A Rutgers Health study, analysing over 31 million hospital records, found that infertility treatment patients faced double the risk of hospitalisation for heart disease in the year post-delivery compared to spontaneously conceived patients. Additionally, infertility patients were 2.16 times more likely to be hospitalised for hypertension.
"Postpartum checkups are necessary for all patients, but this study indicates they are particularly important for patients who undergo infertility treatment to achieve a conception," said Rei Yamada, an obstetrics and gynaecology resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and lead author of the study.
The study authors advocate for postpartum care standards recommending an initial checkup three weeks after delivery, a practice not yet universally adopted by all health systems. Elevated risk, particularly for patients developing dangerously high blood pressure, was prominent in the first month after delivery.
Cande Ananth, Chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and senior author of the study, emphasised the importance of early follow-up care. He noted that their findings, along with previous studies, underscore the critical need for early postpartum monitoring to mitigate risks of heart disease and stroke within the initial 30 days after delivery.
