Foetal growth in first trimester linked to high blood pressure
Factors such as maternal high blood pressure and high haematocrit levels are associated with a greater likelihood of restricted foetal growth during the first trimester and increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, according to a new Dutch-led study.
Doctors led by Dr Dennis O. Mook-Kanamori of the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, examined the association of several maternal physical characteristics and lifestyle habits in 1,631 mothers with first-trimester foetal growth and the associations of first-trimester foetal growth restriction with the risks of adverse birth outcomes and accelerated postnatal growth until the age of two years.
Mothers were enrolled in the study between 2001 and 2005. First-trimester foetal growth was measured as foetal crown to rump length by ultrasound between the gestational age of 10 weeks, 0 days and 13 weeks, 6 days.
Maternal age was positively associated with first-trimester foetal crown-to-rump length and that higher diastolic blood pressure and higher haematocrit levels were associated with shorter crown-to-rump length.
Compared with mothers who were nonsmokers and optimal users of folic-acid supplements, those who both smoked and did not use folic-acid supplements had shorter foetal crown-to-rump lengths.
“Further studies are needed to assess the associations of first-trimester growth variation on the risks of disease in later childhood and adulthood,” the study’s authors concluded.
The challenges for future research are to produce robust screening tests with acceptable levels of detection and prediction.
(Source: IMT)
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