Obstetrics

Key clinical point: The use vs non-use of antihistamines during later stages (20-36 weeks) of pregnancy increased the risk for early-onset preeclampsia in women with allergy, whereas the risk was insignificant with antihistamine use before (<6 months) or during early stages of (<20 weeks) pregnancy.

Major finding: Compared with no antihistamine use, the risk for early-onset preeclampsia (<34 weeks in pregnancy) was high among women with allergy who used antihistamines during late pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.8; 95% CI 1.5-2.2), but was insignificant among those who used antihistamines before or during early pregnancy.

Study details: Findings are from a population-based cohort study including 692,487 pregnancies in women with allergy; 101,287 women used antihistamines either before or during early or late pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the University of Bergen. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Sande AK et al. Use of antihistamines before or during pregnancy and risk of early-onset pre-eclampsia in allergic women: A population-based cohort study. BMJ Open. 2022;12(10):e061837 (Oct 7). Doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061837

Key clinical point: The use vs non-use of antihistamines during later stages (20-36 weeks) of pregnancy increased the risk for early-onset preeclampsia in women with allergy, whereas the risk was insignificant with antihistamine use before (<6 months) or during early stages of (<20 weeks) pregnancy.

Major finding: Compared with no antihistamine use, the risk for early-onset preeclampsia (<34 weeks in pregnancy) was high among women with allergy who used antihistamines during late pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.8; 95% CI 1.5-2.2), but was insignificant among those who used antihistamines before or during early pregnancy.

Study details: Findings are from a population-based cohort study including 692,487 pregnancies in women with allergy; 101,287 women used antihistamines either before or during early or late pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the University of Bergen. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Sande AK et al. Use of antihistamines before or during pregnancy and risk of early-onset pre-eclampsia in allergic women: A population-based cohort study. BMJ Open. 2022;12(10):e061837 (Oct 7). Doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061837

Key clinical point: The use vs non-use of antihistamines during later stages (20-36 weeks) of pregnancy increased the risk for early-onset preeclampsia in women with allergy, whereas the risk was insignificant with antihistamine use before (<6 months) or during early stages of (<20 weeks) pregnancy.

Major finding: Compared with no antihistamine use, the risk for early-onset preeclampsia (<34 weeks in pregnancy) was high among women with allergy who used antihistamines during late pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 1.8; 95% CI 1.5-2.2), but was insignificant among those who used antihistamines before or during early pregnancy.

Study details: Findings are from a population-based cohort study including 692,487 pregnancies in women with allergy; 101,287 women used antihistamines either before or during early or late pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the University of Bergen. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Sande AK et al. Use of antihistamines before or during pregnancy and risk of early-onset pre-eclampsia in allergic women: A population-based cohort study. BMJ Open. 2022;12(10):e061837 (Oct 7). Doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061837

Key clinical point: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy are more likely to result in adverse perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth, neonatal mortality, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational age neonates compared to healthy pregnancies or those with no other cardiac diseases.

Major finding: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy vs healthy pregnancies were more likely to result in stillbirth (odds ratio [OR] 20.82; P < .00001), neonatal mortality (OR 6.75; P < .00001), preterm birth (OR 5.95; P < .00001), and small-for-gestational age neonates (OR 6.74; P < .00001), with outcomes being similar when compared with pregnancies complicated by other forms of cardiac disease.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 observational cohort, case-control, and case-cohort studies including 2,291,024 pregnancies either complicated by cardiomyopathy or other forms of cardiac diseases and those with no cardiac diseases.

Disclosures: CE Aiken was supported by the UK Medical Research Council New Investigator Grant and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, UK. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Eggleton EJ et al. Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by maternal cardiomyopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Sep 20). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.025

Key clinical point: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy are more likely to result in adverse perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth, neonatal mortality, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational age neonates compared to healthy pregnancies or those with no other cardiac diseases.

Major finding: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy vs healthy pregnancies were more likely to result in stillbirth (odds ratio [OR] 20.82; P < .00001), neonatal mortality (OR 6.75; P < .00001), preterm birth (OR 5.95; P < .00001), and small-for-gestational age neonates (OR 6.74; P < .00001), with outcomes being similar when compared with pregnancies complicated by other forms of cardiac disease.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 observational cohort, case-control, and case-cohort studies including 2,291,024 pregnancies either complicated by cardiomyopathy or other forms of cardiac diseases and those with no cardiac diseases.

Disclosures: CE Aiken was supported by the UK Medical Research Council New Investigator Grant and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, UK. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Eggleton EJ et al. Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by maternal cardiomyopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Sep 20). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.025

Key clinical point: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy are more likely to result in adverse perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth, neonatal mortality, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational age neonates compared to healthy pregnancies or those with no other cardiac diseases.

