Abstract
This study aimed to characterize early neonatal microvascular function after preeclamptic pregnancy with respect to infant sex and in utero growth. Peripheral microvascular blood flow was examined prospectively from 6 to 72 h of age using laser Doppler flowmetry in a cohort of term infants of normotensive women and women with late-onset preeclampsia. For male infants, those born to preeclamptic women had greater microvascular blood flow at 6 h (p < 0.05) with no change over time. Male infants of normotensive women exhibited increasing blood flow with time (p = 0.005). Female infants of preeclamptic mothers exhibited similar blood flow at 6 h of age to females of normotensive mothers, followed by significantly greater blood flow by 72 h (p < 0.001). Altered fetal microvascular structure and function in response to maternal preeclampsia may result in sexually dimorphic patterns of fetal growth and account for alterations in neonatal microvascular adaptation after birth.
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Stark, M., Clifton, V. & Wright, I. Neonates Born to Mothers With Preeclampsia Exhibit Sex-Specific Alterations in Microvascular Function. Pediatr Res 65, 291–295 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e318193edf1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e318193edf1
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