INTERGROWTH-21st versus a customized method for the prediction of neonatal nutritional status in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Abstract

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) generate complications and are one of the principal causes of maternal, foetal, and neonatal mortality worldwide. It has been observed that in pregnancies with HDP, the incidence of foetuses small for their gestational age (SGA) is twice as high as that in noncomplicated pregnancies. In women with HDP, the identification of foetuses (SGA) is substantially important, as management and follow-up are determined by this information. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the INTERGROWTH-21st method or customized birthweight references better identify newborns with an abnormal nutritional status resulting from HDP. A comparative analysis study was designed with two diagnostic methods for the prediction of neonatal nutritional status in pregnancies with HDP. The performance of both methods in identifying neonatal malnutrition (defined by a neonatal body mass index The study included 226 pregnant women diagnosed with HDP. The customized method identified 45 foetuses as small for gestational age (19.9%), while the INTERGROWTH-21st method identified 27 newborns with SGA (11.9%). The difference between proportions was statistically significant (p In pregnant women with HDP, the predictive ability of the customized foetal growth curves to identify neonatal malnutrition appears to surpass that of INTERGROWTH-21st.