Fetomaternal and neonatal outcome of triplet pregnancy. Promising results.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the fetomaternal and neonatal outcomes in triplet pregnancy.

METHODS: A retrospective review of 32 triplet pregnancies between January 2007 to December 2009 was carried out. This study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Abha Maternity Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

RESULTS: In this study, the most common complication was preterm labor, while other complications examined were not dramatically increased. The most common complication observed in neonates were respiratory distress syndrome with good neonatal outcome. The study demonstrated high perinatal mortality, mostly due to extreme low gestational age at delivery.

CONCLUSIONS: We found a good maternal and neonatal outcome in patients who conceived with triplet, although the sample size is small due to a rare incidence of triplet gestation. This finding is helpful in counseling patients who had conceived triplets in terms of preterm delivery, mode of delivery, and the need for embryo reduction at earlier stages of pregnancy, as well as performing a prophylactic cervical cerclage.