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Feb 15, 2019Keywords:
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Placental weight and perinatal outcome among parturients at a university teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
Background: The growth and survival of the fetus are essentially dependent on formation, full development, and functions of the placenta. Examination of the placenta would demonstrate important information about whatever has happened to the fetus in utero.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the sociodemographic characteristics that affect placenta weight and then assess the association between placental weight and perinatal outcome among parturients in a tertiary hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of all women who delivered at the labor ward complex of the hospital between January 2014 and December 2015. The data of all parturients with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were obtained from the labor ward register, and their case notes were subsequently retrieved from the medical records department for extraction of all relevant information. Descriptive statistics were computed for all data and analyses were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0 for Windows (manufactured by IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). The associations between groups of continuous variables were tested using the independent sample t‑test or one‑way analysis of variance where applicable. All significances were reported at P < 0.05.
Conclusion: Parity, maternal booking weight, gestational age at delivery, baby’s birth weight, umbilical cord length, and neonatal 5‑min Apgar score had positive correlations with placental weight. Further longitudinal studies are needed to examine the extent to which placental weight will affect the future growth and development, nutritional status, and health of newborns.
Result: The overall mean cord length was 59.6±11.7cm and the mean placental weight was 657.5±96.1 grams with majority (46.3%) of the parturients having normal placental weight range of 500-749 grams. Placental weights at term have statistically significant positive correlations with the gestational age at delivery (P = 0.041), baby’s birth weights (P = 0.003), 5-minute Apgar score (P = 0.016), and the umbilical cord length (P = 0.035).
Keywords: Baby’s weight; maternal booking weight; parity; placental weight
