Organ transplantation doesn't worsen pregnancy outcomes.(Obstetrics)

Pregnancy outcome in women who have an organ transplant is no worse after they undergo the procedure than it is before they have the surgery, results from a large Swedish population study have found.

"The outcome data in the present study agree well with what is known in the literature: a very high rate of preterm birth, of low birth weight, and of small for gestational age," reported the investigators, who were led by Bengt Kallen, M.D., of the Tornblad Institute, University of Lund, Sweden.

"The advantage of the present study is that it represents a total population and that the outcome data were obtained from a medical birth register, based on original medical record data," they said (Br. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 2005;112:904-9).

Using Sweden's hospital discharge register, the investigators identified women who had an organ transplant during 1973-2002. Their deliveries before and after transplantation were identified from the country's medical birth register over that same period.

A total of 976 deliveries occurred before organ transplantation and 149 after the procedure, which represented only about half the expected number of deliveries, after the researchers adjusted for year of delivery and maternal age.

No statistically significant differences in the odds of having a miscarriage before transplantation vs. after transplantation were seen (odds ratios of 2.2 vs. 3.2, ...