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Weight, time between pregnancies affect preterm birth risk: Study

As much as one-quarter of preterm births may be attributed to modifiable risk factors, say researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

By Stephen Feller

CINCINNATI, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- While there are numerous causes for preterm birth, a significant number of them may be attributed to preventable or changeable circumstances, researchers report in a new study.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital found the highest modifiable risks for preterm birth are in women who are underweight, had high weight gain during pregnancy or shorter time between pregnancies, according to a study published in the journal Maternal and Child Health.

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Body mass index and weight were significantly linked to preterm birth, the researchers say, based on low or high weight -- excessive weight gain during pregnancy also appears to increase the risk.

For the study, researchers used live birth records in the state of Ohio for 393,441 women who had a single child sometime between 2006 and 2011.

Overall, potentially modifiable risk factors for preterm birth were detected in more than 90 percent of women included in the study. Among the women, fewer than half started pregnancy with a normal weight and just 32 percent gained the recommended weight during pregnancy.

Among risk factors, underweight women had the highest rate of preterm birth -- 25.2 percent. Increased rates of preterm birth were also seen for women with less than six months between pregnancies, at 12.9 percent, and those with six to 12 months between pregnancies at 10.4 percent.

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"Attention should be paid to educational interventions on the importance of birth spacing, achieving an optimal pre-pregnancy weight, and ensuring adequate nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy," Dr. Emily DeFranco, a physician and researcher at the Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said in a press release. "Improvements in these modifiable risk factors could have significant influence on premature birth and infant mortality worldwide."

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