Major finding: Pregnancies complicated by cardiomyopathy vs healthy pregnancies were more likely to result in stillbirth (odds ratio [OR] 20.82; P < .00001), neonatal mortality (OR 6.75; P < .00001), preterm birth (OR 5.95; P < .00001), and small-for-gestational age neonates (OR 6.74; P < .00001), with outcomes being similar when compared with pregnancies complicated by other forms of cardiac disease.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 observational cohort, case-control, and case-cohort studies including 2,291,024 pregnancies either complicated by cardiomyopathy or other forms of cardiac diseases and those with no cardiac diseases.

Disclosures: CE Aiken was supported by the UK Medical Research Council New Investigator Grant and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, UK. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Eggleton EJ et al. Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by maternal cardiomyopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Sep 20). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.025

Key clinical point: Management of shoulder dystocia with fetal manipulation (FM) increased the risk for obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI), with FM being associated with an increased risk for OASI and severe neonatal morbidity.

Major finding: Shoulder dystocia managed with vs without FM resulted in significantly higher rates of OASI (21.1% vs 3.8%; odds ratio [OR] 6.72; 95% CI 2.7-15.8) but similar rates of severe neonatal morbidity. FM was associated with the occurrence of OASI (adjusted OR [aOR] 5.3; 95% CI 2.2-12.8) and was the only factor associated with severe neonatal morbidity (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.8).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective observational study including 602 vaginal vertex deliveries in singleton pregnancies, which encountered shoulder dystocia that was managed with (n = 52) or without (n = 550) FM.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Diack B et al. Impact of fetal manipulation on maternal and neonatal severe morbidity during shoulder dystocia management. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 (Sep 23). Doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06783-y

Key clinical point: Management of shoulder dystocia with fetal manipulation (FM) increased the risk for obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI), with FM being associated with an increased risk for OASI and severe neonatal morbidity.

Major finding: Shoulder dystocia managed with vs without FM resulted in significantly higher rates of OASI (21.1% vs 3.8%; odds ratio [OR] 6.72; 95% CI 2.7-15.8) but similar rates of severe neonatal morbidity. FM was associated with the occurrence of OASI (adjusted OR [aOR] 5.3; 95% CI 2.2-12.8) and was the only factor associated with severe neonatal morbidity (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.8).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective observational study including 602 vaginal vertex deliveries in singleton pregnancies, which encountered shoulder dystocia that was managed with (n = 52) or without (n = 550) FM.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Diack B et al. Impact of fetal manipulation on maternal and neonatal severe morbidity during shoulder dystocia management. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 (Sep 23). Doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06783-y

Key clinical point: Management of shoulder dystocia with fetal manipulation (FM) increased the risk for obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI), with FM being associated with an increased risk for OASI and severe neonatal morbidity.

Major finding: Shoulder dystocia managed with vs without FM resulted in significantly higher rates of OASI (21.1% vs 3.8%; odds ratio [OR] 6.72; 95% CI 2.7-15.8) but similar rates of severe neonatal morbidity. FM was associated with the occurrence of OASI (adjusted OR [aOR] 5.3; 95% CI 2.2-12.8) and was the only factor associated with severe neonatal morbidity (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.8).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective observational study including 602 vaginal vertex deliveries in singleton pregnancies, which encountered shoulder dystocia that was managed with (n = 52) or without (n = 550) FM.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Diack B et al. Impact of fetal manipulation on maternal and neonatal severe morbidity during shoulder dystocia management. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 (Sep 23). Doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06783-y

Key clinical point: A dose of 30 mg oral extended-release nifedipine (ER-nifedipine) every 24 hours until delivery effectively reduced the receipt of treatment for acute severe hypertension in individuals with preeclampsia with severe features.

Major finding: A significantly lower proportion of individuals who received 30 mg ER-nifedipine vs placebo required ≥1 dose of acute hypertension therapy for severe blood pressure that sustained for ≥10 minutes (34.0% vs 55.1%; relative risk 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-0.97). ER-nifedipine vs placebo use led to numerically lower cesarean deliveries (20.8% vs 34.7%) and neonatal intensive care unit admissions (29.1% vs 47.1%).

Study details: Findings are from a phase 4 trial including 110 individuals with singleton or twin gestation undergoing labor induction for preeclampsia with severe features who were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg oral ER-nifedipine or placebo every 24 hours until delivery.

Disclosures: This study was funded by The Ohio State University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Cleary EM et al. Trial of intrapartum extended-release nifedipine to prevent severe hypertension among pregnant individuals with preeclampsia with severe features. Hypertension. 2022 (Oct 3). Doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19751

Key clinical point: A dose of 30 mg oral extended-release nifedipine (ER-nifedipine) every 24 hours until delivery effectively reduced the receipt of treatment for acute severe hypertension in individuals with preeclampsia with severe features.

Major finding: A significantly lower proportion of individuals who received 30 mg ER-nifedipine vs placebo required ≥1 dose of acute hypertension therapy for severe blood pressure that sustained for ≥10 minutes (34.0% vs 55.1%; relative risk 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-0.97). ER-nifedipine vs placebo use led to numerically lower cesarean deliveries (20.8% vs 34.7%) and neonatal intensive care unit admissions (29.1% vs 47.1%).

