Neonatal outcome in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy account for increased perinatal morbidity and mortality when compared to uneventful gestations. AIMS: To analyze perinatal outcome of pregnancies complicated by different kinds of hypertension to uncomplicated pregnancies in a series of Italian women and to compare our data with series from other countries. STUDY DESIGN: The sample was divided into four groups of hypertensive women: chronic hypertension (CH), gestational hypertension (GH), preeclampsia (PE), and chronic hypertension complicated by preeclampsia (CHPE). One thousand normal pregnancies served as controls. SUBJECTS: Neonatal features of the offspring of 965 Italian women with hypertension in pregnancy were evaluated. MEASURES: Gestational age, birthweight and the rate of small for gestational age were the outcomes. Perinatal asphyxia and mortality were also assessed. RESULTS: Gestational age, the mean of birth weight and birth percentile were significantly lower in all groups with hypertensive complications when compared with controls. The rate of very early preterm delivery (