Objective: To study respiratory outcome in preterm small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses with or without signs of intrauterine growth restriction due to placental insufficiency, and with or without maternal hypertension.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of 187 neonates with birth weight <10(th) percentile and gestational age <34 weeks. Results from umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry were used to identify the abnormal Doppler subgroup.
Results: No significant difference in respiratory outcome between SGA fetuses with normal (SGA-N) or abnormal (SGA-A) umbilical artery Doppler examination was found. Within the SGA-A group, the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) incidence (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.7-18.3), RDS grade (OR 6.7, 95% CI 1.2-38.5), and need for surfactant (OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.1-24.4) were higher in infants of women with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets (HELLP) syndrome as compared to those of normotensive mothers.
Conclusions: Lung maturation is not accelerated with placental insufficiency. SGA-A fetuses of mothers with HELLP syndrome have a significantly poorer respiratory outcome than those with healthy mothers. Possibly, fetuses of mothers with HELLP syndrome are subjected to 'oxidative stress' causing lung damage rather than lung maturation.