New Blood Test to Predict Risks of Late Pregnancy
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Cairo - Hazem Badr
Scientists from the Manchester University revealed new ways of calculating older mother's personal risk of serious pregnancy problems like having stillborn, premature, or very small babies. During the study, experts from Tommy Center at The University of Manchester – within Saint Mary's Hospital – collected data from 158 mothers in their 20s, 212 in their 30s, and 157 in their 40s across six UK hospitals between March 2012 and October 2014. Findings were published in the journal BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. The scientists and research midwives at Saint Mary's Hospital compared demographic and medical data with blood samples taken at 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. They also matched samples from older and younger mothers with similar characteristics to look for any impact of their age, as well as comparing samples from older mothers with different pregnancy outcomes. The researchers showed levels of placental growth factor – a protein naturally produced in the placenta when it's working well – and antioxidant capacity – which can show if cells in the placenta are degenerating or inflamed – could help to predict pregnancy risks in the women aged 35 and over. Placental growth factor was the best way of predicting a negative pregnancy outcome, with 74 percent accuracy, while antioxidant capacity gave accurate predictions 69 percent of the time. The study found that previous successful pregnancies protected against future problems, as mothers who had given birth to a live baby before had approximately half the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to women in their first pregnancies. It also adds to evidence on the risks of smoking before and during pregnancy: women over 35 who smoked had a four-fold increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, while this dropped to two-fold for ex-smokers.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3284591/new-blood-test-predict-risks-late-pregnancy
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