Burns in pregnancy--maternal and fetal prognosis

In this series the incidence of pregnancy in women in the reproductive age group admitted to hospital with burns was 7.8% (9 of 116). The maternal and perinatal outcome is related to the extent, presence or absence of complications of burns and to the gestational age of the fetus. Two maternal deaths in this series occurred in patients with burns involving more than 85% of the skin surface; in both instances stillbirths occurred less than 48 hours after the burns. In view of the high perinatal mortality, patients with extensive burns who are more than 32 weeks' pregnant should be delivered soon after admission. The extensively burned anterior abdominal wall can make assessment of uterine size difficult. An assessment in such a situation would be useful.