Mid-pregnancy uterine artery Dopplers and child neurodevelopment.
Higher mid-pregnancy uterine artery resistance linked to lower child cognitive flexibility
Mid-pregnancy uterine artery Dopplers and child neurodevelopment.
Resistance to blood flow in the maternal uterine artery (uterine artery) has been associated with both preeclampsia (preeclampsia) and small-for-gestational age (small-for-gestational age).
Serial ultrasound exams were prospectively performed in 2334 racial and ethnically diverse, healthy patients with low-risk singleton pregnancies (July 2009 to Jan 2013) as part of the NICHD-Fetal Growth Studies.
higher resistance predicted worse cognitive flexibility in kids aged 4-7
A total of 675 patients had both interrogation of mid-pregnancy uterine artery Dopplers and at least one measure of executive or motor domain function or parent-reported behavior between the ages of 4 and 8 years.
There were no associations between motor function and increased uterine artery resistance.
A 1-SD increase in uterine artery pulsatility index was not associated with any increased parent report of child behavioral problems.
A 1-SD increase in uterine artery pulsatility index was associated with a 1.5-fold increased risk of preeclampsia.
Increased maternal mid-pregnancy uterine artery resistance appears to be associated with small decreases in executive domain function (cognitive flexibility) but not motor domain function.
In this exploratory study, the observed effect sizes were modest and the clinical implications are uncertain, but they suggest the possibility of long-term neurodevelopmental effects of subclinical placental dysfunction in low-risk pregnancies.