Preterm birth, growth retardation and acidemia in relation to neurological abnormality of the newborn.

The Groningen Perinatal Project is a follow-up study relating pre- and perinatal conditions to early and late neurological sequelae. A description is given of the first cohort of 1507 children, examined neurologically during the neonatal period, and of their mothers and their pregnancies. In this preliminary analysis three 'final pathways' are considered, i.e. intrauterine growth retardation, preterm birth and acidemia (pH in umbilical vein below 7.20). Significant relationships were found between the 'final pathways' and the neurological findings. Since, however, these relationships account for only a small part of the variance of the latter, it is concluded that the (cumulative) effect of other antenatal variables must be taken into account as well. Results of analyses to this effect will be reported in forthcoming publications.