Anyone have a preterm delivery with singleton after IVF

[JAHoping]

Hi all,

Just curious if any of you ended up delivering preterm (before 37 weeks) after becoming pregnant with a singleton through IVF? If so, could you tell me the circumstances that lead up to your delivery? Did you have serial cervical measurements done via transvaginal ultrasound that showed cervical shortening and/or funneling? If so, how short was your cervix and how many weeks were you? Were you contracting as well? What did your provider do to try and stop your labor? How successful were these measures?

I'm currently 30 weeks with a short cervix with funneling and have been having contractions - my OB is concerned i'll end up delivering early. I read online that research has shown that an IVF pregnancy with a singleton has been found to be more at risk for preterm delivery than a spontaneously conceived one- they think due to the super-ovulation associated with IVF. I hadn't heard of this before now and my RE never mentioned it to me- so I'm just wondering how common this really is.

Thanks for any stories/responses!

[MamaBoo]

I don't know that IVF is much more risky than natural conception with singletons. Increased chance of multiples obviously makes the overall risks go up (adding singleton & multiples together). I had scheduled c-sections with both of my sons. One at 40 weeks and the other at 39 weeks. However, both of these were FET. Therefore, no stims. However, I did have a complication that required inutero (not sure of spelling) surgery for #2. Most women deliver early following such surgery, and for awhile I had excess amniotic fluid which increases the risk. However, I have the cervix of steal. I never dialated or effaced with either pregnancy.

[JAHoping]

I don't know that IVF is much more risky than natural conception with singletons. Increased chance of multiples obviously makes the overall risks go up (adding singleton & multiples together). I had scheduled c-sections with both of my sons. One at 40 weeks and the other at 39 weeks. However, both of these were FET. Therefore, no stims. However, I did have a complication that required inutero (not sure of spelling) surgery for #2. Most women deliver early following such surgery, and for awhile I had excess amniotic fluid which increases the risk. However, I have the cervix of steal. I never dialated or effaced with either pregnancy.

Thanks for your reply-
I think having FET would take the risk factor away for you personally, as the link they are finding is with super-ovulation (as seen with a fresh IVF cycle) increasing circulating levels of the hormone relaxin throughout the pregnancy.

The American Pregnancy Association and March of Dimes both list "Being Pregnant with a single fetus after in vitro fertilization (IVF)" as a medical risk factor for preterm birth and various studies have shown up to twice the risk of having a preterm birth with an IVF singleton than with a spontaneous singleton pregnancy:

"Increased risk of preterm birth in singleton pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer or gamete intrafallopian transfer: A meta-analysis"
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 820402326X

Just in case anyone was interested in the research...