BIRTHS AFTER A PERIOD OF INFERTILITY IN VICTORIAN WOMEN 1982-1990

Pregnancies following a period of infertility are often thought to be at increased risk of adverse outcomes. Between 1982-1990, 1465 births were reported to the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection Unit with a h istory of infertility. We present some characteristics of these births and compare them with all Victorian births in 1986 (n = 61,253) and A ustralian and New Zealand IVF and GIFT births 1979-1989 (n = 6,675). W omen with a history of infertility were older than other Victorian wom en but younger than the IVF and GIFT group. Multiple births comprised 9% of the infertility group compared with 1.3% in the general Victoria n population and 23.7% of IVF and GIFT births. The incidence of low bi rth-weight (18.6%) and very low birth-weight (4.2%) was higher than in other Victorian births (5.8% and 1.1% respectively) but lower than in IVF and GIFT births (34.6% and 8.9%). Perinatal mortality in the infe rtility group (33.4 per 1,000) was higher than in the general populati on (11.1 per 1,000) and similar to the IVF and GIFT group (34.9 per 1, 000). The Caesarean section rate after infertility (41%) was more than double the rate in the rest of the Victorian population (16%), and sh owed a different pattern of indications. The relative risks of low and very low birth-weight, perinatal mortality and Caesarean delivery rem ained significantly increased for singletons after adjustment for mate rnal age and parity.