Maternal obesity during pregnancy is dangerous for both mother and child.
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London. Maternal obesity during pregnancy can be dangerous for the health of both the mother and the baby, according to a new study. According to the study published in The Journal of Physiology, the extra weight changes the structure of the placenta. The placenta is an important organ that nourishes the baby in the mother’s womb.
Obesity and gestational diabetes — poor glucose — during pregnancy are on the rise, worldwide. While both have been associated with a number of maternal and fetal complications, such as fetal death, stillbirth, infant death after birth — it was not yet known how these complications arise.
Studies now show that maternal obesity impairs placenta formation, its blood vessel density and surface area, and its ability to exchange nutrients between mother and baby.
Both obesity and gestational diabetes affect placental hormone production and inflammatory markers, suggesting that the placenta is indeed functioning abnormally.
The new findings provide an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of poor pregnancy outcome and risk to the health of the newborn.
Since obesity and gestational diabetes often occur together, this study highlights the importance of maternal obesity rather than diabetes at the time of conception. This shows how these placenta changes may explain complications, said Professor Mushi Matzila from the University of Cape Town.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge said the identification of specific changes in the placenta could lead to the potential development of placenta-targeted treatments or screening tests in the future.
The study included 71 women, of whom 52 were obese and 38 had developed gestational diabetes.(IANS)
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