Journal of International Reproductive Health/Family Planning ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 362-367.doi: 10.12280/gjszjk.20260265

• Original Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Impact of Embryo Type on Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes in the First Frozen-Thawed Embryo Transfer Cycle of Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

LIU Min-rui, LIU Min, ZHANG Fu-qing()   

  1. Department of Reproductive Genetics, Women and Infants Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou 450012, China
  • Received:2026-05-18 Published:2026-09-15 Online:2026-09-20
  • Contact: ZHANG Fu-qing, E-mail: zfqfx@163.com

Abstract:

Objective: To analyze the impact of embryo type on the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in the first frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycle of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on PCOS patients who underwent their first FET cycle in our hospital, between January 1, 2017 and April 1, 2025. Patients were divided into two groups based on the type of embryos transferred: the double cleavage-stage embryo transfer group (D3 group) and the single blastocyst transfer group (D5 group). The two groups were matched 1∶1 using propensity score matching (PSM), resulting in 97 cases matched in both the D3 and D5 groups. Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were compared between the two groups after PSM. The D5 group was further subdivided into the top-quality blastocyst group (tD5 group, 65 cases) and the non-top-quality blastocyst group (ntD5 group, 32 cases), which were compared with the D3 group in terms of pregnancy outcomes. Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing clinical pregnancy and live birth. Results: The multiple pregnancy rate in the D3 group was significantly higher than that in the D5 group (36.67% vs. 1.85%, χ2=21.390, P≤0.001). The clinical pregnancy rate in the ntD5 group (40.63%) was lower than that in the D3 group (61.86%), the difference was significant (χ2=4.415, P=0.036). Compared with the D3 group, the D5 group had a higher neonatal birth weight, greater birth length, lower proportion of low birth weight infants and small for gestational age infant (SGA) (all P<0.05). Additionally, the large for gestational age infant (LGA) rate in the tD5 group [22.22% (8/36)] was significantly higher than that in the D3 group [7.02% (4/57)] (χ2=4.539, P=0.033). Logistic regression analysis showed that, using the transfer of 0 high-quality embryos as a reference, the transfer of one high-quality embryo (OR=2.328, 95%CI: 1.002-5.407) and transfer of two high-quality embryos (OR=5.288, 95%CI: 1.517-18.434) were associated with increased probability of clinical pregnancy. Transfer of two high-quality embryos (OR=4.937, 95%CI: 1.347-18.101) was associated with increased probability of live birth. Conclusions: In the first FET cycle of PCOS patients, single blastocyst transfer can improve the neonatal outcomes, yet increase the incidence of LGA, to some extent. Therefore, the cleavage-stage embryo transfer may be considered for those patients at high risk of LGA. By contrast, the single blastocyst transfer is the preferred option for those patients without LGA-related risks.

Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Embryo transfer, Blastula, Pregnancy outcome, Propensity score, Frozen-thawed embryo transfer