Preeclampsia: What complications in the newborn?

Introduction: Preeclampsia is the combination of maternal gestational hypertension and proteinuria (Pu) ≥ 300 mg/day. In Senegal, it is the third cause of maternal death during pregnancy, after haemorrhage and infection. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of pre-eclampsia on the newborn. Methodology: This was a prospective and monocentric study carried out in a maternity and neonatology unit of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) of Dakar (Senegal) over a period of 6 months. Included were newborns of preeclamptic mothers hospitalized in the neonatology unit. Results: Of 924 hospitalized newborns, 141 (15.3%) were preeclamptic mothers. The average age of the mothers was 27.5 years. Caesarean section was performed in 97.6%. The mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 100.8 mmHg and the systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 160.6 mmHg. Pu with urine strip was ≥ 3 crosses in 100 cases (80%). Nicardipine was used in 82.5%. The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 35.2 weeks of amenorrhea (AS). There were 93 (66%) preterm births. The average birth weight was 1879 g. Neonatal complications were: prematurity (n = 93), intrauterine growth retardation (n = 98), respiratory distress (n = 58) and perinatal asphyxia (n = 8). Maternal factors associated with neonatal morbidity were essentially PAD > 110 mmHg and Pu ≥ 3 crosses. Conclusion: Newborns of preeclamptic mothers have specificities that any birth room practitioner should take into consideration in order to improve their prognosis.