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. 2011 Jun;95(7):2251-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.03.085. Epub 2011 Apr 15.

Outcomes of spontaneous and assisted pregnancies in Turner syndrome: the U.S. National Institutes of Health experience

Tracy N Hadnott  1 , Harley N Gould, Ahmed M Gharib, Carolyn A Bondy
Affiliations

Outcomes of spontaneous and assisted pregnancies in Turner syndrome: the U.S. National Institutes of Health experience

Tracy N Hadnott et al. Fertil Steril. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To assess fetal and maternal outcomes of pregnancies in women with Turner syndrome (TS).

Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Clinical research center.

Patient(s): 276 adults with cytogenetically proven TS participating in an intramural natural history protocol.

Intervention(s): None.

Main outcome measure(s): Menstrual and obstetric histories, 50-cell karyotypes, and cardiovascular evaluation including aortic diameter measurements.

Result(s): Our cohort included five women with spontaneous pregnancies and five with pregnancies using assisted reproduction (ART). All five women with spontaneous pregnancies had spontaneous puberty, despite 45,X in ≥90% of their 50-cell karyotype. Participants had a total of 13 pregnancies and 14 live births. One child had cerebral palsy; the others were chromosomally and developmentally normal. Delivery was by cesarean section in four out of seven spontaneous and six out of six ART-related pregnancies. One mother experienced preeclampsia in an ART-related twin pregnancy that required a preterm delivery; she has marked but stable aortic dilation years later.

Conclusion(s): Approximately 2% of our study cohort experienced spontaneous pregnancies despite high-grade X monosomy, and a similar number achieved pregnancy via oocyte donation and ART. The potential for life-threatening cardiovascular complications warrants comprehensive screening before conception or single-embryo transfer, and caution regarding unintentional pregnancies for TS women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure & Conflicts of Interest: None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pregnancies in TS women. 87.7% of participants had no children. 9.1% chose to adopt children, 1.4% had spontaneous pregnancies, 1.4% achieved only assisted pregnanciesm, and the remaining 0.4% experienced both spontaneous and assisted pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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