News
International Women's Health Program: supported by SOGC
August 31, 2010
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecolgists of Canada have launched a website supporting the rights and health of women and children worldwide.
Using various strategies (Professional Capacity Building, Advocacy, Partnerships, and Research and Evaluation) the program aims to ensure that every woman has the right to survive pregnancy and childbirth, and has access to the care she needs to deliver a healthy baby.
Please see the link here to the International Women’s Health Program website.
AJOG reports low levels of Vitamin D linked to pregnancy complications
August 27, 2010
A recent study presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago reports the need for further study on low levels of Vitamin D and potential effects on pregnancy outcomes.
The story below is taken from Reuter’s Health:
A new study finds that women who develop a severe form of pregnancy-related high blood pressure tend to have lower blood levels of vitamin D than healthy pregnant women—raising the possibility that the vitamin plays a role in the complication.
The condition is known as early-onset severe preeclampsia, and while it arises in about 2 to 3 percent of pregnancies, it contributes to about 15 percent of preterm births in the U.S. each year.
Preeclampsia is a syndrome marked by a sudden increase in blood pressure and a buildup of protein in the urine due to stress on the kidneys. Early-onset severe preeclampsia is a particularly serious form that arises before the 34th week of pregnancy.
In the current study, researchers found that vitamin D levels were generally lower among 50 women with early severe preeclampsia compared with those of 100 healthy pregnant women. The average vitamin D level in the former group was 18 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), versus 32 ng/mL in the latter group.
There is debate over what constitutes an adequate level of vitamin D in the blood. But many experts say that at least 32 ng/mL is needed for overall health.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, do not prove that lower vitamin D levels contribute to early-onset severe preeclampsia.
They do, however, add to a spate of recent research finding connections between vitamin D levels in the blood, or vitamin D intake, and the risks of a host of health problems.
The full story can be found here
The study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology can be found at the link here
