Placenta previa and long-term morbidity of the term offspring

Objective The long-term impact of placenta previa on term infants is unknown. We aimed to investigate whether abnormal placentation increases the risk for long-term morbidity of the term offspring. Study design A population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term hospitalizations up to the age of 18 due to cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, hematological, respiratory and urinary morbidity of children born at term in pregnancies diagnosed with placenta previa and those without. Deliveries occurred between the years 1991-2013 in a tertiary medical center. Multiple pregnancies, and fetal congenital malformations were excluded. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare cumulative morbidity incidence over time. A multivariable generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression model analysis was used to control for confounders and for maternal clusters. Results During the study period 233,123 term deliveries met the inclusion criteria; 0.2% (n = 502) of the children were born to mothers with placenta previa. During the follow-up period, children born to mothers with placenta previa did not have an increased risk for long-term cardiovascular, endocrine, hematological, neurological, respiratory, and urinary morbidity. Conclusion Term offsprings of mothers diagnosed with placenta previa do not appear to be at an increased risk for long-term morbidity up to the age of 18.