Perinatal Outcome of Twin Pregnancies After IVF/ICSI

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the perinatal outcome of spontaneously conceived twins with those conceived after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Material and Methods: A retrospective study was performed. Clinical data of 188 twin pregnancies was collected from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Mainz for the years 1996-2006. The twins were divided into 2 groups according to the manner of conception: spontaneously conceived twins (n = 142) and twins (n = 46) conceived after IVF and ICSI. In order to investigate the perinatal outcome of spontaneous twins and twins conceived by assisted reproductive technology (ART), we evaluated the following parameters: maternal age, fertility, nulliparity rate, gestational age, mode of delivery, fetal weight and Apgar score. Results: No significant difference was found in maternal age, fertility and gestational age between spontaneous twins and IVF/ICSI twins. Maternal gestational age was 255 days in the spontaneous group and 254 days in IVF/ICSI group. Fetal weight and Apgar score were similar between the two groups. The nulliparity rate was higher in IVF/ICSI group. Obviously there were more cesarean sections in the IVF/ICSI group than in the spontaneous group (76.2% and 42.5%, respectively). Conclusions: Duration of gestation, neonatal birth weight and Apgar score were similar between IVF/ICSI twins and spontaneous twins. IVF/ICSI twins had a higher cesarean section rate.