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Moms' Health Prior to Pregnancy Affects Risk of
Preterm Delivery
When it comes to your baby's risk of premature birth, your health before pregnancy may play as
important a role as your health during pregnancy, say researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston,
Massachusetts, University of California in San Francisco, and Kaiser Permanente
Medical Care Program in Oakland, California.
A group of 1,619 pregnant women who lived in San
Francisco completed four telephone surveys - three during pregnancy and one that
took place 2 to 3 months after giving birth. During the first interview, the
women reported whether they had any chronic health conditions before pregnancy
such as anemia, asthma, chronic lung disease, diabetes, hypertension, or cancer.
They also were questioned about their general health before becoming pregnant
and answered questions about whether they exercised or used tobacco prior to conception. During the subsequent phone
interviews, each woman reported how she was feeling physically, emotionally, and
mentally. After birth, researchers reviewed each woman's medical record noting
the length of the pregnancy, the baby's birth weight, the number of prenatal
visits, the use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, and chronic or pregnancy-related
health problems.
In general, 8% of the women interviewed had preterm
births that occurred before 37 weeks of gestation, and African-American women
were more likely to have a preterm pregnancy than white women. Researchers also
pinpointed several specific prepregnancy risk factors that increased a woman's
risk of having a premature delivery:
- being underweight before becoming
pregnant
- having chronic hypertension before
pregnancy
- having physical function problems before
pregnancy
- smoking before pregnancy
Overall, sociological and demographic factors (like
marital status, education level, and household income) contributed 13% to a
woman's risk of preterm delivery. In contrast, risk factors that occurred before
pregnancy contributed almost 40% to a woman's risk of preterm labor, and risk
factors that occurred during pregnancy contributed 47%.
What This Means to You: According
to the results of this study, a woman's health before becoming pregnant is
almost as important as her health during pregnancy when it comes to the risk of
preterm birth. Before you become pregnant, pay a visit to your doctor or
obstetrician and discuss any chronic health conditions, physical functioning
problems, or harmful health habits. He or she can help you manage and treat
problems and suggest ways to improve your health (such as quitting smoking or
using alcohol) before you become pregnant so you have the best chance of
full-term delivery. If you're already pregnant, be sure to get early and regular
prenatal care for the benefit of your baby's health.
Source: Jennifer S. Haas, MD, MSPH; Elena
Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH; Anita L. Stewart, PhD; Rebecca A. Jackson, MD; Mitzi
L. Dean, MHA, MS; Phillis Brawarsky, MPH; Gabriel J. Escobar, MD; Archives
of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, January 2005
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date
reviewed: February 2005