OBSTETRIC OUTCOME OF PREGNANCIES RESULTING FROM EMBRYOS BIOPSIED FOR PREIMPLANTATION DIAGNOSIS OF INHERITED DISEASE

Objective Pre-implantation diagnosis of inherited disease is now a via ble option for some couples at risk of transmitting inherited disorder s to their children. Since the pregnancy begins knowing that the embry o is not at risk, the need for repeated terminations is eliminated. Up to 25% of the embryo is removed during the procedure, and so it is im portant to study the resulting pregnancies. Here we report on the obst etric outcome of our first 16 pregnancies resulting from embryo biopsy and preimplantation diagnosis of inherited disease. Setting Teaching hospital. Sample The first 16 pregnancies (12 singletons and 4 twins) following pre-implantation diagnosis. Results Three singleton pregnanc ies were lost in the first trimester. Of the remaining pregnancies, tw o had no prenatal diagnosis, six cases of X-linked disease had the sex confirmed by ultrasound and chorionic villus sampling was performed i n the remaining five. All the singleton pregnancies had an uneventful antenatal course and the birthweights and Apgar scores of the babies w ere normal. The twin pregnancies presented obstetric complications but these were not unusual. Conclusions Fifteen healthy infants were born , but for the foreseeable future pre-implantation diagnosis pregnancie s should be closely followed up.