Background: While bleeding around pregnancy is well described in von Willebrand disease (VWD), the risk of pregnancy loss is less certain.
Objectives: We aimed to describe the frequency of pregnancy loss in females with VWD compared with those with a similar mucocutaneous bleeding phenotype and no VWD or compared with nonbleeding disorder controls.
Methods: Female patients were consecutively approached in 8 specialty bleeding disorder clinics between 2014 and 2023. The VWD group was defined as having von Willebrand factor (VWF) antigen and VWF activity levels, each <0.50 IU/mL on ≥2 occasions, and a condensed MCMDM-1 score of ≥4. The non-VWD mucocutaneous bleeding disorder group had VWF levels ≥ 0.50 IU/mL on ≥2 occasions and an MCMDM-1 score ≥ 4. A nonbleeding disorder control group was recruited in pregnancy from a low-risk maternity clinic.
Results: There were 150 females in the VWD group, 145 in the non-VWD mucocutaneous bleeding disorder group, and 137 in the control group. There was a similar frequency of individuals with ≥1 loss in the VWD group (45.3%, 68/150), the non-VWD group (56.6%; 82/145; -11.2%; 97.5% CI, -24.2%, 1.8%), and the nonbleeding disorder control group (37.2%; 51/137; 8.1%; 97.5% CI, -4.9%, 21.1%). Using a logistic regression, the odds ratio of pregnancy losses in the VWD group vs the non-VWD group was 0.94 (95% CI 0.65, 1.36). All groups experienced more recurrent losses compared with the literature.
Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in risk of pregnancy loss between females with VWD, females with a similar mucocutaneous bleeding phenotype, and nonbleeding disorder controls.
Keywords: blood coagulation disorders; pregnancy; spontaneous abortion; von Willebrand diseases.
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.