[Births and children after assisted reproductive technologies. A retrospective analysis with special regard to multiple pregnancies at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg (2000-2009) with an extrapolation for Austria].

BACKGROUND

Austria still lacks a baby-take-home rate after assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and therefore an adequate quality management of ART.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This paper extrapolates data about births/infants after ART at the University Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (PMU/SALK) in Salzburg for Austria, especially in regard to multiple births/infants collected between 2000 and 2009.

RESULTS

On average 2 271 infants were born per year during the last 10 years. Among them, 76 infants (3.34% of all children) were born after ART. Of all children conceived by ART and born (759) at the University Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 368 are multiples. This is 48.5% of all children born after ART. 31.6% of all multiples born were conceived through ART.

DISCUSSION: The extrapolation of data concerning multiples results in 1 255 multiples/year after ART for Austria.

CONCLUSION

Without a baby-take-home rate, serious quality management of reproductive medicine is impossible. Online registration of deliveries and infants is the only adequate approach. The data of this statistical extrapolation from a single perinatal center not only provide a survey about the situation in Austria, but also support the claim of a quantitative (numbers) as well as qualitative (condition of infants) baby-take-home rate after ART.