Uptake of invasive prenatal tests in pregnancies conceived via assisted reproductive technologies: the experience in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Prenatal diagnosis of a chromosomal abnormality currently involves the use of an invasive procedure, which has a risk of fetal loss. The aim of this study was to identify whether pregnancies conceived via assisted reproductive technologies were more or less likely to be subjected to an invasive procedure compared with pregnancies that were conceived spontaneously. Population data were collated from three private ultrasound clinics across southeast Queensland, Australia. Of the 15,032 spontaneously conceived pregnancies, 775 (5.2%) had invasive testing, while 95 (6.0%) of the 1581 pregnancies conceived through assisted reproductive technologies had invasive testing. When the uptake of testing is adjusted by the maternal age the assisted reproductive population was significantly less likely to pursue invasive testing (p = 0.003). Similarly when adjusted for the combined first trimester screen risk estimate, the assisted reproduction population is significantly less likely to undergo invasive testing than the spontaneous population (p = 0.005). Pregnancies conceived using assisted reproductive technologies are significantly less likely to be subjected to invasive testing than pregnancies conceived spontaneously in women of the same age and combined first trimester screen risk.