Study details: Findings are from a phase 4 trial including 110 individuals with singleton or twin gestation undergoing labor induction for preeclampsia with severe features who were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg oral ER-nifedipine or placebo every 24 hours until delivery.

Disclosures: This study was funded by The Ohio State University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Cleary EM et al. Trial of intrapartum extended-release nifedipine to prevent severe hypertension among pregnant individuals with preeclampsia with severe features. Hypertension. 2022 (Oct 3). Doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19751

Key clinical point: A dose of 30 mg oral extended-release nifedipine (ER-nifedipine) every 24 hours until delivery effectively reduced the receipt of treatment for acute severe hypertension in individuals with preeclampsia with severe features.

Major finding: A significantly lower proportion of individuals who received 30 mg ER-nifedipine vs placebo required ≥1 dose of acute hypertension therapy for severe blood pressure that sustained for ≥10 minutes (34.0% vs 55.1%; relative risk 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-0.97). ER-nifedipine vs placebo use led to numerically lower cesarean deliveries (20.8% vs 34.7%) and neonatal intensive care unit admissions (29.1% vs 47.1%).

Study details: Findings are from a phase 4 trial including 110 individuals with singleton or twin gestation undergoing labor induction for preeclampsia with severe features who were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg oral ER-nifedipine or placebo every 24 hours until delivery.

Disclosures: This study was funded by The Ohio State University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. No conflicts of interest were declared.

Source: Cleary EM et al. Trial of intrapartum extended-release nifedipine to prevent severe hypertension among pregnant individuals with preeclampsia with severe features. Hypertension. 2022 (Oct 3). Doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19751

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women with gestational diabetes who showed a slowly improving glycemic control trajectory, highlighting the need for interventions that help achieve glycemic targets early after the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.

Major finding: Compared with women showing rapid improvements to attain optimal glycemic control, the risk for shoulder dystocia was higher among women showing slow improvements to attain suboptimal glycemic control (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and was lower among women with stably optimal glycemic control from diagnosis to delivery (aRR 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.92).

Study details: Findings are from a population-based longitudinal cohort study including 26,774 women with gestational diabetes who received prenatal care.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other sources. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

Source: Chehab RF et al. Glycemic control trajectories and risk of perinatal complications among individuals with gestational diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2233955 (Sep 29). Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33955

Key clinical point: Use of low-dose aspirin significantly reduced preterm birth rates but had no significant effect on the risk for preeclampsia in pregnant women with chronic hypertension.

Major finding: In women with chronic hypertension, the use of low-dose aspirin vs placebo during pregnancy was associated with a significant reduction in preterm birth rates (22.2% vs 31.1%; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI 0.45-0.89) but a nonsignificant reduction in the risk for superimposed or preterm preeclampsia.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies (retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials) including 2150 women with chronic hypertension who received low-dose aspirin or placebo during pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. V Giorgione’s PhD was supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant unrelated to this study. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Richards EMF et al. Low-dose aspirin for the prevention of superimposed pre-eclampsia in women with chronic hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Oct 6). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.046

Key clinical point: Use of low-dose aspirin significantly reduced preterm birth rates but had no significant effect on the risk for preeclampsia in pregnant women with chronic hypertension.

Major finding: In women with chronic hypertension, the use of low-dose aspirin vs placebo during pregnancy was associated with a significant reduction in preterm birth rates (22.2% vs 31.1%; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI 0.45-0.89) but a nonsignificant reduction in the risk for superimposed or preterm preeclampsia.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies (retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials) including 2150 women with chronic hypertension who received low-dose aspirin or placebo during pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. V Giorgione’s PhD was supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant unrelated to this study. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Richards EMF et al. Low-dose aspirin for the prevention of superimposed pre-eclampsia in women with chronic hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Oct 6). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.046

Key clinical point: Use of low-dose aspirin significantly reduced preterm birth rates but had no significant effect on the risk for preeclampsia in pregnant women with chronic hypertension.

Major finding: In women with chronic hypertension, the use of low-dose aspirin vs placebo during pregnancy was associated with a significant reduction in preterm birth rates (22.2% vs 31.1%; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI 0.45-0.89) but a nonsignificant reduction in the risk for superimposed or preterm preeclampsia.

Study details: Findings are from a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies (retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials) including 2150 women with chronic hypertension who received low-dose aspirin or placebo during pregnancy.

Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. V Giorgione’s PhD was supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant unrelated to this study. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Richards EMF et al. Low-dose aspirin for the prevention of superimposed pre-eclampsia in women with chronic hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 (Oct 6). Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.046

Offering shopping vouchers to pregnant women as an incentive to quit smoking showed promising results, a study found, despite most participants relapsing after giving birth.

