FETAL OXYGENATION AT CORDOCENTESIS, MATERNAL SMOKING AND CHILDHOOD NEURO-DEVELOPMENT

Objective: To assess the relationship between subsequent neuro-develop ment and measurements in small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses, incl uding oxygenation at cordocentesis. Design: A longitudinal study of a cohort of SGA fetuses using those with normal oxygenation as controls. Subjects. 65 chromosomally normal children aged 12-66 months who, as fetuses, had been small for gestational age, had undergone cordocentes is and had been delivered after 32 weeks' gestation. Results: Griffith s's developmental quotient (DQ) was significantly associated with feta l blood pH (r = 0.41, P = 0.0008), PO2 (r = 0.25, P = 0.047) and PCO2 (r = -0.28, P = 0.027) at cordocentesis but not with the severity of g rowth retardation (r = 0.18, P = 0.17). However, the significant corre lations between DQ and both PO2 and PCO2 were explained by their co-co rrelations with pH and neither remained significant after removing the effect of pH by analysis of variance, The association between DQ and pH was still significant after removing the effect of confounding vari ables. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was significantly associated with DQ (F to remove = 6.89, P = 0.011) even after allowing for the ef fects of possible confounding variables including fetal blood pH. Conc lusions: Both fetal pH at cordocentesis and maternal smoking correlate significantly with subsequent neuro-development. Further investigatio n into the causes of these associations is required.