Growth from birth to 6 months of infants with and without intrauterine preeclampsia exposure.
Intrauterine preeclampsia exposure affects the lifelong cardiometabolic health of the child. Our study aimed to compare the growth (from birth to 6 months) of infants exposed to either a normotensive pregnancy or preeclampsia and explore the influence of being born small for gestational age (SGA). Participants were children of women participating in the Post-partum, Physiology, Psychology and Paediatric follow-up cohort study. Birth and 6-month weight and length z-scores were calculated for term and preterm (<37 weeks) babies, and change in weight z-score, rapid weight gain (≥0.67 increase in weight z-score) and conditional weight gain z-score were calculated. Compared with normotensive exposed infants (n = 298), preeclampsia exposed infants (n = 84) were more likely to be born SGA (7% versus 23%; P < 0.001), but weight gain from birth to 6 months, by any measure, did not differ between groups. Infants born SGA, irrespective of pregnancy exposure, were more likely to have rapid weight gain and had greater increases in weight z-score compared with those not born SGA. Preeclampsia exposed infants born SGA may benefit from interventions designed to prevent future cardiometabolic disease.
['Gow|Megan L|ML|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9574-6248', 'Roberts|Lynne|L|', 'Henry|Amanda|A|', 'Davis|Gregory|G|', 'Mangos|George|G|', 'Pettit|Franziska|F|', 'Khouri|Joseph M|JM|', 'Dosen|Ana|A|', 'Brown|Mark A|MA|', 'Craig|Maria E|ME|']
Growth infants preeclampsia small for gestational age