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Obstetric and Perinatal Outcomes of Pregnancies Resulting from Fresh Versus Frozen Embryo Transfer—a Sibling Cohort

  • Reproductive Epidemiology: Original Article
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Abstract

We aimed to compare obstetric and perinatal outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies following fresh and frozen embryo transfer (FET). This was a historic cohort of deliveries between November 2008 and January 2020 at a single university hospital, in which each fresh transfer IVF pregnancy was matched to a FET pregnancy by the same woman (1:1 ratio). We included live singleton deliveries (> 24 weeks of gestation) and excluded pregnancies following egg donation. The primary outcome was birthweight, and secondary outcomes were small for gestational age (SGA) neonates and preterm birth (PTB). A total of 107 fresh transfer pregnancies were matched to 107 FET pregnancies, in the same women. Mean maternal age was lower in the fresh transfer group compared to the FET group (30.4 vs. 32.5 years, p < 0.001). A higher rate of nulliparity was noted in fresh transfer pregnancies (64.5% vs. 12.1%, p < 0.001). Mean birthweight was non-significant between the groups (p = 0.13), and the rates of low birthweight and small for gestational age neonates did not differ between the groups. Preterm deliveries occurred in 10.3% and 9.3% of fresh transfer and FET pregnancies respectively, p = 0.79. On multivariate linear regression analysis, the type of embryo transfer—FET or fresh—was not independently associated with birthweight, after adjustment for women’s age, nulliparity, and BMI. IVF pregnancies following fresh and FET entailed the same obstetric and perinatal outcomes when compared in the same women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. In-Vitro Fertilization Unit, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Hadas Ganer Herman, Yossi Mizrachi & Arieh Raziel

  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ayala Shevach Alon, Yasmin Farhadian, Ohad Gluck, Jacob Bar & Michal Kovo

Authors
  1. Hadas Ganer Herman
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  2. Yossi Mizrachi
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  3. Ayala Shevach Alon
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  4. Yasmin Farhadian
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  5. Ohad Gluck
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  6. Jacob Bar
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  7. Michal Kovo
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  8. Arieh Raziel
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Contributions

All authors contributed to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting of the article, and final approval of the version to be published.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hadas Ganer Herman.

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Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the local Institutional review board on January 1, 2020, approval #0183-19-WOMC

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The study was exempt from patient consent due to its retrospective anonymous nature.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Ganer Herman, H., Mizrachi, Y., Alon, A.S. et al. Obstetric and Perinatal Outcomes of Pregnancies Resulting from Fresh Versus Frozen Embryo Transfer—a Sibling Cohort. Reprod. Sci. 29, 1644–1650 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00570-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00570-x

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