Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Assisted reproduction and risk of preterm birth in singletons by infertility diagnoses and treatment modalities: a population-based study

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the spectrum of infertility diagnoses and assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments in relation to risk of preterm birth (PTB) in singletons.

Methods

Population-based assisted reproductive technology surveillance data for 2000–2010 were linked with birth certificates from three states: Florida, Massachusetts, and Michigan, resulting in a sample of 4,370,361 non-ART and 28,430 ART-related singletons. Logistic regression models with robust variance estimators were used to compare PTB risk among singletons conceived with and without ART, the former grouped by parental infertility diagnoses and treatment modalities. Demographic and pregnancy factors were included in adjusted analyses.

Results

ART was associated with increased PTB risk across all infertility diagnosis groups and treatment types: for conventional ART, adjusted relative risks ranged from 1.4 (95% CI 1.0, 1.9) for male infertility to 2.4 (95% CI 1.8, 3.3) for tubal ligation. Adding intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection and/or assisted hatching to conventional ART treatment did not alter associated PTB risks. Singletons conceived by mothers without infertility diagnosis and with donor semen had an increased PTB risk relative to non-ART singletons.

Conclusions

PTB risk among ART singletons is increased within each treatment type and all underlying infertility diagnosis, including male infertility. Preterm birth in ART singletons may be attributed to parental infertility, ART treatments, or their combination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jackson RA, Gibson KA, Wu YW, Croughan MS. Perinatal outcomes in singletons following in vitro fertilization: a meta-analysis. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;103(3):551–63. doi:10.1097/01.aog.0000114989.84822.51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. McDonald SD, Han Z, Mulla S, Murphy KE, Beyene J, Ohlsson A. Preterm birth and low birth weight among in vitro fertilization singletons: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2009;146(2):138–48. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2009.05.035.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Xu XK, Wang YA, Li Z, Lui K, Sullivan EA. Risk factors associated with preterm birth among singletons following assisted reproductive technology in Australia 2007–2009–a population-based retrospective study. BMC Pregnan Childb. 2014;14(1):406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Messerlian C, Maclagan L, Basso O. Infertility and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod. 2013;28(1):125–37. doi:10.1093/humrep/des347.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Basso O, Baird DD. Infertility and preterm delivery, birthweight, and caesarean section: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort. Hum Reprod. 2003;18(11):2478–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Dunietz GL, Holzman C, McKane P, Li C, Boulet SL, Todem D, et al. Assisted reproductive technology and the risk of preterm birth among primiparas. Fertil Steril. 2015; doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.01.015.

  7. Kawwass JF, Crawford S, Kissin DM, Session DR, Boulet S, Jamieson DJ. Tubal factor infertility and perinatal risk after assisted reproductive technology. Obstet Gynecol. 2013;121(6):1263–71. doi:10.1097/AOG.0b013e31829006d9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Schieve LA, Meikle SF, Ferre C, Peterson HB, Jeng G, Wilcox LS. Low and very low birth weight in infants conceived with use of assisted reproductive technology. N Engl J Med. 2002;346(10):731–7. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa010806.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Stern JE, Luke B, Tobias M, Gopal D, Hornstein MD, Diop H. Adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes associated with underlying diagnosis with and without assisted reproductive technology treatment. Fertil Steril. 2015;103(6):1438–45.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Levi Dunietz G, Holzman C, Zhang Y, Talge NM, Li C, Todem D, et al. Assisted reproductive technology and newborn size in singletons resulting from fresh and cryopreserved embryos transfer. PLoS One. 2017;12(1):e0169869. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169869.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Mneimneh AS, Boulet SL, Sunderam S, Zhang Y, Jamieson DJ, Crawford S, et al. States monitoring assisted reproductive technology (SMART) collaborative: data collection, linkage, dissemination, and use. J Women’s Health (Larchmt). 2013;22(7):571–7. doi:10.1089/jwh.2013.4452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Zhang Y, Cohen B, Macaluso M, Zhang Z, Durant T, Nannini A. Probabilistic linkage of assisted reproductive technology information with vital records, Massachusetts 1997–2000. Matern Child Health J. 2012;16(8):1703–8. doi:10.1007/s10995-011-0877-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Bieler GS, Brown GG, Williams RL, Brogan DJ. Estimating model-adjusted risks, risk differences, and risk ratios from complex survey data. Am J Epidemiol. 2010;171(5):618–23. doi:10.1093/aje/kwp440.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Yogev Y, Melamed N, Bardin R, Tenenbaum-Gavish K, Ben-Shitrit G, Ben-Haroush A. Pregnancy outcome at extremely advanced maternal age. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;203(6):558. e1-. e7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Luke B, Brown MB, Grainger DA, Stern JE, Klein N, Cedars MI, et al. The effect of early fetal losses on singleton assisted-conception pregnancy outcomes. Fertil Steril. 2009;91(6):2578–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Pinborg A, Lidegaard Ø, la Cour FN, Andersen AN. Consequences of vanishing twins in IVF/ICSI pregnancies. Hum Reprod. 2005;20(10):2821–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Schieve LA, Ferre C, Peterson HB, Macaluso M, Reynolds MA, Wright VC. Perinatal outcome among singleton infants conceived through assisted reproductive technology in the United States. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;103(6):1144–53. doi:10.1097/01.aog.0000127037.12652.76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Wang YA, Sullivan EA, Black D, Dean J, Bryant J, Chapman M. Preterm birth and low birth weight after assisted reproductive technology-related pregnancy in Australia between 1996 and 2000. Fertil Steril. 2005;83(6):1650–8. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.12.033.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Henningsen AK, Pinborg A, Lidegaard O, Vestergaard C, Forman JL, Andersen AN. Perinatal outcome of singleton siblings born after assisted reproductive technology and spontaneous conception: Danish national sibling-cohort study. Fertil Steril. 2011;95(3):959–63. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.07.1075.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Marino JL, Moore VM, Willson KJ, Rumbold A, Whitrow MJ, Giles LC, et al. Perinatal outcomes by mode of assisted conception and sub-fertility in an Australian data linkage cohort. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e80398. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080398.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Pandey S, Shetty A, Hamilton M, Bhattacharya S, Maheshwari A. Obstetric and perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies resulting from IVF/ICSI: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2012;18(5):485–503. doi:10.1093/humupd/dms018.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Pinborg A, Wennerholm UB, Romundstad LB, Loft A, Aittomaki K, Soderstrom-Anttila V, et al. Why do singletons conceived after assisted reproduction technology have adverse perinatal outcome? Systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2013;19(2):87–104. doi:10.1093/humupd/dms044.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. ASRM. Recommendations for gamete and embryo donation: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2013;99(1):47–62. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.09.037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Levron Y, Dviri M, Segol I, Yerushalmi GM, Hourvitz A, Orvieto R, et al. The ‘immunologic theory’ of preeclampsia revisited: a lesson from donor oocyte gestations. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014;(4):211, 383.e1-5. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2014.03.044.

