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PAEDIATRIC FOLLOW UP OF PREGNANCIES COMPLICATED BY SUBNORMAL OESTRIOL EXCRETION INTERIM REPORT
Author(s) -
Wade Rhyl W.,
Pepperell Roger J.,
Kitchen William H.,
Whiteside Ursula,
Cameron Shirley E.,
Townsend Lance
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1978.tb141944.x
Subject(s) - medicine , excretion , obstetrics , gestation , pregnancy , fetal distress , fetus , incidence (geometry) , pediatrics , birth weight , endocrinology , physics , biology , optics , genetics
In 92 pregnant women with low urinary oestriol excretion after 30 weeks’ gestation, there was a higher incidence of fetal distress, premature delivery and induced labour, while resuscitation of the infant at birth was required more often than in controls. The birth weights, head circumference, and body lengths of the infants were significantly lower than those of the controls. In the 26 cases where maternal oestriol levels were persistently low, three were associated with placental sulphatase deficiency, and three infants died postnatally. Four infants had evidence of neurological defects on follow up, as did four infants in the control group. The low head circumferences, weight, and length were still present at two years of age. It is concluded that, although low oestriol excretion during pregnancy is associated with increased risk to the fetus, it is not associated per se with permanent neurological damage, provided the infant is born alive, and is congenitally normal. However, many infants remain smaller than average, at least for the first two years of life.