Maternal hypertension, preeclampsia, and risk of neonatal respiratory disorders in a large-prospective cohort study

Possible impact of maternal hypertension and preeclampsia on neonatal respiratory disorders was unknown. We investigated the association of maternal hypertension and preeclampsia with neonatal respiratory disorders in preterm and full-term newborns. In this study, we used a large Chinese population-based study which includes 185,687 singleton livebirths with gestational weeks between 28 and 42 weeks. The “exposure” was maternal hypertension and preeclampsia. The outcome was neonatal respiratory disorders including neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS), pneumonia and low Apgar scores. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between the maternal hypertensive disorders and the risk for neonatal respiratory disorders. We further evaluated the association in preterm and full-term infants. As a result, the incidence of neonatal RDS, pneumonia, and low Apgar score in hypertensive group was higher than that in normotensive group. Preeclampsia was associated with RDS [(adjusted relative risk (aRR): 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22–3.05)]. Both maternal hypertension and preeclampsia increased risks for neonatal pneumonia (aRR: 1.79, 95%CI: 1.48–2.17; aRR: 1.81, 95%CI: 1.36–2.40, respectively), for low Apgar score at 1 min (aRR: 1.20, 95%CI: 1.13–1.27; aRR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.41–1.67, respectively), and for low Apgar score at 5 min (aRR: 1.30, 95%CI: 1.17–1.45; aRR: 1.70, 95%CI: 1.46–1.99, respectively). The risk for neonatal respiratory disorders increased with severity of maternal hypertension. The observed associations were present in both full-term and preterm birth. Maternal hypertension and preeclampsia are risk factors for neonatal respiratory disorders in full-term and preterm newborns.