GESTATIONAL HYPERTENSION AND BIRTH WEIGHT IN TWIN PREGNANCIES

Introduction: It is well known that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are most frequent in twin pregnancies than in singleton ones. As demonstrated by a previous work of our group, twin pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia are associated with a higher rate of \u201csmall for gestational age\u201d (SGA) neonates and inter-twin weight discordance than normotensive ones. Objectives: The present study investigates the effect of gestational hypertension (GH) on neonatal birth weight, inter-twin weight discordance and growth restriction rate among twin pregnancies. Methods: A 26 year retrospective study was undertaken by examining 196 twin pregnancies complicated by GH, from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2006, and comparing them to 912 normotensive twin pregnancies. Results: No significant differences were observed between the two groups in relationship to birth weight, inter-twin weight discordance and growth restriction rate, with a trend towards a higher birth weight in GH group. In normotensive group, the discordance >25% was associated with a lower gestational age at the delivery (p