Triplet pregnancies--a three-decade perspective: do we fare better?

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of advances in perinatal and neonatal care in the past three decades on the outcome of triplet pregnancies.

Study Design: We compared the outcome of 29 sets of triplets born in our medical center during 1978-1987 with 34 sets of triplets born in the same medical center during 2001-2011. Data were extracted from maternal and neonatal medical records.

Results: There were no significant differences in mortality or morbidity in any of the studied outcome measures between the two epochs. Of the 34 women with triplet pregnancies in the present cohort only 28 (82%) took all three born babies home, not different from the 86% found in the early cohort. The overall take-home baby rate was 93% (95/102) in the present cohort, not different than the 86% (74/86) in the early cohort.

Conclusions: Despite technological advances in perinatal and neonatal care, there was no significant improvement in the outcome of triplet pregnancies during the past three decades.