A STUDY OF HIGH PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK PREGNAN CIES IN A MATERNITY HOSPITAL IN POITIERS

Background. - High psychosocial risk pregnancies require specialized m ultidisciplinary help and follow-up in order to improve the outcome of babies. Population and methods. - Thirty pregnancies were selected am ong 3500 and followed by a multidisciplinary team during 1990 and 1991 . Evaluation included risk predictors, neurodevelopmental outcome of c hildren at 9 and 24 months, number and time of judicial notifications. Evaluation of the mother-to-baby relationship by a psychologist as we ll as the environmental variables were performed.Results. - Four famil ies had one or two, 20 families three or five and six families, six or more of the 15 risk predictors studied. Over the babies followed-up u ntil the age of 24 months, four were placed out of the family, three h ospitalizations were medically unjustified and there was no hospitaliz ation for child abuse or neglect. Twelve children had developmental de lay and two developped an environmental-related stature-ponderal delay . Judicial notifications were realized 18 times during pregnancy or ju st after delivery and sin times during the follow-up for child abuse a nd neglect. Conclusions. - Taking care of high psychosocial risk pregn ancies could be improved in special hospitalization units for mother a nd child. A better awareness of this problem could also improve the ou tcome of children, which remains very alarming.