Title : Maternal congenital heart disease: Impact on adverse neonatal outcomes
Abstract:
Objective: To assess the association between maternal congenital heart disease (CHD) and adverse neonatal outcomes, focusing on birth weight, gestational age, Apgar scores, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.
Study Design: A retrospective cohort study spanning 2012-2023, was conducted involving pregnancies affected by maternal cardiac diseases. Exclusion criteria included missing demographic or neonatal outcome data, as well as cases of both CHD and acquired heart disease (AHD). The study groups comprised maternal acquired heart disease (N = 208), maternal congenital heart disease (N = 202), and pregnancies not complicated by any acquired or congenital cardiac diseases (N = 183).
Results: Statistical analysis using T-tests, Chi-Square, and ANOVA revealed significantly greater adverse neonatal outcomes in the cardiac cohort, particularly within the maternal CHD group compared to AHD and healthy cohorts (P-value < 0.05). Specifically, infants born to mothers with CHD had lower birth weights, shorter gestational ages, lower Apgar scores, and higher rates of NICU admissions compared to both AHD and healthy pregnancies.
Conclusions: Maternal CHDs are associated with an increased risk of adverse neonatal outcomes, highlighting the critical importance of monitoring and addressing these risks during prenatal care. The limitations of this study, such as cohort homogeneity, suggest the need for future studies examining outcomes across diverse racial and ethnic groups to better understand the nuances of these associations. Such research can inform targeted interventions and improve outcomes for neonates born to mothers with CHD.
