Reproductive outcomes of women and men born very preterm and/or with a very low birth weight in 1983: a longitudinal cohort study in the Netherlands.

Abstract

The aims of this study were to analyze reproductive outcomes of women and men born very preterm (gestational age <32 weeks) or with a very low birth weight (<1500 g) in 1983 in the Netherlands and to compare their reproductive outcomes with the total population at a similar age of 28 years. Young adults who were born after a pregnancy complicated by very preterm (VP) delivery or with a very low birth weight (VLBW) in the Netherlands in 1983 (Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age Infants (POPS) cohort) were invited to complete an online questionnaire at the age of 28. In total, 293 POPS-28 participants (31.6%) completed the questionnaire including 185 female and 108 male participants. Female and male participants who were born VP or with a VLBW had significant reduced reproductive rates compared to the total Dutch population at 28 years of age (female 23.2 vs 31.9% and male 7.4 vs 22.2%). Pregnancies of the female participants were in 14% complicated by preterm delivery in at least one pregnancy. This study indicates that women and men born VP or with a VLBW have reduced reproductive rates at the age of 28 compared to the total Dutch population at a similar age.