Risk factors and high-risk subgroups of severe acute maternal morbidity in twin pregnancy: A population-based study

To determine risk factors of severe acute maternal morbidity in women with twin pregnancies and identify subgroups at high risk.

In a prospective, population-based study of twin deliveries, the JUMODA cohort, all women with twin pregnancies at or after 22 weeks of gestation were recruited in 176 French hospitals. Severe acute maternal morbidity was a composite criterion. We determined its risk factors by multilevel multivariate Poisson regression modeling and identified high-risk subgroups by classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, in two steps: first considering only characteristics known at the beginning of pregnancy and then adding factors arising during its course.

Among the 8,823 women with twin pregnancies, 542 (6.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.6-6.6) developed severe acute maternal morbidity. Risk factors for severe maternal morbidity identified at the beginning of pregnancy were maternal birth in sub-Saharan Africa (adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.3), preexisting insulin-treated diabetes (aRR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.4), nulliparity (aRR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0), IVF with autologous oocytes (aRR, 1.3, 95% CI, 1.0-1.6), and oocyte donation (aRR 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-2.8); CART analysis identified nulliparous women with oocyte donation as the subgroup at highest risk (SAMM rate: 14.7%, 95% CI, 10.3-19.1). At the end of pregnancy, additional risk factors identified were placenta praevia (aRR 3.5, 95% CI 2.3-5.3), non-severe preeclampsia (aRR 2.5, 95% CI 1.9-3.2), and macrosomia for either twin (aRR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.1); CART analysis identified women with both oocyte donation and non-severe preeclampsia (SAMM rate: 28.9%, 95% CI, 19.9-37.9) and sub-Saharan nulliparous women with non-severe preeclampsia (SAMM rate: 26.9%, 95% CI, 9.9-43.9) as the two subgroups at highest risk.

In woman with twin pregnancy, rates of severe acute maternal morbidity vary between subgroups from 4.6% to 14.7% and from 3.8% to 28.9% at the beginning and at the end of pregnancy respectively, depending on the combined presence of risk factors.