Infant neurodevelopment is a complex process which may be affected by different events during pregnancy, such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). We conducted a prospective cohort study to compare the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders in infants born to mothers with and without HDP at six months of age. Participants attended the Health Observatory of Instituto de Desarrollo e Investigaciones Pediátricas "Prof. Dr. Fernando E. Viteri" during 2018 and 2019. Infant neurodevelopment was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III). Data were analyzed using Chi-square, Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney test. Of the 132 participating infants, 68 and 64 were born to mothers with and without HDP, respectively. At six months, the prevalence of risk of neurodevelopmental delay was significantly higher in infants born to mothers with than without HDP (27.9% vs. 9.4%; p = 0.008) (odds ratio, 3.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.30; 12.28). In conclusion, infants born to mothers with HDP had three times increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay at six months of age.
Keywords: Infant neurodevelopment; hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.