[The outcome of pregnancies complicated by rubella, 1990-1997]

To describe the experience of management of pregnant women complicated with rubella and to evaluate the perinatal outcome.

A total of 67 pregnant women with positive IgM test for rubella were studied in the period from January 1st, 1990 to October 31st, 1997. Sixty-six of these women were followed until the end of gestation, in 4 patients an elective abortion was performed and 1 patient had a molar pregnancy. The effects of rubella on gestation and on the product were evaluated in sixty-one of the patients. Anti-rubella IgM was determined at birth and positive infants were subjected to evaluation by echocardiogram, brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) and ophthalmological study.

Mean age of the patients was 24.7 +/- 5.5 years; 28 patients were primigravidae. Pregnancies were normal showing no complications due to the rubella episode. In 35 cases (52.2%), the viral infection occurred during the first trimester of pregnancy, in 23 cases (34.5%) during the second and in 9 (13.3%) during the third. Seventy-one percent of infants born to mothers infected during the first trimester of pregnancy were also infected, and 51.6% developed congenital rubella syndrome. The most frequent manifestations of CRS were: prematurity, low birth weight and alterations of the BAEP.

In Mexico, rubella is still a cause of fetal damage, which shows the need for preventive strategies, such as universal vaccination, to avoid rubella infection during pregnancy.