Perinatal and obstetric outcomes of donor insemination using cryopreservedsemen in Victoria, Australia

This study compared the perinatal and obstetric outcomes of 1552 donor inse mination pregnancies in Victoria, Australia, with a control group of 7717 n ormally conceived pregnancies from the general population. Data on the outc omes of pregnancies of at least 20 weeks gestation, for both groups, were o btained from the same population-based birth registry. The study showed tha t there were no significant differences between the donor insemination and control groups in the incidence of preterm birth, low birthweight, multiple birth, perinatal death and birth defects, or in the sex ratio. Pregnancies conceived by donor insemination were significantly more likely than contro ls to have an induced labour(OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-1.8), a forceps delivery (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.3-1.8) and/or a Caesarean section (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.4 -1.9) and to develop pre-eclampsia (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.8) after adjusti ng for maternal age, multiple birth, parity and presentation. Reasons for t he higher rate of induced and operative deliveries are not clear. Overall, the study's findings are reassuring for couples considering infertility tre atment with donor insemination, The study illustrates the importance of com plete follow-up in studies of pregnancy outcomes after assisted conception and the use of appropriate population-based control groups with comparable ascertainment of outcomes.