Obstetric complications in Marfan syndrome

Objective: To investigate the obstetric maternal and neonatal outcome of pregnancy in women with Marfan syndrome.Methods: Retrospective observational multi-center study based on congenital heart disease registry.Results: Sixty-three of the 122 enrolled women with Marfan syndrome had been pregnant 142 times (including 111 pregnancies > 20 weeks, 28 (20%) miscarriages and 3 elective abortions). In 40% of all completed pregnancies an obstetric and/or neonatal complication occurred. The most important complications were an increased percentage of premature deliveries (n=17, 15%) mainly due to preterm premature rupture of membranes and cervical incompetence and a markedly increased combined fetal and neonatal mortality of 7.1%. An obstetric and/ or neonatal complication occurred in a similar proportion of pregnancies in women with a diagnosis of Marfan syndrome before pregnancy versus women with a diagnosis of Marfan syndrome after pregnancy (39% vs. 41%, p=0.85, respectively).Conclusion: In addition to cardiovascular complications, pregnancy in women with Marfan syndrome is associated with a high rate of premature deliveries, preterm premature rupture of membranes and increased mortality in the offspring. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.