Induced abortion and risk of small‐for‐gestational‐age birth

Abstract

Objective To investigate the possibility of an association between previous induced abortion and subsequent birth of a small-forgestational-age (SGA) infant.Design Case-control study.Setting General and university hospitals.Methods Cases were 555 women who delivered SGA babies. Controls were 1966 women who gave birth at term (>37 weeks of gestation) to healthy infants of normal weight on randomly selected days at the hospital where cases had been identified. All women in the case and control categories were interviewed on the obstetric wards by one of a team of six interviewers. During the interviews, information was obtained regarding general sociodemographic factors, personal characteristics and habits, gynaecological and obstetric history, general anamnesis, family history of obstetric and gynaecological diseases, and the age of the father of the child. Further information on current pregnancy and delivery was also collected. We used conditional multiple logistic regression (with age as the matching variable), with maximum likelihood fitting, to obtain odds ratios and their corresponding 95% CIs. Included in the regression equations were terms for education, plus terms significantly associated in this data set with the risk of SGA birth (smoking in pregnancy, history of SGA, gestational hypertension and parity).Population Women admitted to a general and a university hospital.Results No significant increase in the risk of SGA birth was observed in women with a previous induced abortion [odds ratio (OR) 1.0; 95% CI 0.6-1.7]. The OR for SGA birth was 1.2 (95% CI 0.7-2.1) for preterm and 1.0 (95% CI 0.7-1.4) for term SGA births.Conclusion This study found no association between risk of SGA birth and induced abortion.

Teen Pregnancy: Are Pregnancies following an Elective Termination Associated with Increased Risk for Adverse Perinatal Outcomes?

“…Our findings are in agreement with previous work demonstrating no increase in risk for adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies following an abortion in adolescent gravidas, 11,12 or their adult counterparts. 10,13,14 Contrary to our findings, several studies have suggested an increased incidence of preterm labor and low birth weight infants in pregnancies following an abortion. [6][7][8][9] Furthermore, there have been reports of progressively increasing risk of adverse outcomes after multiple abortions, 6,9,17 especially with respect to very preterm birth (<28 or <32 weeks).…”

“…Some studies suggest increased risks for preterm birth and low birth weight, [6][7][8][9] while others found no such association after controlling for confounders. [10][11][12][13][14] Similar studies among adolescents are sparse, but highly important because of the high incidence and their long reproductive future (and potential). Only two studies have examined this question in adolescents, and failed to show an increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes.…”

The duration of gestation at previous induced abortion and its impacts on subsequent births: A nationwide registry‐based study

“…The present study found no association between SGA and early or late abortion, although there was an increased risk of SGA after early and late abortion than no abortion. An earlier Italian study found conflicting results, with no increased risk of SGA after abortion . That study had several limitations, such as no consideration for the methods of abortion, no differentiation between legal and illegal abortions, and possible selection bias in the control group .…”

“…An earlier Italian study found conflicting results, with no increased risk of SGA after abortion . That study had several limitations, such as no consideration for the methods of abortion, no differentiation between legal and illegal abortions, and possible selection bias in the control group . However, the biological plausibility for the association between SGA and previous abortion is still unclear.…”