[Perinatal mortality and preeclampsia/eclampsia: influence of HELLP syndrome on the primigravida].

Perinatal losses have been studied in 37 pre-eclamptic/eclamptic patients: 13 of them exhibited a HELLP syndrome. Only 23 newborns survived (62.5%); after deduction of 4 pregnancies of less than 28 weeks, the perinatal mortality was 27%. Comparison with the local perinatal mortality showed a 6-fold higher risk for the fetus when pregnancy was complicated by pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, regardless of a superimposed HELLP syndrome. For reasons beyond our understanding the fetal losses with HELLP syndrome are much higher in primigravidae.