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Early- and late-onset preeclampsias (which develop before and after 34 weeks' gestation, respectively) have distinct pathophysiologies and outcomes. To investigate associations between early-onset preeclampsia in first pregnancies and adverse outcomes in normotensive second pregnancies, researchers evaluated data from the Missouri birth certificate database. Women with chronic hypertension, renal disease, or diabetes were excluded.
In all, 7% of 17,000 women with first pregnancies from 1989 to 2005 experienced preeclampsia; of those, 84% had normotensive second pregnancies. Compared with women who had late-onset preeclampsia, those with early-onset preeclampsia were younger and were more likely to be black, to smoke, to receive Medicaid, to …