Rewarding pregnant women with up to £400 to spend on Main Street, in addition to usual support, more than doubled the proportion who were still smoke-free late in their pregnancy, and could save the National Health Service money in the long term, according to the research, published in the BMJ, led by the University of Glasgow and the University of York, England.

Although the proportion of women in the United Kingdom who smoke during pregnancy has halved over the past 20 years, those who still do are more reluctant to engage with cessation services.

Interventions using financial incentives were pioneered in the United States, but there is a lack of evidence for how effective they might be in the United Kingdom.
 

Vouchers linked to passing saliva tests

The phase 3 Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial was based on an earlier feasibility study in Glasgow and involved 941 pregnant women aged 16 or older, with a mean age of 27.9 years when they were recruited, from seven stop-smoking services in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England between January 2018 and April 2020. Participants self-reported that they smoked at least one cigarette a week.

The cohort was randomised into two groups: a control group who received usual stop smoking support that included the offer of counselling by trained workers combined with free nicotine-replacement therapy, and an intervention group who were given the same interventional support plus targets to receive LoveToShop vouchers.

Although vouchers to the value of £400 were on offer, earning them depended on successfully reaching four milestones. They received a first £50 voucher for engaging with stop-smoking services and setting a quit date and further vouchers for being declared smoke-free by biochemical verification at specific time points in the pregnancy.

Factors including the mother’s age, years of smoking, income, use of nicotine-replacement therapy and e-cigarettes, timing of birth, and birth weight were taken into account.

The study found that 71% of the participants in the incentive group engaged with stop-smoking services and set a quit date, compared with 64% in the control group. By late pregnancy, 126 participants (27%) of the 471 in the intervention group were smoke-free, compared with 58 (12%) of the 470 in the control group.
 

Most women in the trial went back to smoking

However, abstinence rates measured 6 months after giving birth were low in both groups: 6% in the intervention group vs. 4% in the control group.

The researchers also reported no significant differences in birth weight between the two groups.

Overall, the birth weight of babies from 443 intervention participants and 450 controls showed no significant difference between groups (average 3.18 kg vs. 3.13 kg).

The researchers did find a clinically important but not significant 10% increase in birth weight in the subset of participants who adhered with their treatment allocation, but they said further analysis is needed to better understand the relevance of this finding.

Severity of preterm birth was similar between groups, and all serious adverse events, such as miscarriages and stillbirths, were considered unrelated to the intervention.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations to their investigation, including that only 23% of women screened by stop-smoking services were enrolled, and that almost all participants were White. Also, the onset of COVID-19 disrupted some of the trial processes.

However, they concluded that their trial “supports implementation advocated in NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines by showing an effective, cost-effective, and generalisable pragmatic bolt-on U.K. format for incentive payments” to reduce smoking rates in pregnancy.

A version of this article first appeared on MedscapeUK.

Offering shopping vouchers to pregnant women as an incentive to quit smoking showed promising results, a study found, despite most participants relapsing after giving birth.

Rewarding pregnant women with up to £400 to spend on Main Street, in addition to usual support, more than doubled the proportion who were still smoke-free late in their pregnancy, and could save the National Health Service money in the long term, according to the research, published in the BMJ, led by the University of Glasgow and the University of York, England.

Although the proportion of women in the United Kingdom who smoke during pregnancy has halved over the past 20 years, those who still do are more reluctant to engage with cessation services.

Interventions using financial incentives were pioneered in the United States, but there is a lack of evidence for how effective they might be in the United Kingdom.
 

Vouchers linked to passing saliva tests

The phase 3 Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial was based on an earlier feasibility study in Glasgow and involved 941 pregnant women aged 16 or older, with a mean age of 27.9 years when they were recruited, from seven stop-smoking services in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England between January 2018 and April 2020. Participants self-reported that they smoked at least one cigarette a week.

The cohort was randomised into two groups: a control group who received usual stop smoking support that included the offer of counselling by trained workers combined with free nicotine-replacement therapy, and an intervention group who were given the same interventional support plus targets to receive LoveToShop vouchers.

Although vouchers to the value of £400 were on offer, earning them depended on successfully reaching four milestones. They received a first £50 voucher for engaging with stop-smoking services and setting a quit date and further vouchers for being declared smoke-free by biochemical verification at specific time points in the pregnancy.

Factors including the mother’s age, years of smoking, income, use of nicotine-replacement therapy and e-cigarettes, timing of birth, and birth weight were taken into account.

The study found that 71% of the participants in the incentive group engaged with stop-smoking services and set a quit date, compared with 64% in the control group. By late pregnancy, 126 participants (27%) of the 471 in the intervention group were smoke-free, compared with 58 (12%) of the 470 in the control group.
 

Most women in the trial went back to smoking

However, abstinence rates measured 6 months after giving birth were low in both groups: 6% in the intervention group vs. 4% in the control group.

