title: The neonatal implications of a high placental ratio in small-for-gestational age infants.
abstract: An increased placental ratio has been associated with small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants. A retrospective study on 252 singleton SGA infants without major anomalies born within a 1-year period was performed to determine the relationship between placental ratio and maternal/infant characteristics, and perinatal complications. The cases were categorized into three groups according to the placental ratio (<1 sd below the mean, within 1 sd of the mean, >1 sd above the mean) based on our previous data. There were more infants with a high ratio (32.9 per cent) than with a low ratio (15.5 per cent). While there was no difference in the maternal characteristics or antenatal complications, there was a significant trend in decreasing birthweight and an increasing placental weight in relation to an increasing placental ratio. The infants with a high ratio had increased incidence of meconium stained liquor, hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia and phototherapy, a trend that was consistent even after exclusion of the preterm infants. Our data indicated that a high placental ratio in SGA infants was due to both increased placental size and decreased birthweight, and this was associated with increased neonatal morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Hong Kong, Tsan Yuk Hospital, Hong Kong, PRC.
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lao
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000502:physiology*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D010920:Placenta / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies