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Placenta praevia and male sex at birth: results from a population-based study

S W Wen1, K Demissie, S Liu

  • 1Bureau of Reproductive and Child Health, Laboratory Center for Disease Control, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Shi_Wu_Wen@hc-sc.gc.ca

This study examined the relationship between male sex at birth and placenta praevia in 433031 mother/infant dyads (linked by a common institutional code and hospital admission number) in the Canadian province of Quebec, during the fiscal years of 1991/92-1995/96. The male-to-female ratio among pregnancies with and without placenta praevia was calculated and compared. The male-to-female ratio at birth was higher in pregnancies complicated by a placenta praevia (1.19) than in those without it (1.04; P < 0.02). This increased ratio persisted after accounting separately for the potential confounding and/or modifying effects of maternal age, infant birthweight and gestational age by stratified and multiple logistic regression analyses. We conclude that pregnant women with male babies carry a higher risk of placenta praevia.

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