old who conceived following PGT with a singleton live birth >24 weeks. Data were collected from computerized hospital databases and patient files. There were two control groups: (i) pregnancies following IVF-ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection); (ii) four neighbourhood controls for each case delivery (two women delivered before and two after) of women with naturally conceived pregnancies.

Results: Overall, 120 PGT, 779 IVF-ICSI and 3507 naturally conceived deliveries were included. Demographic variables were similar apart from slightly higher age in the PGT (P = 0.003) and ICSI (P = 0.002) groups (31.07 ± 4.38 PGT, 31.66 ± 5.03 ICSI, 28.77 ± 5.72 naturally conceived). Composite post-partum placental-related complications (manual lysis of placenta, revision of uterine cavity, haemoglobin drop ≥3 g/dl, post-partum haemorrhage, need for blood transfusion) were more prevalent in both the PGT and IVF-ICSI groups as opposed to naturally conceived (20.0% versus 18.9% versus 10.3%, respectively, P < 0.001, P = 0.007). In a multivariate regression model PGT was not found to be independently associated with composite post-partum placental-related complications (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-2.15), while IVF-ICSI pregnancies had increased risk (aOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.20-1.97) compared with natural conception. No difference was found between fresh and frozen cycles or between day 3 and day 5 embryo transfer.

Conclusions: PGT pregnancies have a comparable risk of post-partum placental-related complications to naturally conceived pregnancies, unlike IVF-ICSI pregnancies. It is possible that infertility itself is the main mediator for post-partum complications in IVF-ICSI pregnancies.