High Risk Pregnancy Blog

Published today (12.02.2005) in Pediatrics, a Finnish study reported on long-term follow-up tests of 351 preemies born before 27 weeks with a birth weight of less than 2.2 pounds (1000 grams). Of these preemies only 26% of them had normal vision, hearing, neurological, and developmental growth. The rest had some disabilities ranging from minor to major, including cerebral palsy, impared motor skills, and impared cognitive ablility.

Published November 21, 2005 in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation is a study that looks at the possibility of a link between preterm birth and high blood pressure in boys. The study concludes that the earlier a boy was born preterm, the higher incidence of high blood pressure.

A recent study (11.09.2005) reported in Stanford University’s HighWire Press linked the drinking water found in several communities to low birth weight babies. A chemical called trihalomethane (THM) is created as a by-product when chlorine or bromine is used to purify water. When THM was ingested by the pregnant women included in this study (especially during the second trimester), the percentage of women who delivered low birth weight babies increased by more than 37%.

A study testing newborns’ breathing capacities was reported (12.30.04) in the Archives of Desease in Childhood. This study was conducted using two groups of babies breathing using ventilators: one group were infants of smoking mothers, the other group were infants of non-smoking mothers. The babies of smoking mothers were unable to breathe as well as the babies whose mothers did not smoke.

A study was performed to find out whether maternal smoking effects fetuses’ heart rate. According to the article reported (03.11.2005) in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, maternal smoking does indeed interrupt the fetal heart rate. Lower powered heart rhythms were found in unborn babies carried by smoking mothers.

Forbes reported today (11.16.2005) that a Swedish study found a correlation between placental weight and breast cancer that occurs before menopause. Women whose pregnancies produced placentas that weighed 1.5 pounds (700 grams) or more had a 38% increased risk of breast cancer.

Reuters reported today (11.15.2005) that women who develop gestational diabetes should have their homocysteine levels checked 6 weeks after giving birth.

Homocysteine is an amino acid that is tied to heart disease and stroke. In addition, according to a recent study, it appears to be an indicator for ongoing diabetes. Normally, gestational diabetes clears up after birth, but sometimes it develops into full-blown diabetes. Checking homocysteine can give doctors a early indication that a woman may be at risk for full-blown diabetes.

Visit ClinicalTrials.gov to see the latest on-going clinical research about high-risk pregnancy and prematurity. These clinical studies are currently looking for participants. It is interesting to see what research is going on today.

A research article reported today (11.11.2005) in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing states that postpartum fatigue and stress play a significant role in the development of postpartum depression.

Today (11.11.2005) a study reported by Oxford Journal’s Human Reproduction concludes that babies conceived using artificial reproduction techniques (ART), including invitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), typically had shorter gestations and lower birth weights than babies conceived naturally.