Kiwi tests may save mum

Photo / Nigel Marple

Age and obesity can contribute to the development of a potentially life-threatening condition in pregnant women, according to groundbreaking New Zealand-led research.

Scientists have pinpointed eight risk factors, enabling them to design a test to detect women around the world at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia affects 5 per cent of first-time pregnancies - about 1650 Kiwis every year. According to the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee's latest report, 24 babies died from the condition in 2008.

Three mothers were killed between 2006 and 2008. Globally, 8 million women are affected every year and 70,000 die.

The condition causes soaring blood pressure and swelling, leading to stroke, seizure or organ failure in extreme cases.

If mothers are at risk, so too are their babies. The only solution is delivery of the child, meaning about a third of affected babies are born prematurely and need specialist care.

There is no recognised predictive test for the condition. But new research published in the British Medical Journal reveals risk factors that, if further validated, could enable scientists to design a test that identifies women at risk.

These women could then get specialist care early in their pregnancies if warning signs were detected early, enabling doctors to manage complications more effectively and save lives.

The Scope study was initiated at Auckland University by Professor Robyn North, who is now based at King's College in London.

She says the research is the first time all clinical risk factors for pre-eclampsia have been looked at in a single study.

Findings reveal pregnant women most at risk include:Those with high blood pressure, even within a normal range.

Family history of the condition and of heart disease.

Maternal obesity.

If the mother herself had a low birth weight.

Prolonged early bleeding.

Younger mothers.

Indicators that suggested a reduced risk of pre-eclampsia included having had a previous miscarriage with the same partner; having taken at least 12 months to conceive; mothers eating three pieces of fruit daily; or, counter-intuitively, mothers who had smoked or drunk alcohol in the first trimester.

North said it was not yet known why drinking alcohol was associated with a lower risk, but half the women who did not develop pre-eclampsia had consumed alcohol in the first trimester.

The study, which involved 3529 women around the world, used clinical information alongside blood tests to build a clearer picture of a woman's risk.

North hoped that by next year the findings would be validated through further study of other groups of pregnant women. "Pre-eclampsia is a very serious condition, and if we could detect who is likely to develop it, then antenatal care could be tailored accordingly," she said.

The Nurture Foundation is fundraising with the Hobsonville Point Runway Challenge, a fun run on Sunday May 15. Funds raised will help Nurture to keep supporting research to overcome infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth and serious pregnancy complications. www.runwaychallenge.co.nz