Birth weight in offspring of mothers with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
BACKGROUND
A relationship between reduced fetal growth and the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been proposed in girls with PCOS. However, the birth weight in the offspring of PCOS mothers has not been systematically investigated. The aim of this study was to establish the birth weight of newborns of mothers with PCOS and to compare it with a control group of newborns of normal women matched by age and weight at the beginning of pregnancy.


METHODS
The birth weight of 47 infants born from singleton pregnancies in women with well-documented PCOS was compared with 180 infants born from singleton pregnancies in healthy controls.


RESULTS
The prevalence of small for gestational age (SGA) infants was significantly higher in the PCOS group compared to the control group (12. 8% versus 2.8%, respectively, P<0.02). Moreover, SGA infants born to PCOS mothers were smaller than those born to control mothers (P<0.05). The prevalence of large for gestational age infants (LGA) was similar in both groups, but birth length of LGA newborns was greater in PCOS women than controls (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
PCOS mothers showed a significantly higher prevalence of SGA newborns which cannot be completely attributed to pregnancy complications, and seems to be more related to the PCOS condition of the mother.
Sir-Petermann
Teresa
T
Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Maternal and Child Research, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. tsir@med.uchile.cl
Hitchsfeld
Catalina
C
Maliqueo
Manuel
M
Codner
Ethel
E
Echiburú
Bárbara
B
Gazitúa
Raimundo
R
Recabarren
Sergio
S
Cassorla
Fernando
F
D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence