Maternal Factors and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Women with Preeclampsia in Maceió, Alagoas

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia has been associated with several risk factors and events. However, it still deserves further investigation, considering the multitude of related factors that affect different populations. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the maternal factors and adverse perinatal outcomes in a cohort of pregnant women with preeclampsia receiving care in the public health network of the city of Maceió. METHODS: Prospective cohort study carried out in 2014 in the public health network of the city with a sample of pregnant women calculated based on a prevalence of preeclampsia of 17%, confidence level of 90%, power of 80%, and ratio of 1:1. We applied a questionnaire to collect socioeconomic, personal, and anthropometric data, and retrieved perinatal variables from medical records and certificates of live birth. The analysis was performed with Poisson regression and chi-square test considering p values < 0.05 as significant. RESULTS: We evaluated 90 pregnant women with preeclampsia (PWP) and 90 pregnant women without preeclampsia (PWoP). A previous history of preeclampsia (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.47 - 1.67, p = 0.000) and black skin color (PR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 - 1.33, p = 0.040) were associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia. Among the newborns of PWP and PWoP, respectively, 12.5% and 13.1% (p = 0.907) were small for gestational age and 25.0% and 23.2% (p = 0.994) were large for gestational age. There was a predominance of cesarean delivery. CONCLUSION: Personal history of preeclampsia and black skin color were associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia. There was a high frequency of birth weight deviations and cesarean deliveries.