Background: Placental weight and its ratio to birthweight have recently been reported to predict later chronic disease. These fetal growth indicators have been measured in the west for over a century with consistent results when methods of preparation were comparable. We investigated whether recent difficult conditions in the former eastern bloc have altered placental weight or its relationship to other fetal size measures from what has historically been reported.
Methods: Placentas were obtained from 1621 singleton births of at least 28 weeks gestation in a Ukrainian city during 1993-1994, using a systematic protocol. Maternal characteristics were obtained from questionnaires. Pregnancy complications and birth size measures (infant weight, length, crown-rump length, and head circumference) were abstracted from medical records. We examined relationships of placental weight and ratio to these variables.
Results: Placental weight ranged from 100 to 1000 g, with a mean of 470 g. Mean placental ratio was 13.9%. Placental weights increased and ratios decreased with gestational age. Larger ratios were related to larger maternal BMI. Absolute measures of infant size and placental weight were mutually positively correlated. Placental ratio, infant length, and ponderal index (PI) were nearly uncorrelated.
Conclusions: Absolute and relative weights of Ukrainian placentas were similar to historical reports, as were their relationships to other infant size indicators. Placental weight ratio (PWR), ponderal index, and infant length measured different birth size dimensions. Placental availability, consistency of placental measurements, and placental ratio's reflection of an independent facet of fetal growth make the placenta a useful research tool.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0378-3782(02)00118-4 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Cadmium levels in maternal blood, placenta, and cord blood in relation to preeclampsia and fetal growth: a case-control study in China.
Hypertens Res
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence Based Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
This study aims to delineate the levels of Cd exposure in maternal blood, placenta, and cord blood, and to explore the association between Cd levels and the risk of preeclampsia (PE), as well as its potential impact on fetal growth among affected individuals. A case-control study was performed at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, involving 373 pregnant women diagnosed with PE and 485 controls. Cd was measured in maternal blood, placenta, and cord blood using ICP-MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing gut barrier integrity and reproductive performance following pre-mating oral administration of solid-lipid-nanoparticles designed for drug delivery.
Front Toxicol
January 2025
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained interest as drug delivery carriers due to their efficient cellular internalization and increased therapeutic effect of the loaded drug, with minimal side effects. Although recently several studies have shown the possibility to administer SLNs during pregnancy to vehicle mRNA to the placenta, data about the effect of premating exposure to SLNs on pregnancy outcome are scant. Considering that assumption of drug-delivering nanocarriers in reproductive age may potentially affect women's reproductive health, the aim of the present study was to evaluate whether repeated oral administration of SLNs to female mice prior to mating would influence key pregnancy outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerinatal outcomes and predictors of placental abruption: a retrospective study in an Ethiopian tertiary care center.
Front Public Health
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, St. Peter Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Background: Placental abruption is a critical obstetric condition characterized by the premature separation of the placenta from the uterus, leading to severe maternal and fetal complications. In Ethiopia, the maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality rates are alarmingly high, and placental abruption significantly contributes to these adverse outcomes. Despite its severity, there is a lack of comprehensive data on the burden, risk factors, and outcomes associated with placental abruption in the Ethiopian context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh performance of the diffusion magnetic resonance imaging biomarker diffusion-derived 'vessel density' (DDVD) for separating placentas associated with pre-eclampsia from placentas in normal pregnancy.
Quant Imaging Med Surg
January 2025
Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Background: Diffusion-derived 'vessel density' (DDVD) is a surrogate of the area of micro-vessels per unit tissue. DDVD is calculated according to: DDVD (b0b50) = Sb0/ROIarea0 - Sb50/ROIarea50, where Sb0 and Sb50 refer to the tissue signal when is 0 or 50 s/mm. Due to the complexity of pre-eclampsia (PE), even a combination of risk factors and available tests cannot accurately diagnose or predict PE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSex dimorphic associations of Prader-Willi imprinted gene expressions in umbilical cord with prenatal and postnatal growth in healthy infants.
World J Pediatr
January 2025
Pediatric Endocrinology, Girona Biomedical Research Institute, Hospital Dr. JosepTrueta, 17007, Girona, Spain.
Background: The impact of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) domain gene expression on the growth of healthy children is not well understood. This study investigated associations between PWS domain gene expression in umbilical cord tissue and prenatal and postnatal growth, considering potential sex differences.
Methods: Relative gene expression of paternally expressed MAGEL2, NDN, and SNURF-SNRPN, and the small nucleolar RNAs SNORD116 and SNORD115 were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in umbilical cord tissue from 122 healthy newborns (59 girls and 63 boys).
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!