Association of maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with neonatal morbidity and NICU admission: A two-year retrospective observational study from a tertiary care Centre in Eastern India.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51168/w3c5f550Keywords:
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Pre-eclampsia, Neonatal morbidity, Neonatal intensive care unit, Pregnancy outcomesAbstract
Background:
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), particularly pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, are major contributors to maternal and neonatal morbidity and are associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, including prematurity, low birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission.
Objective:
To determine the incidence of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia among deliveries at a tertiary care teaching hospital and evaluate its association with neonatal morbidity and NICU admission compared with normotensive pregnancies.
Methods:
This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, using departmental records from January 2024 to December 2025. Women diagnosed with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia after 20 weeks of gestation and delivering at ≥28 weeks were included. Neonatal outcomes were compared with those of normotensive pregnancies using the chi-square test and relative risk (RR), with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results:
Among 1,378 deliveries, 83 (6.02%) were complicated by pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. Compared with normotensive pregnancies, neonates of mothers with hypertensive disorders had significantly higher rates of NICU admission (71.1% vs. 7.6%; RR=9.39, p<0.001), preterm birth (31.3% vs. 17.1%; RR=1.84, p=0.002), low birth weight (55.4% vs. 29.7%; RR=1.87, p<0.001), stillbirth/intrauterine death (9.6% vs. 1.7%; RR=5.67, p<0.001), respiratory distress (28.9% vs. 3.7%; RR=7.80, p<0.001), and meconium aspiration (14.5% vs. 2.0%; RR=7.20, p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are significantly associated with adverse neonatal outcomes and substantially increased NICU admission.
Recommendation:
Early antenatal detection, close maternal–fetal surveillance, and timely referral of high-risk pregnancies to tertiary centres with NICU facilities are recommended to improve neonatal outcomes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Supriya Kumari, Dr. Amrita Bharti, Dr. Archana Singh (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
