BABIES OF MOTHERS WITH LEPROSY HAVE SMALL PLACENTAE, LOW BIRTH WEIGHTS AND GROW SLOWLY

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Abstract
Some 116 women with leprosy [caused by Mycobacterium leprae] and 31 healthy controls were studied throughout 155 pregnancies, and their babies were observed for a period of up to 2 yr. Babies of mothers with leprosy [who had been or were being treated with dapsone, clofazamine, rifampicin, thiambutosine and prednisolone] weighed less than those of healthy mothers; the placental weights and coefficients followed the same trend. The babies of the mothers with leprosy grew more slowly than those of the healthy mothers, and these findings were most marked in the babies of mothers with lepromatous leprosy. The cause of the reduced feto-placental weight is apparently related to the immune status of the mother.