People undergoing IVF treatment to become pregnant need close attention and pregnancy management.
This is according to a recent editorial piece published on the British Medical Journal's website.
"More stringent attention to stimulation regimens, pre-conceptual care, and pregnancy management is needed so that maternal death and severe morbidity do not worsen further," Dr Susan Bewley and colleagues stated.
The article cited a report of the first recorded maternal death related to IVF in 1991, which predicted that the rate of death and problems would rise due to increasing use of assisted reproductive technologies as a result of pregnancies at an older age, multiple pregnancies and pre-eclampsia.
A study from the Netherlands was also referenced by the authors, which declared that the mortality rate among IVF pregnancies was higher than the maternal mortality rate among the general population.
This was backed up with figures from a similar study conducted in the UK.
© Adfero Ltd
Infertility treatment news : 28 January 2011