The researchers also reported no significant differences in birth weight between the two groups.

Overall, the birth weight of babies from 443 intervention participants and 450 controls showed no significant difference between groups (average 3.18 kg vs. 3.13 kg).

The researchers did find a clinically important but not significant 10% increase in birth weight in the subset of participants who adhered with their treatment allocation, but they said further analysis is needed to better understand the relevance of this finding.

Severity of preterm birth was similar between groups, and all serious adverse events, such as miscarriages and stillbirths, were considered unrelated to the intervention.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations to their investigation, including that only 23% of women screened by stop-smoking services were enrolled, and that almost all participants were White. Also, the onset of COVID-19 disrupted some of the trial processes.

However, they concluded that their trial “supports implementation advocated in NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines by showing an effective, cost-effective, and generalisable pragmatic bolt-on U.K. format for incentive payments” to reduce smoking rates in pregnancy.

A version of this article first appeared on MedscapeUK.

Offering shopping vouchers to pregnant women as an incentive to quit smoking showed promising results, a study found, despite most participants relapsing after giving birth.

Rewarding pregnant women with up to £400 to spend on Main Street, in addition to usual support, more than doubled the proportion who were still smoke-free late in their pregnancy, and could save the National Health Service money in the long term, according to the research, published in the BMJ, led by the University of Glasgow and the University of York, England.

Although the proportion of women in the United Kingdom who smoke during pregnancy has halved over the past 20 years, those who still do are more reluctant to engage with cessation services.

Interventions using financial incentives were pioneered in the United States, but there is a lack of evidence for how effective they might be in the United Kingdom.
 

Vouchers linked to passing saliva tests

The phase 3 Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial was based on an earlier feasibility study in Glasgow and involved 941 pregnant women aged 16 or older, with a mean age of 27.9 years when they were recruited, from seven stop-smoking services in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England between January 2018 and April 2020. Participants self-reported that they smoked at least one cigarette a week.

The cohort was randomised into two groups: a control group who received usual stop smoking support that included the offer of counselling by trained workers combined with free nicotine-replacement therapy, and an intervention group who were given the same interventional support plus targets to receive LoveToShop vouchers.

Although vouchers to the value of £400 were on offer, earning them depended on successfully reaching four milestones. They received a first £50 voucher for engaging with stop-smoking services and setting a quit date and further vouchers for being declared smoke-free by biochemical verification at specific time points in the pregnancy.

Factors including the mother’s age, years of smoking, income, use of nicotine-replacement therapy and e-cigarettes, timing of birth, and birth weight were taken into account.

The study found that 71% of the participants in the incentive group engaged with stop-smoking services and set a quit date, compared with 64% in the control group. By late pregnancy, 126 participants (27%) of the 471 in the intervention group were smoke-free, compared with 58 (12%) of the 470 in the control group.
 

Most women in the trial went back to smoking

However, abstinence rates measured 6 months after giving birth were low in both groups: 6% in the intervention group vs. 4% in the control group.

The researchers also reported no significant differences in birth weight between the two groups.

Overall, the birth weight of babies from 443 intervention participants and 450 controls showed no significant difference between groups (average 3.18 kg vs. 3.13 kg).

The researchers did find a clinically important but not significant 10% increase in birth weight in the subset of participants who adhered with their treatment allocation, but they said further analysis is needed to better understand the relevance of this finding.

Severity of preterm birth was similar between groups, and all serious adverse events, such as miscarriages and stillbirths, were considered unrelated to the intervention.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations to their investigation, including that only 23% of women screened by stop-smoking services were enrolled, and that almost all participants were White. Also, the onset of COVID-19 disrupted some of the trial processes.

However, they concluded that their trial “supports implementation advocated in NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines by showing an effective, cost-effective, and generalisable pragmatic bolt-on U.K. format for incentive payments” to reduce smoking rates in pregnancy.

A version of this article first appeared on MedscapeUK.

The three PPH articles examine the use of preventive B-Lynch suture, risk factors for failure of intrauterine tamponade, and trend changes in risk factors for PPH. Kuwabara and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of preventative B-Lynch sutures in patients at high risk for PPH. Their retrospective observational study included 38 of 663 patients who underwent cesarean section (CS) who received the B-Lynch procedure at their tertiary perinatal medical center in Gifu, Japan, between January 2019 and May 2021. Overall, 92% of patients who received the B-Lynch suture showed no apparent postoperative bleeding within 2 hours after the CS. A total of 24 patients required blood transfusion, none required hysterectomy, and only one patient with a twin pregnancy required additional treatment because of secondary PPH 5 days after the CS. This suggests that earlier use of B-Lynch sutures could be considered in patients at high risk for atony.

