Pregnancy Health Article

PREGNANCY

A great deal of public health resources is spent on pregnancy. It is clear that prenatal and neonatal health play a large role in determining the health of a population, and in fact, pregnancy outcomes are often used as an indicator of a nation's health.

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PREGNANCY

Globally, there are approximately 240 million pregnancies annually. These pregnancies result in 134 million births and 50 million induced abortions, 20 million of which are performed under unsafe conditions. Approximately 6 to 7 million of these 240 million pregnancies occur each year in the United States. These result in about 4 million liveborn babies, over 1 million induced abortions, at least 1 million spontaneous abortions (miscarriages), nearly 100,000 ectopic pregnancies (a pregnancy in which the fetus develops outside the uterus), and about 30,000 fetal deaths.

Of the 4 million babies born in the United States in 1999, 12 percent were born to women under 20 years of age. Approximately 4.5 percent of white teens (ages 15 to 19), 8.1 percent of African-American teens, and 9.3 percent of Hispanic teens gave birth. Since 1991, the teenage birth rate has been declining in the United States, particularly among African Americans, largely because of an increased use of effective contraception.

In 1999, 13 percent of the babies born in the United States were born to women 35 years old and older. The birth rate among this age group increased during the last three decades of the twentieth century, despite the fact that older women have an increased risk for having babies with chromosomal abnormalities (the risk is approximately 1 in 1,000 at age 25, 1 in 200 at age 35, and 1 in 20 at age 45).

About half of all pregnancies are unintended or unplanned, and one in three babies are born to single or unmarried mothers. (Nearly 70% of African-American babies and over 40% of Hispanic babies are born to unmarried mothers.)

Four out of five women who gave birth in 1999 started prenatal care in the first trimester, though this percentage was lower among African-American and Hispanic women. Despite an overall improvement in prenatal care utilization, the proportion of low birthweight (LBW) births and preterm births have been increasing gradually since the mid-1980s. This increase is accounted for, in part, an increase in multiple gestations and the growing number of infants born to women older than 35 years of age.

Of the 1.2 million legal induced abortions performed in 1999, 20 percent were obtained by women less than 20 years old, 60 percent by white women, and 80 percent by unmarried women.

PHYSIOLOGY OF PREGNANCY

A human pregnancy starts when the male sperm fertilizes the ovum (egg) in a woman's Fallopian tube, and it lasts, on average, 266 days. Contraception works by inhibiting the release of the ovum from the ovary (birth control pill, injectible, or subdermal implant), by impeding the release of sperm (vasectomy), by blocking sperm from entering the vagina or cervix (male or female condom, diaphragm, or cervical cap), or by blocking the Fallopian tubes (tubal ligation). Once conception takes place, the fertilized egg travels through the Fallopian tube into the uterus, where it implants about seven days later. The intrauterine device (IUD) impedes such implantation, and medications like mifepristone (RU486) causes the implanted embryo to abort.

A developing human is called an embryo between two and eight weeks after conception; thereafter it is called a fetus until delivery. Development of the major organs begins during the early embryonic period, and interference with this process may result in birth defects. Women taking harmful substances, or women with preexisting diseases like diabetes mellitus, are at increased risk for having babies with birth defects. Because the development of major organs begins during early pregnancy, often before a woman starts prenatal care or realizes that she is pregnant, preconceptional care is recommended for every woman of reproductive age.

Although most major organs are present at the end of the embryonic period, the development of their functions continues well into the fetal period, infancy, and early childhood. Interference with this process may lead to functional deficits. For example, undernutrition during this period of growth has been associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease, and maternal alcohol use during pregnancy has been linked to mental retardation and other birth defects.

Remarkable changes take place in a woman during pregnancy. The heart circulates 40 percent more blood volume to supply nutrients and oxygen to the growing baby, deeper breaths occur and an increased amount of harmful substances are cleansed through the kidneys. Digestion slows down for better absorption or nutrients, which may cause problems such as heartburn and constipation. The baby is sustained in the uterus by the placenta, which serves as the interface between maternal and fetal circulations. Hormones prepare the breasts for lactation, and the immune system is altered so that it does not reject the baby as a foreign body. While most healthy women make these adaptations readily, pregnancy can jeopardize the health, and sometimes the lives, of women who are less healthy and suffer increased stress to the system during pregnancy.