RESUMO
Objective:To examine whether treatment with beta-blockers(BBs) in pregnant women with structural heart disease (SHD)resulted in a decrease in foetal birth weight (FBW) in a SouthAfrican cohort.Methods:This was a prospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary-level hospital in Cape Town from 2010 to 2016. Of the 178 pregnant women with SHD, 24.2% received BBs fora minimum of two weeks. Adverse foetal outcomes andmean FBW were compared between the BB groups and subgroups(congenital, valvular, cardiomyopathy and other). Adversefoetal outcome was defined as: low birth weight (LBW)<2 500 g, Apgar score<7, premature birth (<37 weeks) and small for gestational age (SGA).Results:BB exposure during pregnancy was found to be associated with a non-significant increased FBW (2 912 vs2 807 g,p=0.347). A significantdecrease(p=0.009) wasnoted in FBW for valvular SHD pregnancies using BBs,while a significant increase (p=0.049) was observed for thesame outcome in the cardiomyopathy subgroup using BBs.A significant increase was observed for SGA (p=0.010) andLBW (p=0.003) pregnancies within the valvular subgroupwhen exposed to BBConclusion:BB use in pregnant women with SHD in a South African cohort showed no association with a decrease in FBW or an increase in adverse foetal outcomes when compared to non-BB usage