Amniocentesis not only increases the miscarriage risk but also causes long-term adverse perinatal outcomes

Background This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term pregnancy outcomes of pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, pregnancy outcomes of 2044 pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis and 7668 pregnant women who underwent non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) as a control group were evaluated using single center data. Perinatal outcomes of 377 amniocentesis and 2063 NIPT cases, whose birth data were available, were analyzed. Structural and genetic anomalies, maternal additional diseases and multiple pregnancies were excluded from the study. Pregnancy and perinatal outcomes, including fetal loss, preterm birth (PTB), pregnancy-induced hypertensive diseases (PIHD), low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), and low APGAR scores (< 7) were evaluated. Results Miscarriage (< 24 weeks) (0.68%) and intrauterine fetal demise (> 24 weeks) (0.88%) were significantly higher in amniocentesis cases (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). PTB (< 37 weeks), extremely PTB (< 28 weeks), and late PTB (34–37 weeks) were higher in amniocentesis cases (p < 0.001, p = 0.011, and p < 0.001, respectively). Adverse neonatal outcomes, including SGA, LBW, and low APGAR scores (1st and 5th minutes), were higher in amniocentesis cases (p < 0.001, p = 0.014, and p < 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in PIHD between the two groups (p = 0.287). Conclusions Our findings showed that, apart from fetal loss, amniocentesis may lead to adverse perinatal outcomes such as PTB, LBW, SGA and low APGAR scores. However, further studies evaluating long-term pregnancy outcomes associated with the procedure are needed.