Lack of effect of self-poisoning on subsequent reproductive outcome.

Reproductive outcome as assessed by personal interview was studied after severe self-poisoning in 1399 index patients below the age of 30 years and 881 control cases. Rates of delayed conception, infertility, spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth were no higher in the study sample after self-poisoning than in the control sample. Among livebirths of index and control cases, there were no significant differences with respect to the sex ratio, mean birth weight, distribution of birth weight groups, percentage with low birth weight, twin occurrence, birth prevalence and distribution of congenital anomalies verified medically, rates of early death and some kinds of postnatal diseases. Consequently, there is no evidence that semilethal drug intoxication produces epidemiologically detectable germinal mutations in a sample involving 2503 pregnancies.