title: Prenatal diagnosis in multiple gestation: 20 years' experience with amniocentesis.
abstract: Three hundred and thirty-nine cases of multiple gestation underwent prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis. The spontaneous abortion rate (to 28 weeks) in this group was 3.57 per cent compared with our singleton abortion rate of 0.60 per cent. The perinatal mortality rate (PMR) and prematurity rate were not different from the singletons, and compared favourably with the PMR reported in the literature for multiple gestations which did not undergo any intervention during pregnancy. This increased abortion rate following amniocentesis may only represent the increased natural loss rate in multiple gestations, and not indicate any increased risk added by the procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0720.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Golbus
mesh_terms: D000649:Amniocentesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D014310:Triplets; D014427:Twins