Katharina Buczek
In the United States, preeclampsia occurs in approximately every one in twenty-five pregnancies, according to the CDC.
The pregnancy complication involves elevated blood pressure and increased levels of urine proteins that can lead to kidney damage and potentially other organ damage among pregnant women.
Preeclampsia typically happens in the later stages of pregnancy but can sometimes occur earlier on. And the condition has already been tied to hindering fetal growth if not promptly and properly addressed since it can cause issues in blood transport to the placenta.
But, a new collaborative study conducted by various institutions in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, has also found that babies born to mothers who experienced preeclampsia may suffer an increased risk of health problems later in life.
The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing the medical records of eight and a half million babies born during the 1970s and the 1980s.
They paid close attention to the prevalence of stroke or ischemic heart disease (IHD) forty years after each baby was born.
Then, the team ultimately found that babies born to mothers who experienced preeclampsia were at an increased risk of suffering stroke and developing IHD.
In fact, these babies were thirty-three percent more likely to develop IHD and thirty-four percent more likely to suffer a stroke.
However, the researchers did note that the risk relationship was significantly higher among mothers who developed preeclampsia later on in their pregnancies as opposed to mothers who developed the condition early.
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