title: Triplet pregnancies--a three-decade perspective: do we fare better?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of advances in perinatal and neonatal care in the past three decades on the outcome of triplet pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Electronic address: wamir@netvision.net.il.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ulanovsky
authors.forename: Yechiel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Imad R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Makhoul
authors.forename: Shraga
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blazer
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Drugan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059286:Pregnancy, Triplet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Neonatal; Perinatal; Triplet pregnancy