Delivery and feto-neonatal outcomes of diamniotic twin pregnancies in women with no chronic disease or gestational complications: impact of mode of conception.

Introduction: Autologous and heterologous assisted reproductive technology (ART) conceptions have been on the rise for the last few decades and alongside with that have the rate of multiple pregnancies. Multiple gestations are associated with high odds of gestational complications and, in turn, adverse delivery and feto-neonatal outcomes. Whether ART-conception further increases such elevated risk is still debated. ART is more commonly accessed by older women with chronic diseases, which relate to heightened likelihood of complications. We decided to investigate the influence of autologous and heterologous ART conception compared to spontaneous conception on delivery and feto-neonatal outcomes of diamniotic twin pregnancies in a cohort of healthy women with no chronic conditions or gestational complications.Materials and methods: Retrospective cohort study among diamniotic twin pregnancies in mothers without pregestational or gestational disease. Delivery and feto-neonatal outcomes were compared among three groups according to mode of conception: (1) spontaneous conception (SC, referent group, n = 251 pregnancies), (2) autologous ART-conception (A-ART, n = 87), and (3) heterologous ART-conception (H-ART, n = 22).Results: At adjusted analyses, twin pregnancies conceived by A-ART showed a twofold heightened risk of delivery by urgent/emergent cesarean section, as well as four and sevenfold increase in odds of blood loss >1000 and >1500 mL, respectively. H-ART pregnancies were at fivefold higher risk of undergoing prelabor cesarean section compared to SC, whereas no differences were identified for odds of severe post-partum hemorrhage. Also, A-ART and H-ART gestations displayed fetal and neonatal outcomes similar to SC pregnancies when analysis was adjusted for relevant confounding factors.Conclusion: Our results suggest that both A-ART and H-ART conception associate with increased odds of operative delivery among diamniotic twin pregnancies in healthy mothers with no chronic diseases or gestational complications. Also, a higher risk of severe postpartum hemorrhage appears to relate to A-ART independent of mode of delivery and maternal age. Further studies with larger series of uncomplicated twin pregnancies are warranted to improve our understanding of the relationship of ART to adverse delivery outcomes.

What is the effect of intertwin delivery interval on the outcome of the second twin delivered vaginally?

Objective: Optimal management of twin deliveries is controversial. We aimed to assess if intertwin delivery interval, after vaginal delivery of the first twin, may have an influence on adverse neonatal outcomes of the second twin Study design: This is a retrospective observational study including diamniotic twin pregnancies with vaginal delivery of the first twin, between January 2000 and July 2017. Inclusion criteria were diamniotic pregnancies and vaginal delivery of the first twin. We excluded higher twin order, monoamniotic pregnancies, cesarean delivery of the first twin and patients with missing data. Results: A number of 400 diamniotic twin pregnancies met the inclusion criteria and were divided, considering intertwin delivery interval into (1) ≤30 minutes (n = 365); and (2) >30 minutes (n = 35). Considering the two study groups, maternal and first twin characteristics and outcomes were similar. Second twin reported higher incidence of cesarean section and vacuum delivery, but similar incidence of neonatal adverse outcomes, in case of intertwin interval >30 minutes. At multivariate analysis, a difference between second and first twin weight ≥25% was correlated to neonatal adverse outcome, while we did not found this correlation with a cut-off of 30 minutes. Conclusions: In our study, growth discrepancy between twins was significantly correlated to adverse neonatal outcomes, while intertwin delivery time was not an influencing factor. So, in line with this result, in our clinical practice, we do not use a fixed time in which both twins should be delivered, neither in monochorionic nor in dichorionic pregnancies, when fetal wellbeing was demonstrated during labor.

Double inherited thrombophilias and adverse pregnancy outcomes: fashion or science?

AIM: To determine to what extent double inherited thrombophilias are associated with adverse obstetric complications correlated with fetoplacental insufficiency, such as preeclampsia, hemolytic anemia elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome, gestational hypertension, fetal growth restriction (FGR), intrauterine death (ID), abruptio placentae and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. METHODS: Pregnant women coming to delivery were retrospectively divided into two groups: group A (controls) and group B (cases). Patients belonging to group B had one of the following: severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, gestational hypertension, FGR, intrauterine death, abruptio placentae of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. We detected methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) A1298C, MTHFR C677T, factor V Leiden, PAI-1, mutant prothrombin G20210A, plasma homocysteine, antithrombin III, protein S and activated protein C resistance. Normal pregnant women or pregnant women with double defects were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: The combination of MTHFR C677T mutation with PAI-1 (5G/5G) mutation was significantly linked with the occurrence of ID. HELLP syndrome was significantly related to the simultaneous presence of factor VIII and X mutations. The combination of MTHFR C677T with factor VIII mutation and the combination of factor II and V mutations were significantly related to the occurrence of abruptio placentae. We found an association between double isoforms MTHFR mutation and FGR. CONCLUSION: It seems that some thrombophilias and a combination of thrombophilic factors carry a greater risk than others for a given adverse outcome. Further studies are needed to check the link between thrombophilic gene mutations and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as recurrent miscarriages and deep venous thrombosis.