- EPA Earmarks $3 Billion to Replace Lead Pipes Nationwide
- Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $6.5 Billion to Settle Talc Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits
- No Sign of Bird Flu in Ground Beef, USDA Says
- U.S. Maternal Deaths Declined in 2022
- Economy, Election Spur Rising Anxiety Among Americans in 2024
- Day Care Pick-Up Often Involves Sugary Snacks, Study Finds
- A Third of Young Adults Still Believe ‘Tan Is Healthier’ Myth: Survey
- MRNA Vaccine Fights Deadly Brain Tumor in Small Trial
- AI Won’t Replace ER Doctors Anytime Soon: Study
- Sleep Apnea Linked With Late-Life Epilepsy
Women in the Military at Risk for Low-Weight Babies
Active military service appears to increase a woman’s risk of having a low birthweight baby, a new review finds.
Nearly two-thirds of studies (63%) conclude that women on active service could be at higher risk of having a baby with low birth weight, researchers reported April 22 in the journal BMJ Military Health.
However, there was no clear evidence of an increased risk of stillbirth or premature birth among military women.
“This review highlights a need for more female-specific research in armed forces, beyond the U.S. military setting, to inform military maternity pathways and policies in ways that safeguard mothers and their babies,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Kirsten Morris, with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the U.K.
Increasing evidence has shown that stress during pregnancy is associated with birth complications, such as preterm delivery and low birth weight, researchers said in background notes.
To assess the evidence, researchers pooled data from 21 studies involving more than 650,000 women in the U.S. military, all published between 1979 and 2023.
Four out of five studies that compared active personnel to a control group — usually the wives of male soldiers — indicated an increased risk of low birthweight for the newborns of female service members, researchers said.
The study shows the need for more research into the effects of military service on women, given that increasing numbers of women are joining the military and being deployed in combat units, researchers concluded in a journal news release.
More information
The U.S. Department of Defense has more on women’s health in the military.
SOURCE: BMJ, news release, April 22, 2024
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.