Impact of pre-eclampsia on birth weight in a sub-Saharan African population: a prospective cohort study

Objectives: Low birth-weight is a major contributor to death of babies during pregnancy and immediately after birth in sub-Saharan Africa, but determinants of birth-weight are not well understood in this context. We sought to characterize the relationship between birth-weight and maternal pre-eclampsia  across gestation in Uganda. Methods: This was a follow up study conducted at Mulago Hospital located in urban Uganda. Participants included 971 pre-eclampsia cases alongside 1,461 normotensive pregnancies between 28-42 weeks’ gestation. Statistical models were applied to show the relationship between birth-weight versus maternal preeclampsia status across gestation. Results: Mean birth weight for pre-eclampsia cases was 2.48kg (±0.81SD), versus 3.06kg (±0.46SD) for normotensive pregnancies (p Conclusions: Pre-eclampsia is the dominant predictor of birth-weight in this urban Ugandan population and hence likely to heavily influence perinatal survival. The impact of pre-eclampsia on birth-weight is smaller at higher gestational age.