"BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES. Research suggests there may be a relationship between maternal cholesterol levels during pregnancy and both fetal growth and preterm birth. This research studied how changes in maternal cholesterol during pregnancy differ based on various maternal demographics. In addition, the relationships between changes in maternal cholesterol and fetal growth and changes in maternal cholesterol and gestational age at delivery were analyzed. METHODS. The Archive for Research on Child Health (ARCH) database was utilized for this dissertation. Maternal cholesterol at two time points during pregnancy was obtained and changes in maternal cholesterol levels were calculated for 195 women. RESULTS. First, second, and third trimester maternal cholesterol levels were higher in women with a prepregnancy body mass index less than 25 kg/m2 . No significant associations were found between changes in maternal cholesterol levels and fetal growth. Exploratory analyses found that maternal cholesterol levels at single time points during gestation were lower in pregnancies resulting in small for gestational age infants. Lastly, in women with a history of a previous preterm birth, changes in maternal cholesterol levels were found to be significantly associated with the corrected gestational age at delivery. Exploratory analyses found maternal cholesterol levels were higher in pregnancies resulting in preterm birth for all three trimesters. CONCLUSION. Changes in maternal cholesterol levels may provide a more complete picture of cholesterol during pregnancy compared to maternal cholesterol levels at a single time point during pregnancy. This research found associations between both low and high maternal cholesterol levels and adverse birth outcomes indicating that cholesterol levels that are either too high or too low may increase risk of adverse birth outcomes."--Pages ii-iii.
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