Fetal Growth and Body Proportion during Pre-Eclamptic Pregnancy

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of mild and severe PE on fetal growth and body proportion, measurement at serial ultrasound (US) examinations. Five to 7% of all pregnancies are complicated by preeclampsia (PE). Some forms of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) have been etiologically linked to PE, based on similar placental disease- abnormal implantation. Materials and Methods: Women (n=400) who had singleton pregnancies and underwent two or more second- and third-trimester obstetric US examinations were included in our study. The women were divided in three groups: 300 normotensive pregnancies (controls), 67 pregnancies with mild PE (MP) and 33 pregnancies with severe PE (SP). Inadequate fetal growth was defined as growth at or below 10 th percentile. We calculated US measurements between fetuses from normotensive and PE pregnancies (MP and SP). Results: In newborns of women with PE, mean birth weight and length were lower than in births without PE. Fetuses in PE pregnancies from 26 week of gestation (wg) with US scan had lower biometric parameters vs. then of normotensive pregnancies, especially values of abdominal circumference and femur length. In PE pregnancies, there could be faster aging of placenta and oligohydramnion. This is time before clinical onset of PE. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that PE is a heterogeneous disorder which involving placental dysfunction and IUGR, often with asymmetric fetal body proportion and reduced fetal length. The results suggest that US measurements of fetal size are important predictors for PE and birth outcomes.