120 ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE IN INFANTS OF PRE-ECLAMPTIC MOTHERS

Abstract

Although Woodbury et al, (Am.J. Physiol.122;472, 1938) implicated maternal toxemia as a cause of high blood pressure in neonates, there have been no further studies confirming this association. We retrospectively analyzed data from 500 high-risk pregnancies studied in 1972*. Eighteen term infants born to preeclamptic mothers (group 1) were matched for birth weight, GA, Apgar scores and hematocrit with infants born to non-preeclamptic and otherwise asymptomatic mothers (group 2). We retrived the heart rate (HR) intra-arterial blood pressure (ABP), and arterial blood gases. The data were obtained from one min. windows at a mean age of 4 mins. and at 10 min. intervals for the first 60 min. Heart rate levels were lower in group 1 than group 2 (p<.01) throughout the first 50 min. of life. Initial values for mean ABP were 49±5.0 in group 1 and 43±5.1 in group 2. Mean ABP remained higher in group 1 up to 30 min. (p<.001). No significant differences were found in PaO2 or PaCO2. These results show that term infants of preeclamptic mothers have significantly elevated ABP associated with lower HR during the immediate postnatal period, confirming the observations of Woodbury et al: The association of high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia has also been reported in older children. Transient elevation of blood pressure in the infant born to mothers with pre-eclampsia may be a precursor of later hypertension in childhood.