Main findings
In this meta-analysis and meta-regression, pravastatin usage for
uteroplacental insufficiency was associated with a significant
prolongation of pregnancy, mean 0.44 weeks, from study entry to
delivery. Prematurity is the main cause of neonatal mortality, and early
neonatal as well as late childhood morbidity. Preventing preterm births
has been delineated as one of the most urgent goals in current
obstetrics. Prolonging pregnancy has most probably resulted in the
significant decrease observed in NICU admission, and the trends towards
decreased perinatal death and increased neonatal birth weight. In
addition, a sensitivity analysis that excluded Döbert et al study, that
selected women only in their late third trimester, new onset of
preeclampsia was less common under pravastatin treatment.