Shorter mothers have shorter pregnancies, smaller
babies, and higher risk for a preterm birth. New
research has found that a mother's height directly
influences her risk for preterm birth. This study
aimed to investigate the casual relationships behind
the strong association of maternal height with fetal
growth measures (i.e., birth length and birth
weight) and gestational age.
Investigators at the March of Dimes Prematurity
Research Center Ohio Collaborative looked at 3,485
Nordic women and their babies, and found that
maternal height, which is determined by genetic
factors, helped shape the fetal environment,
influencing the length of pregnancy and frequency of
prematurity.
In contrast, birth length and birth weight are
mainly influenced by transmitted genes. Preterm
birth is the number one killer of newborns in the
United States and serious gaps exist between racial
and ethnic groups.
More than 450,000 babies are born too soon in the
U.S. and the national preterm birth rate is worse
than many other high-resource countries, the March
of Dimes says. Worldwide, 15 million babies are born
preterm, and more than one million die due to
complications of an early birth. Babies who survive
an early birth face serious and lifelong health
problems, including breathing problems, jaundice,
vision loss, cerebral palsy and intellectual delays.
"A major goal of the nationwide network of March of
Dimes prematurity research centers is identifying
genes that govern fetal growth and length of
pregnancy. That a woman's height influences
gestational length, independent of the genes she
passes on that determine fetal size, is a major
finding by our research networks, and the first of
what we expect to be many genetic contributions,"
said Joe Leigh Simpson, MD, March of Dimes senior
vice president for Research and Global Programs.
"The innovative, team-based model of our prematurity
research centers is critical to understanding the
unknown causes or preterm birth. This new finding
adds one small piece toward solving the much larger
puzzle of preterm birth," says Dr. Jennifer L. Howse,
president of the March of Dimes.
"Our finding shows that a mother's height has a
direct impact on how long her pregnancy lasts," said
Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, the primary investigator of
the Ohio Collaborative, and co-director of the
Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center. "The explanation for why
this happens is unclear but could depend not only on
unknown genes but also on woman's lifetime of
nutrition and her environment."
For more information
PLOS MEDICINE
Assessing the Causal Relationship of Maternal Height
on Birth Size and Gestational Age at Birth: A
Mendelian Randomization Analysis
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