The effect of maternal anaemia and iron deficiency on the ratio of fetal weight to placental weight

Article Abstract:

Studies have shown that low birth weight is associated with the development of hypertension, or high blood pressure, in adult life. In one study, patients with the highest blood pressures were found to have birth weights lower than expected in relation to weights of the placenta, the tissue that provides nutrition to the fetus during pregnancy. The prenatal influences, or conditions during pregnancy, that contribute to a disproportion between the weights of the fetus and the placenta are not known, but may include nutrition and smoking. This study assessed the maternal factors that contribute to a large placental weight and high ratio of placental weight to birth weight, and influence the development of hypertension in adulthood. The study involved 8,684 pregnant women who gave birth between January 1987 and January 1989. The conditions associated with large placental weight and/or high ratios of placental weight to birth weight included low levels of maternal hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells; large declines in mean cell volume, a measure of the volume, or size, of individual blood cells; anemia, a decrease in red blood cells; and increased weight of the mother, indicated by the body mass index. Smoking was associated with low placental weight, but not with increased placental weight to birth weight ratios. These findings show that anemia and iron deficiency may contribute to the development of increased placental weight and increased ratios of placental weight to birth weight. In addition, the results suggest that nutritional factors influence the disproportion between placental weight and fetal growth. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Hypertension, Measurement, Anemia, Risk factors, Physiological aspects, Birth weight, Low, Low birth weight, Placenta, Prenatal influences, Anemia in pregnancy

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Renal failure in pregnancy due to primary renal lymphoma. Case report

Article Abstract:

Renal lymphoma (kidney tumor of lymph tissues) causes kidney failure in rare cases. It is not known how the lymphoma causes kidney failure, but it is possible that the tumor causes an obstruction or blockage within the kidney that impairs the ability of the kidney to function. This article describes the case report of a 29-year-old woman who developed kidney failure during pregnancy. At week 32 of gestation the woman was admitted to the hospital. She had experienced some bleeding, was anemic, and had very high levels of protein in her urine, indicating that she was experiencing kidney failure. Ultrasound scanning determined that the placenta was still intact. However, the condition of the fetus began to deteriorate and a three-pounds infant was delivered by cesarean section. After delivery a second ultrasound revealed that the mother had enlarged kidneys. A kidney biopsy was taken an revealed severe tissue damage and malignant tumors. Chemotherapy treatments with prednisolone, vincristine, adriamycin and methotrexate were started and in the next 10 days kidney function improved rapidly. Another ultrasound was performed that indicated the kidneys had returned to normal size, and a kidney biopsy showed that the tumors were gone. This case represents the first report of kidney failure caused by renal lymphoma during pregnancy. Early detection of this condition is important because it responds well to chemotherapy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Kidneys, Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Hypertrophy, Kidney, Kidney diseases, Kidney cancer, Kidney diseases in pregnancy

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Obstetric acute renal failure 1956-1987

Article Abstract:

Acute renal failure (ARF) requires hemodialysis therapy to perform the necessary functions the kidney can no longer accomplish. Obstetrical complications associated with abortion, hemorrhage and preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure) are responsible for 10 to 20 percent of all ARF. A retrospective analysis of 142 cases of obstetrical ARF from 1956- 1987 reported survival rates similar to those of other causes of ARF. Survival rates for abortion-complicated dialysis patients were the highest at 82.9 percent, and increasing age reduced survival. All patients with acute cortical necrosis, having severe kidney cell death, died within 6 years. Follow-up of patients who survived ARF and returned to normal kidney function were identified up to 31 years later. Almost 75 percent of the patients who survived ARF were alive 25 years or more after their illness. The incidence and prognosis of ARF patients has improved in Britain over the past several years. The medical care women receive for abortion has effectively lowered the percentage of new cases of ARF.

Health aspects, Complications and side effects, Preeclampsia, Abortion, Hemodialysis

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