May is pre-eclampsia awareness month and May the 22nd is world pre-eclampsia awareness day, where we aim to illuminate this condition, thereby improving outcomes and highlighting the need for increased awareness among health professionals, women and families.
In our efforts to achieve this goal, ISUOG brings together ISUOG Trustee and Honorary Secretary Prof. Liona Poon, Prof. Fabricio Da Silva Costa, and A/Prof. Daniel L. Rolnik for a new episode of the ISUOG Podcast.
Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal mortality, even in developed countries, claiming around 50,000 maternal lives every year worldwide. It often goes hand in hand with placental insufficiency, fetal growth restriction, and increased risks of preterm birth, which contribute to approximately half a million infant deaths each year.
Many pregnant women have never heard of pre-eclampsia, which is why raising awareness, improving management, prediction and prevention are crucial. Providing educational tools to inform all women and their families is essential, as this ensures mothers seek regular antenatal care which allows for early detection of this disease.
This episode features an interesting discussion about screening for the prevention and prediction of pre-eclampsia, implementation across various settings, and the responses to the introduction of combined tests in Australia, Brazil, and mainland China.
Our experts discuss the future directions of pre-eclampsia research and emphasise how crucial it is to push forward with implementing the results. The current combined tests and triple tests are the best available, but continued research is necessary to find better markers for both preterm and term preeclampsia. While preterm pre-eclampsia screening and prevention models have proven effective in identifying more cases, it will be important to explore new ways of prediction and treatment; a significant and important direction of ongoing research.
Follow our Podcast on Spotify here: ISUOG Podcast
Pre-eclampsia: Read, Watch and Learn
Prof. Nicolaides and Prof. Poon answer the questions surrounding pre-eclampsia that matter most to our community's patients. Read and watch here.