Morphometric and Morphologic Assessment of the Placenta, Birth Weight and Associated Risk Factors in Full Term Neonates in Nigeria

Placenta is a temporary and dynamic organ which is unique in its development and function on which survival, healthy growth and development of fetus in the uterus mostly depends. The study was carried out to determine the morphometry and morphology of placenta, birth weight and associated risk factor of full-term neonates. The study involved 50 placentae (27 from males and 23 from females). Descriptive statistical method of data analysis was used to analyze the mean, standard deviation and z-test to correlate the mean. The mean and standard deviation of neonatal weight, fetoplacental coefficient, weight of placenta, maximum weight of placenta, thickness of placenta and the length of umbilical cord observed were; 3.21±0.4, 6.36±1.92, 0.54±0.16 21.30±1.04, 2.17±0.28 and 54.16±2.11 respectively. Also, the most predominant type of umbilical cord attachment was eccentric with a frequency of 38. The number of cotyledons was found to be 15 and above for 98% of the placentaes excluding one which had 8 cotyledons. The presence of incomplete artery was observed in the study. The result showed that placental weight correlates significantly with neonatal weight and that abnormal placenta results in poor health of the neonate. The examination of the placenta can be useful for the future postnatal life as it is indicative of neonatal birth weight. and resistance to early adulthood diseases of the neonates. It is, therefore, recommended that physicians pay attention to the placenta.