Promising new way to predict older mums' pregnancy risks (“placental growth factor” and “antioxidant capacity” tests “really exciting potential”)

Medical Xpress / BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth / University of Manchester ^ | Nov. 1, 2021 | Samantha C. Lean et al

[ConservativeMind]

Scientists have revealed new ways of calculating older mums' personal risk of serious pregnancy problems like having stillborn, premature, or very small babies.

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 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 pregnancy outcomes included stillbirth, premature birth, babies admitted to neonatal intensive care, and babies born very small or with low Apgar scores—a test which determines how well the baby tolerated the birthing process.

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 mums 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.

Professor Heazell, explained: "Mothers aged 35 years or over are increasingly common, and unfortunately having a baby later in life has long been associated with higher pregnancy risks.

"We already know the changes in oxidative stress and inflammation we saw in this study are associated with many pregnancy complications—but for the first time here, we found they were also present in older mothers, which could be damaging the placenta and might explain why older mothers face higher risks.

[ConservativeMind]

Two medical tests greatly help monitor and alert on issues for mostly older birthing mothers.