Newborns in the early neonatal period in a group of mothers at high obstetric and perinatal risk

Abstract

AIM: We aimed at assessing the status of newborns in the early neonatal period in a group of mothers at high prenatal risk for preeclampsia (PE), fetal growth restriction (FGR), preterm birth (PTB), and fetal chromosomal abnormalities (FCA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively analyzed the status of 435 singletons. Mothers in the first-trimester underwent prenatal screening with risk assessment. Group 1 (study group, n=231) included high-risk subgroups for FCA (subgroup 1A, n=67), maternal PE (subgroup 1B, n=66), FGR (subgroup 1C, n=46), and PTB (subgroup 1D, n=52). We excluded risk combinations. Group 2 (controls) included 204 children of low-risk women. RESULTS: Group 1 had a higher incidence of mild-to-moderate asphyxia compared with group 2 (p 0.05) and was more frequent in 1B, 1C, and 1D subgroups. Moreover, the frequency of severe asphyxia was similar between the groups (p 0.05). Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and developmental delay were more frequent in group 1 than in group 2 (p 0.05). Moreover, group 1 children required monitoring and treatment more frequently that in group 2 (p 0.05). The frequency of infectious complications in group 1 and 1A, 1B, and 1C subgroups was equally higher than that of group 2 (p 0.05), while respiratory distress syndrome predominated in group 1 (subgroup 1D) and was not observed in group 2. The discharge rate was 95.7% in group 1 and 84.0% in group 2 (p 0.05). On days 3 to 5, 16% and 3.4% of children in groups 1 and 2, respectively, were transferred to the second stage of aftercare (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In the early neonatal period, children born to high-risk mothers, as opposed to those born to low-risk mothers, were significantly more likely to have asphyxia, IUGR, infectious complications, and indications for continued treatment in the second stage of nursing.