Abstract

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a multifactorial disease with oxidative stress also contributing to the etiopathogenesis. Assessment of maternal and neonatal oxidative stress may provide insight into early identification of at-risk mothers and neonates and timely intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with hypertensive disorders.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate whether there occurs a reflection of oxidative stress in neonates born to hypertensive mothers.

Materials and Methods: A total of 100 pregnant women of which 50 were normotensive and 50 were pre-eclamptic were tested for serum uric acid and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in maternal blood and cord blood of their newborns. Our observations were subjected to statistical analysis Mean ± standard deviation calculated. Comparison is done by student t-test. Relationship between parameters was evaluated by Pearson’s correlation.

Results: Increased levels of serum uric acid and MDA were found in maternal and cord blood in hypertensive pregnancies, indicative of oxidative stress. However, cord blood MDA and uric acid levels were lower than the corresponding maternal blood levels.

Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that oxidative stress in hypertensive mothers is reflected in their neonates.

Key words: Pre-eclampsia; Serum Uric Acid; Serum Malondialdehyde; Oxidative Stress; Maternal and Cord Blood