Aspirin can prevent a serious pregnancy complication — but too few women get it, new report suggests
Some medical centers are taking a dramatic step to save mothers and babies after studies have shown too many doctors fail to follow guidelines for preventing pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly pregnancy complication.
These hospitals now recommend that all of their pregnant patients take low-dose aspirin. Studies show the drug is safe and can help prevent pre-eclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure, and other pregnancy dangers.
Last week, the March of Dimes, a nonprofit research and advocacy group focused on maternal and infant health, essentially blessed this approach, saying it may be “medically reasonable” for some medical practices to offer all of their pregnant patients the drug.
The move could pave the way for more doctors to recommend low-dose aspirin to all of their pregnant patients, much as they do already with prenatal vitamins.
Pre-eclampsia, a leading cause of death among mothers and babies, affects about 1 in every 25 pregnancies in the U.S. Black mothers and women with high blood pressure or diabetes, or who are 35 or older, among other factors, are at increased risk.
Rates of the disease have climbed 25% in the last two decades in the United States, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation .
The March of Dimes report says that in clinical trials, low-dose aspirin reduces the risk of pre-eclampsia by 15%, and also preterm birth by 20% and perinatal mortality — death of a fetus late in pregnancy or a baby in the first week of life — by 20%.
More than a decade ago, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that pregnant women at increased risk for pre-eclampsia take low-dose aspirin, optimally from between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy until delivery, to prevent the complication. The American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians has issued similar guidance — but studies show many doctors still don’t follow it.
The new March of Dimes guidelines say that if most pregnant patients in a practice are at increased risk of pre-eclampsia, it’s reasonable to recommend low-dose aspirin to all of its pregnant patients.
Some obstetricians applauded the new March of Dimes report, which is co-authored by the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, saying it could decrease the rates of pre-eclampsia.
“A statement by such well-respected, science-backed organizations could really move the needle,” said Dr. Adam Lewkowitz, a pre-eclampsia expert and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
‘Nobody ever mentioned’ low-dose aspirin
About five weeks before her due date, Angela Jones suddenly started speaking in gibberish and her vision blurred. On her way to the hospital, she had seizures and doesn’t remember delivering her baby by emergency C-section.
If Jones’ doctors had followed guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists , they would have recognized that because Jones was at increased risk for pre-eclampsia, she should have been taking low-dose aspirin during her pregnancy.
“Nobody ever mentioned anything about low-dose aspirin to me,” said Jones, who lives in Downey, California, and shared her story with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative . “I didn’t know you could have seizures. I didn’t know you could have a stroke, or even die from preeclampsia.”
