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Published on: November 20, 2015
Placenta previa and long-term morbidity of the term offspring
Asnat Walfisch1, Ofer Beharier1, Ilana Shoham-Vardi2
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Insights
Placenta previa in pregnancy does not increase long-term health risks for term infants. This study found no higher incidence of cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, or other morbidities up to age 18.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal Medicine
- Pediatric Health Outcomes
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
Background:
- Placenta previa, a condition where the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix, is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
- The long-term health implications for term infants born after pregnancies complicated by placenta previa remain largely uncharacterized.
- Understanding potential long-term morbidities is crucial for comprehensive infant care following placental abnormalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between placenta previa and the risk of long-term morbidity in term offspring.
- To determine if abnormal placentation, specifically placenta previa, contributes to increased long-term health issues in children up to age 18.
- To compare the incidence of various morbidities between children born to mothers with and without placenta previa.
Main Methods:
- A population-based cohort study design was employed, analyzing deliveries between 1991-2013 at a tertiary medical center.
- Inclusion criteria focused on term deliveries, excluding multiple gestations and fetuses with congenital malformations.
- Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression were used to assess cumulative morbidity incidence and control for confounders.
Main Results:
- A total of 233,123 term deliveries were analyzed; 502 (0.2%) were associated with placenta previa.
- Children born to mothers with placenta previa showed no increased risk for long-term hospitalizations due to cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, hematological, respiratory, or urinary morbidities up to age 18.
- The findings indicate a lack of significant long-term adverse health effects in term infants related to maternal placenta previa.
Conclusions:
- Term offspring born to mothers diagnosed with placenta previa do not exhibit an elevated risk for long-term morbidity up to 18 years of age.
- The study suggests that placenta previa, in the absence of other complications, does not appear to predispose term infants to chronic health conditions.
- These findings contribute to reassuring evidence regarding the long-term health trajectory of children born at term following placenta previa.
Objective:
The long-term impact of placenta previa on term infants is unknown. We aimed to investigate whether abnormal placentation increases the risk for long-term morbidity of the term offspring.
Study Design:
A population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term hospitalizations up to the age of 18 due to cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, hematological, respiratory and urinary morbidity of children born at term in pregnancies diagnosed with placenta previa and those without. Deliveries occurred between the years 1991-2013 in a tertiary medical center. Multiple pregnancies, and fetal congenital malformations were excluded. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare cumulative morbidity incidence over time. A multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression model analysis was used to control for confounders and for maternal clusters.
Results:
During the study period 233,123 term deliveries met the inclusion criteria; 0.2% (n=502) of the children were born to mothers with placenta previa. During the follow-up period, children born to mothers with placenta previa did not have an increased risk for long-term cardiovascular, endocrine, hematological, neurological, respiratory, and urinary morbidity.
Conclusion:
Term offsprings of mothers diagnosed with placenta previa do not appear to be at an increased risk for long-term morbidity up to the age of 18.
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