hypertensive disorders of in-vitro fertilization pregnancies: a study from kosovo

Background: relationships between invitro fertilization (ivf), gestational hypertension, and pregnancy outcomes are demonstrated in a number of studies. however, it is still debated if ivf treatment or specific characteristics of infertile patients are responsible for worse obstetrical and neonatal outcomes. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate maternal characteristics associated with hypertensive disorders (hd) in ivf conceived pregnancies and to assess the obstetrical and neonatal outcomes. materials and methods: in this observational, crosssectional study, 207 pregnant women who underwent ivf treatment were consecutively divided into two groups: a group that had no hd during pregnancy (ivf group) and a group that had hd during pregnancy (ivf+hd group). maternal, obstetrical and neonatal data of the two groups were compared. results: some maternal characteristics were significantly higher in ivf+hd compared to ivf group such as: older age (p=0.0001), primiparity (p=0.038), obesity (p=0.0001), and cigarette smoking (p=0.0001). there were no significant differences between the groups in regard to obstetrical outcomes besides premature rupture of membranes time that was significantly higher in ivf+hd group compared to ivf group (p=0.036). in regard to neonatal outcomes, the only statistically significant difference was in the 5th min apgar score, which was higher in ivf+hd group compared to ivf group without hd (p=0.002). conclusion: with regard to significantly higher differences in maternal characteristics of ivf conceived pregnancies complicated with hd, compared to uncomplicated ones, development of a specific national prevention measure for hd of ivf conceived pregnancies in kosovo is strongly suggested. in addition, setting up of a national registry is recommended in order to evaluate the outcomes of ivf treatments properly.