A new study has found that women who are pregnant with PCOS may be at a greater risk of heart complications during childbirth. PCOS is something that a lot of women are facing, and despite it being so common, they are still learning more about what this entails, and what it can mean for the health of a woman. Women with PCOS can struggle to conceive, due to irregular ovulation, but there are also risk factors if they do conceive, and it is always beneficial to be prepared with as much information as possible.
According to Medical Xpress, a study was done that found that pregnant women with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) are at a greater risk of heart complications during delivery. This study was done by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and it can be read in full here.
This study was based on previous studies that have already shown a link between PCOS and cardiovascular complications later in life, but they wanted to see what it could mean for women who are pregnant. They were able to uncover a link between childbirth and heart complications, and this can be information that is good for both women and medical providers.
It can allow OBGYNs and midwives to know which of their patients may be at high risk at delivery, and they can be monitored as such. The specific complications that they found were the most likely were peripartum cardiomyopathy (a weak heart), heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, and blood clots.
They also found that it put women at greater risk for preeclampsia. This risk factor was evaluated when they were compared to pregnant women who did not have PCOS. Researchers state that this study has a lot of importance for women.
They stated that when women find out they have PCOS, their thoughts go to the immediate consequences. They think about hormones, ovulation, facial hair, and the more obvious symptoms of the illness. However, they need to also think about the larger implications and complications, and what they can mean for their health.
This was quite a large study, and it was done by analyzing data on more than 17 million births that happened in the US between 2002 and 2019. This is quite a large sample size, and this will go a long way to reducing the mortality rate for women in childbirth, which has been on the rise in recent years.
Sources: Medical Xpress, AHA Journal