Gibier and colleagues examined risk factors for uterine tamponade failure in women with PPH. This was a population-based retrospective cohort study of 1761 women with deliveries complicated by PPH who underwent intrauterine tamponade within 24 hours of PPH to manage persistent bleeding. They noted that the intrauterine tamponade failure rate was 11.1%. Risk for intrauterine tamponade failure was higher in women with CS (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.2; 95% CI 2.9-6.0), preeclampsia (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-3.9), and uterine rupture (aOR 14.1; 95% CI 2.4-83.0). They concluded that CS, preeclampsia, and uterine rupture were significant risk factors for failures in this procedure.

Sade and colleagues examined trend changes in the individual contribution of risk factors for PPH over more than two decades. Their population-based, retrospective, nested, case-control study included 285,992 pregnancies and suggested that, in their hospital setting in Israel, risks from perineal or vaginal tears were increasing while large-for-gestational-age fetuses decreased and other risk factors remained stable.

Finally, Wu and colleagues examined incidence and outcomes of AHRCP diseases during pregnancy and the puerperium. This observational analysis examined 41,174,101 patients hospitalized for pregnancy and during the puerperium in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. The study noted that 40,285 patients were diagnosed with AHRCP diseases during this period. The NIS is the largest publicly available all-payer database in the United States. The investigators found that the incidence of AHRCP diseases increased significantly between 2002 and 2017, especially pulmonary embolism in the puerperium. Although mortality showed a downward trend, it is still at a high level. They suggested that we should strengthen monitoring and management of AHRCP in pregnancy and puerperium, especially for Black women, those in the lowest-income households, and parturients over 35 years of age.

The three PPH articles examine the use of preventive B-Lynch suture, risk factors for failure of intrauterine tamponade, and trend changes in risk factors for PPH. Kuwabara and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of preventative B-Lynch sutures in patients at high risk for PPH. Their retrospective observational study included 38 of 663 patients who underwent cesarean section (CS) who received the B-Lynch procedure at their tertiary perinatal medical center in Gifu, Japan, between January 2019 and May 2021. Overall, 92% of patients who received the B-Lynch suture showed no apparent postoperative bleeding within 2 hours after the CS. A total of 24 patients required blood transfusion, none required hysterectomy, and only one patient with a twin pregnancy required additional treatment because of secondary PPH 5 days after the CS. This suggests that earlier use of B-Lynch sutures could be considered in patients at high risk for atony.

Gibier and colleagues examined risk factors for uterine tamponade failure in women with PPH. This was a population-based retrospective cohort study of 1761 women with deliveries complicated by PPH who underwent intrauterine tamponade within 24 hours of PPH to manage persistent bleeding. They noted that the intrauterine tamponade failure rate was 11.1%. Risk for intrauterine tamponade failure was higher in women with CS (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.2; 95% CI 2.9-6.0), preeclampsia (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-3.9), and uterine rupture (aOR 14.1; 95% CI 2.4-83.0). They concluded that CS, preeclampsia, and uterine rupture were significant risk factors for failures in this procedure.

Sade and colleagues examined trend changes in the individual contribution of risk factors for PPH over more than two decades. Their population-based, retrospective, nested, case-control study included 285,992 pregnancies and suggested that, in their hospital setting in Israel, risks from perineal or vaginal tears were increasing while large-for-gestational-age fetuses decreased and other risk factors remained stable.

Finally, Wu and colleagues examined incidence and outcomes of AHRCP diseases during pregnancy and the puerperium. This observational analysis examined 41,174,101 patients hospitalized for pregnancy and during the puerperium in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. The study noted that 40,285 patients were diagnosed with AHRCP diseases during this period. The NIS is the largest publicly available all-payer database in the United States. The investigators found that the incidence of AHRCP diseases increased significantly between 2002 and 2017, especially pulmonary embolism in the puerperium. Although mortality showed a downward trend, it is still at a high level. They suggested that we should strengthen monitoring and management of AHRCP in pregnancy and puerperium, especially for Black women, those in the lowest-income households, and parturients over 35 years of age.

The three PPH articles examine the use of preventive B-Lynch suture, risk factors for failure of intrauterine tamponade, and trend changes in risk factors for PPH. Kuwabara and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of preventative B-Lynch sutures in patients at high risk for PPH. Their retrospective observational study included 38 of 663 patients who underwent cesarean section (CS) who received the B-Lynch procedure at their tertiary perinatal medical center in Gifu, Japan, between January 2019 and May 2021. Overall, 92% of patients who received the B-Lynch suture showed no apparent postoperative bleeding within 2 hours after the CS. A total of 24 patients required blood transfusion, none required hysterectomy, and only one patient with a twin pregnancy required additional treatment because of secondary PPH 5 days after the CS. This suggests that earlier use of B-Lynch sutures could be considered in patients at high risk for atony.

