Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Pre-eclampsia and Normotensive Pregnancies

Objective: To compare the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies with pre-eclampsia to those with normotensive. Materials and Methods: Cases were defined as pregnancies with pre-eclampsia who delivered between January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2009 at Khon Kaen Hospital and were compared with normal blood pressure with a ratio of 1:1 match for age and date of delivery. The information of maternal and neonatal outcomes were reviewed from the medical and delivery records.Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the effect of pre-eclampsia.Results: There were 302 cases in the study which half of them were pre-eclampsia and the others were normotensive pregnancies. Maternal and neonatal morbidities were significantly higher in pre-eclampsia pregnancies. Pre-eclampsia increases the risk of vaginal operative delivery (adjusted OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.1- 5.9), cesarean section (adjusted OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1- 3.0), low birth weight (< 2,500 g) (adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4- 5.8), and birth asphyxia (adjusted OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.1- 25.1). The most common indication for cesarean section was fetal distress. There were eight neonatal deaths. The causes of death were respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and very low birthweight. Conclusion: Pre-eclampsia significantly increased the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes