United States: Women who have a condition which is mainly called PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) while they are pregnant are more likely to have babies that are underweight, according to a study from Norway. The risk is even higher if the woman is also obese. The study found that women with PCOS who are at a normal weight still have babies with lower birth weight compared to women who don’t have PCOS.
” That is the category of children that comes closest to being conceived by mothers with obesity,” she continued. “They weigh lesser, have lesser height and their heads are smaller compared to babies who were not exposed to these nerves.” Consequently, obesity creates an extra burden to mothers having PCOS and their children.”
Vanky is a professor of clinical and molecular medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim.
As reported by the HealthDay, PCOS is a gynecological condition which is relatively widespread, and which affects approximately 5-6% of women. It is hormonal disorder that implies the increased levels of male hormones that lead to the infrequent or irregular menstrual cycle and the presence of small cysts on the ovaries.
The new study analyzed data on enrollment records of greater than 70,000 children and 390 of them were born to women diagnosed with PCOS.
The children developed by women with PCOS retained lower birth weights on average, as well as were of shorter height and had smaller heads in comparison with children developed by women free of the disorder.
However, Vanky’s group said that they found the differences in newborn sizes was most apparent if the mom with PCOS was obese.
This is a problem because obesity and pcos are both commonly associated, according to the authors.
It was somewhat remarkable because “women who in general are overweight and weight gain significantly during pregnancy have higher likelihood of delivering large babies,” Vanky explained.
’This also applies to women, who develop gestational diabetes,’ she also pointed out in the university press release. Women with PCOS are heavier on average, weigh more during pregnancy and 25 percent of these women develop gestational diabetes. However, the outcome is the opposite: it may be characteristic of these women to deliver babies that are of below-average size.
How this PCOS might be affecting the health of the placenta is not yet known which is according to the researchers.
As to the longer term effects the health of placenta is not yet known, according to the researchers.
However as to the longer effects of the PCOS during the pregnancy on a child’s health, the Norwegian team noted that they have concluded the data or the information on some affected children up to the age of 7.