Is live birth rate decline from frozen cycles performed during Chinese new year holiday season: A single center retrospective cohort.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the impact of the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday on frozen embryo transfer (FET) outcomes in assisted reproductive technology (ART), particularly in vitro fertilization (IVF). Previous research has highlighted the negative effect of the CNY holiday on fresh embryo transfer outcomes, prompting an exploration of whether FET outcomes are similarly affected.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, analyzing FET cycles performed from January 2012 to December 2022. A total of 4456 women were included, with 305 undergoing FET during the CNY holiday season and 4151 during non-holiday periods. The primary outcome measure was the live birth rate. Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) were applied to assess the differences between the CNY and non-CNY (N-CNY) groups.

RESULTS

Multivariate logistic analysis revealed no significant difference in live birth outcomes between the CNY and N-CNY groups (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.42). PSM analysis further confirmed that live birth rates were similar between the groups, with 39.0% in the N-CNY group and 44.2% in the CNY group (p = 0.208). These findings suggest that FET outcomes are not adversely affected by the CNY holiday.

CONCLUSION

FET outcomes during the CNY holiday season remain resilient, contrasting with findings from fresh embryo transfer studies. This may be attributed to the shorter duration and less intensive preparation of FET cycles, reducing the influence of sociocultural events and psychological stress. Further multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings and explore the impact of other significant sociocultural events on ART outcomes.