Placental histopathological findings in obese and nonobese women with complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of placental abnormalities in complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies in obese women.


METHODS
Placentas from patients with complicated or uncomplicated pregnancies and a pregravid body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m2 were analyzed histopathologically for lesions consistent with maternal and fetal circulation abnormalities and inflammatory lesions related to the maternal or fetal response. Findings were compared with a normal-weight control group matched by mode of delivery and presence/type of pregnancy complications.


RESULTS
The obese group consisted of 28 women of whom 46% had a complicated pregnancy. The obese group had a higher rate of maternal inflammatory lesions than the normal-weight control group (43 vs. 3.6%, p<0.001). There was no difference between the obese women with complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies in mean placental weight or lesions associated with fetal or maternal vascular supply.


CONCLUSIONS
Placental inflammatory lesions may underlie the worse pregnancy course of obese women relative to normal-weight women.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, P.O. Box 5, 58100, Holon, Israel.
Jacob
J
Bar
Letizia
L
Schreiber
Elena
E
Saruhanov
Avi
A
Ben-Haroush
Abraham
A
Golan
Michal
M
Kovo
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D010922:Placenta Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy