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Examination of fetal growth trajectories following infertility treatment

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to compare fetal growth during the second and third trimesters for ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI), fresh embryo transfer (ET), frozen embryo transfer (FET), and spontaneous conception following infertility.

Methods

Three hundred ninety-five women with viable pregnancies confirmed at a single academic fertility center participated. All women achieved pregnancy either by treatment or spontaneously after a diagnosis of infertility. Inclusion criteria included autologous singleton pregnancies. Exclusion criteria included pregnancies from donor oocytes, twins, unavailable ultrasound data, and treatment methods with small number of participants. Primary outcomes of interest were head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), HC/AC ratio, and estimated fetal weight (EFW). Conditional growth curve models were created, and growth curves were selected for each outcome of interest.

Results

For ovulation induction with IUI, fresh ET, FET, and spontaneous conception, the slope analysis of growth curves for per-week growth rate of HC, AC, HC/AC ratio, and EFW demonstrated no difference. A subgroup analysis of fresh ET and FET groups, for same outcomes, also showed no difference.

Conclusion

These findings contribute to the very limited literature on fetal growth trajectories following infertility treatment and suggest no significant differences in fetal growth for ovulation induction with IUI, fresh ET, FET, and spontaneous conception following infertility. It is possible there were no differences in growth trajectories between these conception methods because the majority of children born following infertility are of normal birth weight. While results are reassuring, further research with larger populations is warranted.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Raquel R. Fleischmann for assistance with data collection and Wendy Y. Zhang for primary proofreading of data tables.

Study data were collected and managed using REDCap electronic data capture tools hosted at the academic institution. REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, web-based software platform designed to support data capture for research studies, providing (1) an intuitive interface for validated data capture; (2) audit trails for tracking data manipulation and export procedures; (3) automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to common statistical packages; and (4) procedures for data integration and interoperability with external sources.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant No. P01 HD065647-01A1) and the German Research Foundation (Grant No. VE490/8-1).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Melody Besharati

    Present address: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaiser Permanente San Bernardino County, 9961 Sierra Ave, Fontana, CA, 92335, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, 751 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA, 95128, USA

    Melody Besharati

  2. Stanford Medicine Fertility and Reproductive Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1195 W Fremont Ave Suite 1301, Sunnyvale, CA, 94087, USA

    Frauke von Versen-Höynck

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, D-30625, Hannover, Germany

    Frauke von Versen-Höynck

  4. Stanford Medicine Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Kris Kapphahn

  5. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 10751 Falls Rd, Lutherville, MD, 21093, USA

    Valerie Lynn Baker

Authors
  1. Melody Besharati
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  2. Frauke von Versen-Höynck
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Correspondence to Melody Besharati.

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Besharati, M., von Versen-Höynck, F., Kapphahn, K. et al. Examination of fetal growth trajectories following infertility treatment. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 1399–1407 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01785-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01785-8

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