This study compared the perinatal and obstetric outcomes of 1552 donor insemination pregnancies in Victoria, Australia, with a control group of 7717 normally conceived pregnancies from the general population. Data on the outcomes of pregnancies of at least 20 weeks gestation, for both groups, were obtained from the same population-based birth registry. The study showed that there were no significant differences between the donor insemination and control groups in the incidence of preterm birth, low birthweight, multiple birth, perinatal death and birth defects, or in the sex ratio. Pregnancies conceived by donor insemination were significantly more likely than controls to have an induced labour (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1. 4-1.8), a forceps delivery (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.3-1.8) and/or a Caesarean section (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-1.9) and to develop pre-eclampsia (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.8) after adjusting for maternal age, multiple birth, parity and presentation. Reasons for the higher rate of induced and operative deliveries are not clear. Overall, the study's findings are reassuring for couples considering infertility treatment with donor insemination. The study illustrates the importance of complete follow-up in studies of pregnancy outcomes after assisted conception and the use of appropriate population-based control groups with comparable ascertainment of outcomes.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	birth defects, donor insemination, follow-up pregnancy outcomes
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Reproductive medicine
Research Field:	Obstetrics and gynaecology
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical health
Objective Field:	Clinical health not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Venn, A (Professor Alison Venn)
ID Code:	134308
Year Published:	1999
Web of Science® Times Cited:	42
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2019-08-07
Last Modified:	2019-09-18
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