American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 155, No. 3 : 203-209
Copyright © 2002 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Impact of Preeclampsia and Gestational Hypertension on Birth Weight by Gestational Age
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
2 Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
4 Health Surveillance, Alberta Health and Wellness, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
5 Current affiliation: St.-François d'Assise Hospital, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
The predominant etiologic theory of preeclampsia is that reduced uteroplacental perfusion is the unique pathogenic process in the development of preeclampsia. Decreased uteroplacental blood flow would result in lower birth weights. To date, no study has assessed the effect of preeclampsia on birth weight by gestational age. Thus, the authors conducted a retrospective cohort study based on 97,270 pregnancies that resulted in delivery between 1991and 1996 at 35 hospitals in northern and central Alberta, Canada. Differences in mean birth weight between women with preeclampsia and normotensive women ranged from -547.5 g to 239.5 g for gestational age categories ranging from 
32 weeks to 
42 weeks. The birth weights were statistically significantly lower among mothers with preeclampsia who delivered at 37 weeks, with an average difference of –352.5 g. However, the birth weights were not lower among preeclamptic mothers who delivered after 37 weeks (average difference of 49.0 g). In Alberta, 61.2% of preeclamptic patients gave birth after 37 weeks of gestation. The authors conclude that babies born to mothers with preeclampsia at term have fetal growth similar to that of babies born to normotensive mothers. This finding does not endorse the currently held theory that reduced uteroplacental perfusion is the unique pathophysiologic process in preeclampsia.
birth weight; gestational age; hypertension; pre-eclampsia; pregnancy
Abbreviations: LGA, large for gestational age; SGA, small for gestational age
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