Long-Term Incidence of Infectious-Related Hospitalizations of Offspring Born to Mothers With Intrauterine Device: A Retrospective Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy with an Intrauterine device (IUD) is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine a possible association between presence of IUD during pregnancy and long-term incidence of infectious-related hospitalizations of the offspring.

METHODS: A population-based cohort analysis was performed including all singleton deliveries between 1991 and 2014 at a single tertiary hospital. Primary exposure was defined as delivery of an infant to a mother who conceived with an IUD, that was either removed or retained during pregnancy. Offspring of mothers who conceived without an IUD comprised the comparison group. The main outcome evaluated was infectious-related hospitalizations of the offspring up to the age of 18 years.

RESULTS: The number of deliveries that met the inclusion criteria was 227,431, of which 209 were to mothers who conceived with an IUD that was removed and 52 were to mothers who retained their device. Long-term incidence of infections-related hospitalizations was compared between the groups (12.5% in the retained IUD, 12.9% in the removed IUD and 11.2% in the No-IUD group, P = 0.638). A Kaplan-Meier survival curve did not demonstrate a significantly higher cumulative incidence of infectious-related hospitalizations in offspring of women who conceived with an IUD (log-rank P = 0.340). In a Cox regression model, while controlling for confounders such as maternal age and preterm birth, conceiving with an IUD was not found to be independently associated with long-term incidence of infectious-related hospitalizations of the offspring.

CONCLUSION: Offspring of women conceiving with an IUD are not at increased risk for long-term incidence of infectious-related hospitalizations.