Mild obesity does not affect perinatal outcome in gestational carrier cycles

Does BMI of gestational carriers (GCs) affect perinatal outcomes after embryo transfer?

Overweight and class I obesity in GCs does not affect the rate of good perinatal outcomes.

The use of GCs is increasing, but uniform guidance regarding optimal BMI for GCs is lacking. Women with obesity who conceive without fertility treatment or through autologous or donor in vitro fertilization are at higher risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, but data on obesity in GCs are very limited.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1121 GC cycles from January 2015 to December 2020 at US Fertility, the largest national partnership of fertility practices in the USA.

All GC cycles performed at a large network of fertility practices were reviewed. Same-sex partners undergoing co-IVF were excluded. The primary outcome was good perinatal outcome from the first embryo transfer, defined as a singleton live birth at ≥37 weeks of gestation with birth weight between 2500 and 4000 g. Secondary outcome measures included frequencies of live birth, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, full-term birth, low birth weight, large for gestational age, and cesarean delivery. A generalized linear model (log-binomial) was used for each to compare outcomes across BMI groups using normal BMI (20-24.9 kg/m2) as the reference group. Risk ratios and 95% CIs were estimated for each category group relative to normal BMI.

We identified 1121 cycles in which GCs underwent first embryo transfer, of which 263 (23.5%) were in GCs with BMI >30. Demographics and reproductive history for GCs did not differ by BMI groups. The age of intended parents, use of frozen eggs, and fresh embryo transfers were higher with increasing BMI group. There were no statistically significant associations between BMI and good perinatal outcomes, live birth, clinical pregnancy, biochemical, spontaneous abortion, or low birth weight. However, among live births, higher BMI was significantly associated with birth by cesarean (P = 0.015) and large for gestational age infants (P = 0.023).

This was a retrospective study, and there may be unmeasured confounders. The number of patients with BMI <20 or ≥35 was small, limiting the power for these groups. We were not able to assess all maternal and fetal outcomes.

In this study, we did not identify any significant impact of BMI on the chances of having a good perinatal outcome. Prior research studies have been inconsistent and this is the largest study to date.

No external funding was received for this work. The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to declare.

N/A.