Low placental weight and risk for fetal distress at birth
-
Heinrich Husslein
,
Bettina Moswitzer
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess whether low placental weight is associated with higher risk of emergency delivery (cesarean section and vacuum-assisted delivery).
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study, including 657 normally developed term pregnancies. A strict methodology was used to provide reliable and reproducible placental weight measurement. Fetal heart rate patterns were analyzed according to the guidelines of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Linear and logistic multiple regression analyses were used to assess risk factors for emergency delivery.
Results: Nulliparity, placental weight <10th percentile, and delivery after 40 weeks of gestation remain significantly associated with higher risk of emergency delivery for non-reassuring fetal status in the multivariable model [odds ratio (OR) 5.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.85–9.22, P<0.001; OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.49–4.06, P<0.001; OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.26–4.51, P=0.01, respectively]. In the group of women who had an emergency delivery, 17.3% had a placental weight <10th percentile, which was significantly different to the group of women who delivered normally (9.4%, P≤0.04). If only emergency cesarean sections were analyzed, the percentage of women with placental weight <10th percentile was 37.5% in the cesarean section group compared to 9.8% in women who delivered normally (P≤0.001).
Conclusion: This study suggests that, in clinically normally developed term pregnancies, placental weight <10th percentile is associated with an increased risk for emergency delivery during labor. These results warrant further prospective studies for potential use in clinical practice.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
- WAPM Newsletter
- WAPM Newsletter
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth in multiple pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial
- Association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein serum levels in early pregnancy with the severity of preeclampsia and fetal birth weight
- High-fidelity simulation increases obstetric self-assurance and skills in undergraduate medical students
- Resident consultant presence in labour ward after midnight – a retrospective cohort study of 5318 deliveries
- Carboxyhemoglobin levels in umbilical cord blood of women with pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction
- Labour epidural analgesia and anti-infectious management of the neonate: a meta-analysis
- What about ST waveform analysis signal quality in the second stage of labor? A case-control study
- A curriculum to teach and evaluate resident skills in the management of postpartum hemorrhage
- Placental transfer of clarithromycin in human pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes
- Stepwise sequential screening for Down’s syndrome (combined test associated with modified genetic sonography) in pregnant women with low risk for chromosomal disorders
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Mode of anaesthesia on fetal acid-base status at caesarean section
- Development of integrative autonomic nervous system function: an investigation based on time correlation in fetal heart rate patterns
- Original Articles – Newborn
- Guttus, tiralatte and téterelle: a history of breast pumps
- Does docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status in pregnancy have any impact on postnatal growth? Six-year follow-up of a prospective randomized double-blind monocenter study on low-dose DHA supplements
- The evolution of risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus-related hospitalisation in infants born at 32–35 weeks’ gestational age: time-based analysis using data from the FLIP-2 study
- Short Communications
- Low placental weight and risk for fetal distress at birth
- Electrical pacemaker as a safe and feasible method for decreasing the uterine contractions of human preterm labor
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
- WAPM Newsletter
- WAPM Newsletter
