Health-related quality of life in pregnancy and postpartum among women with assisted conception in Canada

Objective: To study the effects of mode of conception (spontaneous vs. assisted) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) throughout pregnancy and in the postpartum period.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the All Our Babies cohort.

Setting: Not applicable.

Patient(s): A total of 243 women with assisted conception and 3,309 women with spontaneous conception.

Intervention(s): Short Form 12 (SF-12) health survey administered by means of questionnaires at <25 weeks, 34-36 weeks of gestation, and 4 months postpartum.

Main outcome measure(s): Changes in the SF-12 Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) Component Summary scores from pregnancy to postpartum.

Result(s): The PCS scores were lower during pregnancy and at <25 weeks and 34-36 weeks of gestation among women with assisted conception, but were equivalent to those of women with spontaneous conception by 4 months postpartum. The MCS scores were higher at <25 weeks among women with assisted conception, but by 34-36 weeks of gestation and at 4 months postpartum they were similar regardless of the method of conception. Analysis of covariance showed no significant differences for the changes in PCS and MCS scores from pregnancy to postpartum between assisted and spontaneous conception groups, after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusion(s): Women with assisted conception may report lower physical and better mental health during pregnancy than women with spontaneous conception. At 4 months postpartum, there were no differences in self-reported HRQoL between modes of conception. Women with assisted conception may benefit from support and reassurance that perception of suboptimal health may improve over pregnancy and into the postpartum period.