Comparison of neonatal outcomes of very low birth weight infants by mode of conception: in vitro fertilization versus natural pregnancy

Objective: To compare the neonatal outcomes of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants born after IVF with those of VLBW infants born after natural pregnancy (NP).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Not applicable.

Patient(s): A total of 6,871 VLBW infants born from January 2014 to December 2016.

Intervention(s): None.

Main outcome measure(s): Neonatal mortality and morbidities.

Result(s): Of the 6,871 VLBW infants enrolled, 4,438 infants were born as singletons (IVF = 271; NP = 4,167), and 2,433 infants were born as multiplets (IVF = 1,301; NP = 1,132). After adjustment for maternal and neonatal baseline characteristics, infants born as singletons earlier than 28 weeks after IVF more frequently had high-stage retinopathy of prematurity than those born after NP, whereas infants born as multiplets between 28 and 31 weeks after IVF had fewer major congenital anomalies, high-grade intraventricular hemorrhage, and periventricular leukomalacia than those born after NP. Otherwise, no differences in mortality and neonatal outcomes were found.

Conclusion(s): Very low birth weight infants born as singletons after IVF had comparable neonatal outcomes to those born after NP, except for an increased risk of high-stage retinopathy of prematurity. Very low birth weight infants born as multiplets after IVF had fewer neurologic morbidities than those born after NP.