(Monday, may 2, HealthDay News) - obese pregnant women can have a more difficult time repel infection that leaner women, new research suggests.
Researchers have tested the blood of 30 women who were pregnant approximately six months. Half were obese and had a body weight (BMI) of over 30 index before becoming pregnant, while half were a normal BMI of 20 to 25.
Obese women had fewer cells of the immune system against infections - including lymphocytes and natural killer, researchers cells were found. Obese women also had an impaired ability to produce these cells.
The difference could threaten the health of babies born to obese women, study author Dr. Sarbattama Sen, researcher at the Research Institute of infant mother at Tufts Medical Center and floating hospital for children in Boston, said in the American Academy of Pediatrics release.
"Women who are obese before pregnancy present essential differences in immune function during pregnancy to women of normal weight, which has negative consequences for the mother and baby," Sen said.
The issue is taking on additional urgency due to the increase in the number of obese women in childbearing years, Sen added. "Maternal obesity has consequences for the mother and the baby, which we are beginning to understand."
The study was to be presented Sunday at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver. The data and conclusions should be considered preliminary until published in a refereed journal.
More information
To learn more about obesity, try the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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