Ischemic Placental Disease: Epidemiology and Impact on Maternal and Offspring Health Along the Life Course

Ischemic placental disease (IPD) is a constellation of obstetrical complications that include preeclampsia, placental abruption, and fetal growth restriction and affects 12% to 15% of pregnancies. The unifying pathophysiological mechanism that precedes all 3 complications is uteroplacental ischemia as a consequence of inadequate (or failure of) physiological transformation of the maternal uterine spiral arteries, endothelial cell dysfunction, and increased oxidative stress. This review summarizes the IPD literature, focusing on the epidemiology and risk factors, the effects of IPD on short and long-term maternal complications, and the association of IPD with perinatal, childhood, and long-term complications in offspring.