[Children of mothers with late gestosis in pregnancy. Results of a prospective 'course of pregnancy and child development' study program]

Within the sample of 1783 children from the prospective study "Schwangerschaftsverlauf und Kindesentwicklung" (Course of pregnancy and development of children) followed-up until the age of 6 years the mothers of 182 suffered from late gestosis (10.2%). The values of the systolic blood pressure and of the protein concentration in the urine of the mothers measured at their last examination before onset of labour were crucial for the diagnosis of gestosis. According to this definition 95 mothers with systolic pressure greater than or equal to 150 mm Hg were classified as hypertensive (group of the hypertension children) and 87 mothers with both systolic pressure greater than or equal to 150 mm Hg and proteinuria greater than 1 g/l as being preeclamptic (group of the preeclamptic children). The control groups contained the same number of children (matched pairs). There were no significant differences in the findings between the different groups. Apparently, the prognosis of the child's development is favourable provided that the gestosis does not last long and does not lead to placental insufficiency.