Aspirin can help prevent complications in pregnancy
There are few aspects that should be taken care of during pregnancy, and no wonder. The woman is developing a new life in her womb, a great responsibility that leads to take even more care to avoid complications that could endanger the life of this little one. These problems can be as simple as a back pain for the mother, to many more serious, an example is preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy characterized by a picture of high blood pressure and proteinuria, which can lead to the death of the baby. Now, a group of researchers from King's College London, have discovered that this danger can be prevented with something as simple as the intake of a small dose of aspirin daily.
Improvement of blood flow
This study brought together 1,600 women. About 800 mothers were randomly assigned to the daily aspirin group, while the rest were added to the placebo group. All of them were reviewed to analyze the risk factors that could trigger in preeclampsia, such as the blood pressure of future moms.
Between the weeks 11 and 14 In pregnancy, women began taking a daily aspirin of about 150 mg or a placebo. These pills were taken until the 36th week of pregnancy, or sooner if they delivered the baby prematurely. Just 13 women from the aspirin group developed preeclampsia, while 35 pregnant women from the rest of the participants developed the complication, the findings showed.
The reduction in the risk of preeclampsia was even higher in premature babies. Those women who they gave birth before 34 weeks they were 82% less likely to suffer from this complication after having ingested 150 mg of aspirin.
The main author of this investigation, Kypros Nicolaides, explains that the intake could help improve blood flow from the mother to the placenta. "This randomized study concludes that the use of aspirin not only helps reduce the incidence of preeclampsia at full term, but also in premature babies," concludes the fetal medicine professor at King's College London.
Prevention of preeclampsia
Along with the data found by this research, there are other tips with which to prevent preeclampsia. These are some that propose from the World Health Organization:
- Administration of calcium supplements in pregnant women where the consumption of this mineral is low or suggested by the analyzes.
- Administration of magnesium sulfate, preferably over other anticonvulsants, to prevent eclampsia in women with severe preeclampsia.
- Women with severe hypertension during pregnancy should be treated with antihypertensive drugs.
- The administration of vitamin C and vitamin E supplements, as monotherapy or combined, during pregnancy to prevent the development of preeclampsia and its complications is not recommended.
- Diuretics, particularly thiazides, are not recommended for the prevention of preeclampsia and its complications.
Damián Montero
