ORIGINAL ARTICLE Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, January-March 2015;2(1):1-6 1 A STUDY OF PLACENTAL WEIGHT AND BIRTH WEIGHT RATIO (PW/BW) AND IT’S EFFECTS ON PERINATAL OUTCOME Chandrakant Madkar 1,* , Jayalakshmi Musale 2 , Hemant Deshpande 3 , Rajendra Shitole 4 1 Professor, 2 Student, 3 Prof. & HOD, 4 Senior Resident, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, India – 411018. *Corresponding Author: E-mail: drcsmadkar@gmail.com ABSTRACT Objective: The placenta weight/birth weight (PW/BW) ratio has been shown to be associated with certain long-term fetal outcomes; however, its association with short-term outcomes has not been evaluated. Our aim was to assess the correlation between the PW/BW ratio and short-term adverse obstetrics outcomes in full-term, appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) newborns. Design: Prospective, randomized. Setting: Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College & Hospital, Pimpri, Pune Methods: In our study, three groups of full-term neonates have been taken, according to their PW/BW ratio (high, normal and low) and are compared. Our primary outcome includes the admission rate to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and secondary outcomes included an Apgar score < 7 at 5 minutes. Results: Our study showed that the high PW/BW ratio group was associated with increased rates of admission to the NICU and Apgar scores < 7 at 5 minutes as compared to normal PW/BW ratio. The low PW/BW ratio group showed decreased rates of NICU admission. A high PW/BW ratio is significantly correlated with short-term adverse perinatal outcomes. Conclusion: The possibility of short term health risks for newborns can be predicted by the PW/BW ratio. Key words: Placental weight, birth weight, PW/BW ratio, NICU admission. INTRODUCTION The placenta-‘the life of the fetus in utero’- functions diversely to support the growth of the fetus, interacts with the two individuals, the mother and the developing fetus. It is the most accurate record of the infant’s prenatal experiences. 1 Pregnancy complications which are associated with high perinatal morbidity and mortality are reflected in the placenta both macroscopically and microscopically. 2 It has been shown that development of placenta has got influence on birth weight and placental weight. 3,4 So ratio of two has been studied extensively to determine its association with long term adverse fetal outcomes. e.g. high PW/BW ratio was found to be associated with increased risk in hypertension in adulthood, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular mortality and impaired glucose tolerance. Most of the studies agree that high PW/BW ratio has been associated with long term fetal outcomes. Eg- development of diabetes/ hypertension. 5 Somehow its association or correlation with short come outcomes has not received much attention. So we are intending to focus on this aspect by our study. There is a positive correlation between placental weight and birth weight of the neonate as shown by Abubakar et al 6 .The placental weight is “functionally significant” because it is related to villous surface area and to fetal metabolism 7 . Many studies have been done on different aspects of placenta and fetus, on anatomical, physiological and morphological basis. But very few studies have been done on aspect of PW/BW ratio which is a very simple calculation and can be done in primary levels of medical centers by training nurses, mid wifes and daies. The main purpose of normal delivery is to have healthy mother and baby, however at the same time we have to recognize the risk of the neonate in post natal period. A study published by F Shehata has shown that, the high PW/BW ratio is associated with