Abstract

Aim: to identify and assess the significance of the neonatal outcomes of eclamptic mothers.
Material and methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital Gaya, Bihar, India for one year. The study comprised newborn babies born to 100 consecutive mothers admitted with eclampsia or with pre-eclampsia but subsequently developing eclampsia along with those born to 100 consecutive non-eclamptic mothers (considered as control) with normal BP.
Results: The majority of eclamptic mothers were primigravida (88%), <20 years of age (65%), non-tribals (80%), having body weight of mean 41.22±5.12 kg, height of mean 147.28±6.27cm, and socioeconomic status of Class IV (90%). There was no significant difference observed in respect of age, weight, height, religion, caste, parity, and socioeconomic status between eclamptic and control mothers and thus, the two groups were statistically matched.  Outcome in newborns of eclamptic mothers was significantly more adverse (p<0.001) than in non-eclamptic mothers (75 vs. 47; odds ratio [OR]=3.151, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.752–5.636). In this study, four significant neonatal outcomes of eclamptic mothers were observed as preterm (OR=3.101, 95% CI=1.572–5.822, p=0.001), LBW (OR=3.177, 95% CI=1.765–5.712, p<0.001), IUGR (OR=4.397, 95% CI=1.212–16.129, p=0.028), and birth asphyxia (OR=2.471, 95% CI=1.228–4.878, p=0.014) while other outcomes as hypoxic- ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (OR=4.521, 95% CI=0.942– 21.965, p=0.077), EOS (OR=2.541, 95% CI=0.753–8.498, p=0.236),  END  (OR=2.711,  95%  CI=0.531–14.436, p=0.411), and stillbirth (OR=2.366, 95% CI=0.721–7.965, p=0.247) were not significant. Only live born babies were considered for the statistical study of birth asphyxia, HIE, EOS, and END.
Conclusion:  We concluded that the eclampsia is an important cause of significant neonatal morbidity in terms of prematurity, LBW, IUGR, and birth asphyxia. It is a significant risk factor for late preterm births as well.