Gibier and colleagues examined risk factors for uterine tamponade failure in women with PPH. This was a population-based retrospective cohort study of 1761 women with deliveries complicated by PPH who underwent intrauterine tamponade within 24 hours of PPH to manage persistent bleeding. They noted that the intrauterine tamponade failure rate was 11.1%. Risk for intrauterine tamponade failure was higher in women with CS (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.2; 95% CI 2.9-6.0), preeclampsia (aOR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-3.9), and uterine rupture (aOR 14.1; 95% CI 2.4-83.0). They concluded that CS, preeclampsia, and uterine rupture were significant risk factors for failures in this procedure.

Sade and colleagues examined trend changes in the individual contribution of risk factors for PPH over more than two decades. Their population-based, retrospective, nested, case-control study included 285,992 pregnancies and suggested that, in their hospital setting in Israel, risks from perineal or vaginal tears were increasing while large-for-gestational-age fetuses decreased and other risk factors remained stable.

Finally, Wu and colleagues examined incidence and outcomes of AHRCP diseases during pregnancy and the puerperium. This observational analysis examined 41,174,101 patients hospitalized for pregnancy and during the puerperium in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. The study noted that 40,285 patients were diagnosed with AHRCP diseases during this period. The NIS is the largest publicly available all-payer database in the United States. The investigators found that the incidence of AHRCP diseases increased significantly between 2002 and 2017, especially pulmonary embolism in the puerperium. Although mortality showed a downward trend, it is still at a high level. They suggested that we should strengthen monitoring and management of AHRCP in pregnancy and puerperium, especially for Black women, those in the lowest-income households, and parturients over 35 years of age.

Does Instagram make new moms feel inadequate? Yes, suggests a new study that warns images of new mothers on social media may drive body dissatisfaction and feelings of not being good enough. 

Lead researcher Megan Gow, PhD, a National Health and Medical Research Council early career fellow at the University of Sydney Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, says she wanted to find out if Instagram images reflected the actual population of postpartum women. 

“We were concerned images would be idealized, placing postpartum women, who are already a vulnerable group, at increased risk,” she says.  

The findings, published recently in the journal Healthcare, suggest social media may not be the right platform to target health messages to new moms.
 

A vulnerable time

The months after an infant’s birth are a vulnerable time for new moms. Women contend with huge hormone shifts, sleep deprivation, and a major life change – all while caring for a new child.

A 2021 Nestle study found 32% of parents feel isolated, while a 2017 online poll in the United Kingdom found 54% of new moms felt “friendless.” And according to the American Psychological Association, up to one in seven new mothers will face postpartum depression, while 9% will have posttraumatic stress disorder, according to Postpartum Support International. 

The pandemic may have worsened the isolation new mothers feel. A May 2022 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found U.S. rates of postpartum depression rose in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While new motherhood was stressful enough in the analog age, women today must contend with social media, which increases feelings of isolation. A June 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology said social media users between the ages of 26 and 35 reported higher rates of loneliness. That’s in line with Dr. Gow’s study, which noted 39% of Instagram’s monthly active users are women between the ages of 18 and 44. And nearly two-thirds of them – 63% – log onto the platform daily.

“The postpartum phase can feel very isolated, and being vocal about the postpartum shifts that all mothers go through helps set expectations and normalize the experience for those of us who are post partum,” says Catie de Montille, 36, a mother of two in Washington, D.C. 
 

Instagram sets the wrong expectations

Instagram sets unreasonable expectations for new mothers, Dr. Gow and her colleagues found in their study. 

She and her fellow researchers analyzed 600 posts that used #postpartumbody, a hashtag that had been posted on Instagram more than 2 million times by October 2022. Other hashtags like #mombod and #postbabybody have been used 1.9 million and 320,000 times, respectively.

Of the 600 posts, 409 (68%) focused on a woman as the central image. The researchers analyzed those 409 posts to find out if they reflected women’s post-childbirth reality.

They found that more than 9 in 10 posts (91%) showed women who appeared to have low body fat (37%) or average body fat (54%). Only 9% showed women who seemed to be overweight. And the researchers also found just 5% of images showed features commonly associated with a postpartum body, like stretch marks or scars from cesarean sections. 

Women need to be aware that “what is posted on Instagram may not be realistic and is not representative of the vast majority of women in the postpartum period,” Dr. Gow says. 

The images also did not portray women as physically strong.

Dr. Gow’s team examined 250 images for signs of muscularity. More than half, 52%, showed few or no defined muscles. That finding came even though more than half of the original 409 images showed women in fitness attire (40%), underwear (8%), or a bathing suit (5%).

According to Emily Fortney, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in Sacramento, Calif., the study shows that health care workers must work harder to set expectations for new moms. 

“This is a deeper issue of how women are overall portrayed in the media and the pressure we face to return to some unrealistic size,” she says. “We need to be encouraging women to not focus on photos, but to focus on the postpartum experience in an all-encompassing way that includes both physical and mental health.”
 

Childbirth as an illness to overcome? 

While retail brands from Nike to Versace have begun to show a wider range of female shapes in advertisements and on the runway, postpartum women seem to be left out of this movement. Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers referred to a 2012 study that examined images in popular Australian magazines and concluded these photos likened the pregnant body to an illness from which women needed to recover. 

