Sex ratio and pregnancy complications according to mode of conception in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate pregnancy complications and offspring sex ratio according to mode of conception in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive study. SETTING: Tertiary, university hospital. POPULATION A total of 176 women with PCOS diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. METHODS: Women with PCOS who have participated in one or more clinical studies were invited to answer a questionnaire on the mode of conception, pregnancy complications, gestational length and offspring gender. A total of 139 women responded. Data were quality checked against hospital files. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fertility, mode of conception, offspring gender and pregnancy complications. RESULTS: More than half (54%) of the singleton pregnancies were conceived spontaneously. More complications were seen in pregnancies achieved while using metformin than without (p = 0.02). Compared to spontaneous conception, more boys than girls were born in singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmatic sperm injection treatment (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: In women with PCOS the mode of conception may influence both the rate of pregnancy complications and the offspring sex ratio.