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Maternal hypertension with superimposed pre‐eclampsia: effects on child development at 7½ years
Author(s) -
OUNSTED M.,
COCKBURN J.,
MOAR V. A.,
REDMAN C. W. G.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1983.tb09283.x
Subject(s) - eclampsia , medicine , supine position , confounding , pediatrics , population , birth weight , obstetrics , head circumference , pregnancy , blood pressure , essential hypertension , biology , genetics , environmental health
Summary. Children born to women participating in a prospective study of hypertension during pregnancy were followed up from birth. Data on growth and development at the age of 7½ years of 56 children whose mothers had superimposed pre‐eclampsia are compared with results of 176 children whose mothers had only hypertension. Perinatal mortality in the hypertension‐only group was similar to that for the hospital population in general at the time of their birth; but in the group who developed pre‐eclampsia it was significantly higher. At the age of 7½ years no differences were found in the frequency of health, handicap, sight and hearing problems, weight, height, head circumference, and standing and supine blood pressures. For six aspects of intellectual development children in the pre‐eclampsia group had slightly higher mean scores; and in one of these, ‘perceptual matching’ the difference was significant after adjustment had been made for confounding variables. Pre‐eclampsia superimposed on hypertension does not increase the likelihood of impaired growth and development among children who survive the perinatal period.