Obstetric morbidity associated with amniotic sheets

The objective of this study was to determine whether amniotic sheets are associated with an increase in obstetric and neonatal morbidity.

Using a cohort study design, we identified all women with amniotic sheets, detected by a second-trimester ultrasound examination at a university hospital over a 6-year period. All women who received an ultrasound examination during that time, without a diagnosis of amniotic sheets, were also identified, and two women from among this group were randomly selected as controls for each case. Maternal and neonatal data were abstracted from the medical records, and maternal and neonatal morbidity were compared between the two groups.

One hundred and twenty-two women with pregnancies with a diagnosis of amniotic sheets were identified and compared to 244 women with pregnancies without a diagnosis of amniotic sheets. Composite obstetric morbidity was higher in women with amniotic sheets: 21.3% vs. 8.2% (relative risk (RR) 2.6; 95% CI, 1.5-4.5). Additionally, in women with amniotic sheets, neonates were more likely to be born with a birth weight of < 2500 g (RR 3.3; 95% CI, 1.8-6.4) and were more likely to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (RR 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3-4.3). There were no perinatal deaths observed in either group.

Amniotic sheets are associated with an increase in adverse obstetric outcomes.