Delivery before 32 weeks of gestation for maternal pre-eclampsia: neonatal outcome and 2-year developmental outcome

Background and objective: In the literature, there are conflicting data on the neonatal outcome in preterm infants who were delivered for maternal pre-eclampsia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of maternal pre-eclampsia on neonatal morbidity and 2-year developmental outcome in a population of preterm infants delivered before 32 weeks of gestation. Methods: The hospital records of all 89 surviving VLBW infants with GA below 32 weeks born from January 1997 to December 1999 were reviewed retrospectively. Data on respiratory outcome, sepsis and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) were compiled and analyzed for their association to maternal pre-eclampsia. Seventy-eight infants were assessed employing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development for developmental outcome at 2 years of corrected age. Results: There was no difference in neonatal morbidity between groups. More infants born to pre-eclamptic mothers had lower MDI scores at 24 months of age ( P=0.04) as compared to infants without maternal pre-eclampsia. After multiple logistic regression analysis, pre-eclampsia ( P=0.007, OR=10.8) remained a significant risk factor of mildly delayed MDI at 24 months of age. Conclusion: Delivery before 32 weeks because of pre-eclampsia was associated with an increased risk of poor cognitive outcome. There was no significant difference in the postnatal course in comparison with infants born after pregnancies not complicated by pre-eclampsia.