Neonates born to transplanted mothers are exposed to immunosuppressive drugs during gestation and have a higher risk of being born prematurely and small for gestational age than the general population. We have prospectively followed up 27 children born to renal transplanted mothers from a single center and 31 healthy children born at term with adequate weight for gestational age. Comparisons of weight and length measurements were made at birth, 1 month (±0.9), 3 months (±1.0), 6 months (±1.0), 9 months (±1.5), and 12 months (±1.49) of age. There were a high rate of prematurity (51.9%) and neonates small for gestational age (40.7%) in the transplant group. At birth, in the transplant group, 28% of neonates had subnormal z-scores for weight and 40%, low z-scores for length. However, at 6 months of age, no significant differences were noticed in mean weight-for-age z-scores between groups (weight −0.43 vs −0.03; length −0.53 vs −0.08). At 12 months of age, comparable mean length-for-age z-scores were observed in both groups (weight 0.01 vs 0.27; length −0.07 vs 0.26).
Conclusion: Despite high rates of premature births and neonates small for gestational age in the transplant group, there was a good recovery of growth during the first year..
What is Known:
• Children born to renal transplanted mothers are exposed to immunosuppressive drugs during gestation [ 4] .
• They have high risk of premature birth and fetal growth restriction, immune alterations at birth, and risk of hospitalization for infection in the first months of life [ 5] .
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What is New:
• Despite high rates of premature birth and neonates small for gestational age, these infants had good growth recovery by 1 year of age.
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