A STUDY OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MATERNAL PLACENTAL WEIGHT AND NEONATAL CHARACTERISTICS

BACKGROUND: Placenta is a vital organ in normal fetal development. Failure of placenta to gain weight and insufficiency of its function can result in fetal disorders. This study is to determine placental weight and factors associated with low weight placentas. STUDY DESIGN: This is the a longitudinal cross-sectional study in which women with single pregnancy, and gestational age between 37-42 weeks were studied. The subjects were categorized in high (> 750 g), normal (330-750 g), and low placental weights (<330 g). The placental weight, maternal age, birth weight,, parity, gestational age, preeclampsia, history of maternal diabetes, delivery routs, neonates' gender; and apgar score in 5th minutes after delivery were examined. One thousand- eighty eight pregnant women were included in the study. RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation for maternal ages and gestational ages at deliveries were 25.35 +/- 5.6 and 274.51 (+/-) 9.56 days, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of neonates' weights at birth and placental weights were 3214.28 +/- 529 and 529.72 +/- 113 g, respectively. The prevalences of low and high placental weights were 2% and 2.8%, respectively. There were statistically significant relationships between placental weight and birth weight, fetal distress, Apgar score, maternal diabetes, preeclampsia and routs of deliveries (alpha = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that placental weight can be associated with important variables influencing some maternal and neonatal outcomes and placental weight lower than 330 g can be a warning sign. Careful attention to placenta growth during pregnancy can guide physicians to assess neonatal health.