Correlation of Placental Weight with Neonatal Weight and HbA1c in Normal Sudanese Pregnant Ladies in Alban-Jaded Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: The placenta is a life-supporting organ for the growing fetus. Several studies have highlighted the relationship between placental weight and neonatal birth weight; however, the role of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has not been addressed. Aim: The study aimed to determine the relationship between the placental weight, neonatal birth weight, and HbA1c at term pregnancy in a Sudanese hospital. Methods: This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted at Al Ban-Jaded Hospital between November and December 2022. Data, including the gestational age at delivery (in weeks), parity, mode of delivery, fetal birth weight, placental weight, fetal gender, and presence or absence of maternal medical diseases, was obtained from 60 singleton term deliveries who met the inclusion criteria for the study. The tested data was analyzed using SPSS version 25, and t-test was used to compare the statistical significance (P value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant). Results: The mean age was 27.02 ± 6.8 years. The mean HbA1C was 5.98% ± 0.39% (5.2%–6.9%). Glycated hemoglobin was elevated (≥5.7%) in the majority (46, 76.7%) of pregnancies. The mean placental weight was 290 ± 106 g (100 g–700 g), while the mean birth weight was 3.00 kg ± 0.36 kg (2.3 kg–3.8 kg), and the placental/birth weight ratio was 9.6%. There was a significant positive correlation between neonatal weight and placental weight (r=0.514, P value=0.000). Also, neonatal weight and placental weight had a significant positive correlation with HbA1C (r=0.657, P value=0.000). Placental weight and neonatal birth weight significantly increased with the gestational age of neonates (P value <0.05), with a slight drop noted in term gestation. Conclusions: There is a positive correlation between placental weight and birth weight of the neonate in pregnancies with high maternal HbA1C, and placental weight and birth weight were higher than in pregnancies with normal maternal HbA1C.