Dr Anthea Lindquist
MBBS DPhil(Oxon) FRANZCOGAnthea is an obstetrician and gynaecologist who trained under a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University to become a peri...
Summary
The use of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in Australia is steadily increasing, with 5% of Australian livebirths resulting from IVF-assisted conception. Since the first successful IVF pregnancy in 1978, the early technological advances have dramatically improved rates of pregnancy. However, as the increments of improvement have diminished in recent decades, many IVF practitioners have turned to medications that have been poorly tested in clinical trials. This is concerning because we do not know whether these medications are safe. Furthermore, they are being prescribed – often at high doses – during the first trimester of pregnancy. This is a vulnerable time, when the fetus is most sensitive to the risk of teratogenesis – structural malformations caused by harmful drugs.
This project seeks to examine the safety profiles associated with the most commonly prescribed adjunct IVF medications – high-dose progesterone, tetracycline antibiotics, enoxaparin and steroids. Using a state-wide data linkage comprising perinatal, medications, and childhood data, we will compare pregnancy and childhood outcomes between IVF and non-IVF cohorts, following use of novel medications in early pregnancy. Upon completion, the results from this study will provide essential data on the safety and impact of these medications in pregnancy, allowing women and clinicians to make more informed choices about adjunct medication use in IVF.
