Gestational Bell’s Palsy Is Associated with Higher Blood Pressure during Late Pregnancy and Lower Birth Weight: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

Abstract

The associations between gestational Bell’s palsy (GBP) and late obstetric complications (LOCs), i.e., preeclampsia (PE), eclampsia (EC), gestational hypertension (GHT), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate these associations and the neonatal health of the newborns born from pregnant women with and without GBP. A retrospective 1:5 case-control study matching exact maternal age and gravidity between pregnant women with and without GBP in Songklanagarind Hospital from 2006 to 2016 was conducted. The associations between GBP and PE, EC, GHT, and GDM, as well as comparison of the newborns’ health indices were analyzed by bivariate analysis (p < 0.05). Eight GBP cases out of 8,756 pregnant women were recruited. Six GBP cases were first or second gravid. GBP occurred during the third trimester in five cases. Except for higher median systolic blood pressure (125 (114.2, 127.5) vs. (110 (107.0, 116.0), p = 0.045) and diastolic blood pressures (77 (73.0, 80.8) vs. 70 (65.0, 73.2), p = 0.021) in the GBP cases, associations between GBP and all LOCs could not be concluded due to the lack of power. However, a significantly lower mean birth weight in the newborns of GBP mothers was found (2672.2 (744.0) vs. 3154.8 (464.7), p = 0.016) with statistically significant power. Except for the higher blood pressures and lower birth weights of the newborns of GBP mothers, an association between GBP and LOCs remains inconclusive.