UAE linked to pregnancy risks, incuding preterm and CD

Women who have undergone uterine artery embolization (UAE) to treat fibroids have a significantly higher risk of delivery by cesarean section as well as an increase in preterm delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, miscarriage, and lower pregnancy rates compared to the general obstetric population, according to study findings published in the November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Woodruff J. Walker, FRCR, and a colleague at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, UK, conducted a study of 56 completed pregnancies from a cohort of 1,200 women who had undergone UAE.

While 33 (58.9%) of the pregnancies were successful, six of them (18.2%) were premature and 24 (72.7%) were delivered by CD. There were 13 elective CD and nine were due to fibroids. In six cases (18.2%) there was postpartum hemorrhage. In all there were 17 (30.4%) miscarriages, three terminations, two stillbirths, and one ectopic pregnancy.

Walker WJ, McDowell SJ. Pregnancy after uterine artery embolization for leiomyomata: a series of 56 completed pregnancies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006;195:1266-1271.