Premature delivery of small versus appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates. A comparative study of maternal characteristics.

Prematurity and growth retardation of the fetus are major factors affecting perinatal outcome. The purpose of this study was to compare maternal characteristics of 63 women who delivered a preterm, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate with those of 63 women matched for parity and gestational age who delivered a preterm, appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) neonate. All women delivered at the Soroka Medical Center between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1990. Mothers of SGA neonates were more likely than those of AGA neonates to be over the age of 35 years (P = .043), to have hypertensive disorders and oligohydramnios (P < .001), to have induced labor (P < .001) and to deliver by cesarean section (P < .001). In addition, they had a higher rate of morbidity in the puerperium (P = .015) and were more likely to have longer hospitalization (P = .002). In contrast, previous preterm deliveries were significantly more common in the AGA group than in the SGA group (P = .034). The results of this study indicate that women who deliver preterm SGA neonates belong to a special subgroup with unique characteristics in comparison to those who deliver preterm AGA neonates.