  25. Soderstrom-Anttila V. Pregnancy and child outcome after oocyte donation. Hum Reprod Update. 2001;7(1):28–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Wiggins DA, Main E. Outcomes of pregnancies achieved by donor egg in vitro fertilization—a comparison with standard in vitro fertilization pregnancies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;192(6):2002–2006; discussion 6-8. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2005.02.059.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Malchau SS, Loft A, Larsen EC, Aaris Henningsen AK, Rasmussen S, Andersen AN, et al. Perinatal outcomes in 375 children born after oocyte donation: a Danish national cohort study. Fertil Steril. 2013;99(6):1637–43. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.01.128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Malchau SS, Loft A, Henningsen AK, Nyboe Andersen A, Pinborg A. Perinatal outcomes in 6,338 singletons born after intrauterine insemination in Denmark, 2007 to 2012: the influence of ovarian stimulation. Fertil Steril. 2014;102(4):1110–1116.e2. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.06.034.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Gibbons WE, Cedars M, Ness RB. Toward understanding obstetrical outcome in advanced assisted reproduction: varying sperm, oocyte, and uterine source and diagnosis. Fertil Steril. 2011;95(5):1645–1649.e1. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.11.029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Vaughan DA, Cleary BJ, Murphy DJ. Delivery outcomes for nulliparous women at the extremes of maternal age–—a cohort study. BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol. 2014;121(3):261–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sunderam S, Kissin DM, Crawford SB, Folger SG, Jamieson DJ, Barfield WD. Assisted reproductive technology surveillance—United States, 2011. Morb Mort Weekly Rep Surveil Sum (Washington, DC : 2002). 2014;63(10):1–28.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Galit Levi Dunietz, Claudia Holzman, Chenxi Li & David Todem

  2. Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5845, USA

    Galit Levi Dunietz

  3. Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Yujia Zhang, Sheree L. Boulet & Dmitry M. Kissin

  4. Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Section, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI, USA

    Patricia McKane

  5. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI, USA

    Glenn Copeland

  6. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Dana Bernson

  7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Michael P. Diamond

Authors
  1. Galit Levi Dunietz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claudia Holzman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yujia Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chenxi Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. David Todem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sheree L. Boulet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Patricia McKane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dmitry M. Kissin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Glenn Copeland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Dana Bernson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Michael P. Diamond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Galit Levi Dunietz.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Financial disclosures

M.P.D is a stockholder in and on the Board of Directors of Advanced Reproductive Care, and has received a grant from Serono.

Funding

This research was supported in part by a T32 Grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (T32-HD046377).

Ethical approval

The study received approval from the Institutional Review Boards of Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and the CDC.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dunietz, G.L., Holzman, C., Zhang, Y. et al. Assisted reproduction and risk of preterm birth in singletons by infertility diagnoses and treatment modalities: a population-based study. J Assist Reprod Genet 34, 1529–1535 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1003-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1003-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation