CORRELATION BETWEEN PLACENTAL WEIGHT AND BIRTHWEIGHT OF NEWBORN AND ITS EFFECT ON NEONATAL OUTCOME

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between placental and birth weights and to evaluate its effect on neonatal outcomes in term pregnancies. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hameed Latif Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from October 2025 to February 2026 Methodology: Non-probability purposively selected 100 term (37-42 weeks of gestation) singleton pregnancies. Placental weight was measured within 1 hour of delivery. Birth weight of the newborn and the newborn's APGAR score were documented. Adverse neonatal outcomes were documented. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26, and either Spearman's correlation or Mann-Whitney U tests were applied. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically relevant. Results: The average weight of placentas was 653.62 ± 44.19 g, while that of babies was 2292.33 ± 215.33 g. The correlation between these two measures was very strongly positive (rₛ=0.703, p<0.001). 84% of the neonates in this study weighed less than 2,500 g at birth, and 38% of them needed to be admitted to a NICU. The median placental weight of neonates with bad outcomes was lower than the median placental weight of those with good outcomes (652 g vs 710 g; p=0.019). A statistical analysis showed that there is also a relatively strong inverse correlation between placental weight and the possibility of negative perinatal outcomes (rₛ=−0.297; p=0.003). Conclusions: The weight of the placenta is positively correlated with the baby's birth weight and is negatively associated with adverse neonatal outcomes.