The images posted on Instagram indicate that belief is still pervasive. The images of postpartum women in fitness clothes suggest “that women want to be seen to be exercising as a means of breaking the ‘hold’ that pregnancy had on them or ‘repairing’ their postpartum body,” Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers say. 

New Orleans resident Sydney Neal, 32, a mother of two who gave birth to her youngest child in November 2021, said social media helped shape her view of what “recovery” would be like.

While Ms. Neal said some celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, a mother of two, have “kept it very real” on Instagram, she also “saw a lot of women on social media drop [their weight] quickly and post as if they were back to normal much faster than 6 months.”
 

Body-positive tools for new moms 

Dr. Gow is continuing to study this topic. Her team is currently doing a study that will ask women about social media use, how they feel about their bodies, and how their beliefs change after viewing images tagged with #postpartumbody. (Women with children under the age of 2 can access the survey here.) 

Because of the unrealistic images, Dr. Gow and her team said Instagram may not be a good tool for sharing health information with new moms.

But there are other options. 

Ms. de Montille, whose children were born in 2020 and 2022, used apps like Back to You and Expectful, and she follows Karrie Locher, a postpartum and neonatal nurse and certified lactation counselor, on Instagram. She said these tools focus on the mind/body connection, which “is better than focusing on the size of your jeans.” 

Women also should be able to turn to trusted health care professionals.

“Providers can start speaking about the romanticization of pregnancy and motherhood starting in prenatal care, and they can start speaking more about social media use and the pros and cons of use specifically in the perinatal period,” says Dr. Fortney. “This opens the door to a discussion on a wide range of issues that can actually help assess, prevent, and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.”

Ms. Neal, the mother of two in New Orleans, said she wished her doctor had talked to her more about what to expect after giving birth. 

“I don’t really know how to crack the body image nut, but I think starting in a medical setting might be helpful,” she says.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.

Does Instagram make new moms feel inadequate? Yes, suggests a new study that warns images of new mothers on social media may drive body dissatisfaction and feelings of not being good enough. 

Lead researcher Megan Gow, PhD, a National Health and Medical Research Council early career fellow at the University of Sydney Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, says she wanted to find out if Instagram images reflected the actual population of postpartum women. 

“We were concerned images would be idealized, placing postpartum women, who are already a vulnerable group, at increased risk,” she says.  

The findings, published recently in the journal Healthcare, suggest social media may not be the right platform to target health messages to new moms.
 

A vulnerable time

The months after an infant’s birth are a vulnerable time for new moms. Women contend with huge hormone shifts, sleep deprivation, and a major life change – all while caring for a new child.

A 2021 Nestle study found 32% of parents feel isolated, while a 2017 online poll in the United Kingdom found 54% of new moms felt “friendless.” And according to the American Psychological Association, up to one in seven new mothers will face postpartum depression, while 9% will have posttraumatic stress disorder, according to Postpartum Support International. 

The pandemic may have worsened the isolation new mothers feel. A May 2022 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found U.S. rates of postpartum depression rose in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While new motherhood was stressful enough in the analog age, women today must contend with social media, which increases feelings of isolation. A June 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology said social media users between the ages of 26 and 35 reported higher rates of loneliness. That’s in line with Dr. Gow’s study, which noted 39% of Instagram’s monthly active users are women between the ages of 18 and 44. And nearly two-thirds of them – 63% – log onto the platform daily.

“The postpartum phase can feel very isolated, and being vocal about the postpartum shifts that all mothers go through helps set expectations and normalize the experience for those of us who are post partum,” says Catie de Montille, 36, a mother of two in Washington, D.C. 
 

Instagram sets the wrong expectations

Instagram sets unreasonable expectations for new mothers, Dr. Gow and her colleagues found in their study. 

She and her fellow researchers analyzed 600 posts that used #postpartumbody, a hashtag that had been posted on Instagram more than 2 million times by October 2022. Other hashtags like #mombod and #postbabybody have been used 1.9 million and 320,000 times, respectively.

Of the 600 posts, 409 (68%) focused on a woman as the central image. The researchers analyzed those 409 posts to find out if they reflected women’s post-childbirth reality.

They found that more than 9 in 10 posts (91%) showed women who appeared to have low body fat (37%) or average body fat (54%). Only 9% showed women who seemed to be overweight. And the researchers also found just 5% of images showed features commonly associated with a postpartum body, like stretch marks or scars from cesarean sections. 

Women need to be aware that “what is posted on Instagram may not be realistic and is not representative of the vast majority of women in the postpartum period,” Dr. Gow says. 

The images also did not portray women as physically strong.

Dr. Gow’s team examined 250 images for signs of muscularity. More than half, 52%, showed few or no defined muscles. That finding came even though more than half of the original 409 images showed women in fitness attire (40%), underwear (8%), or a bathing suit (5%).

According to Emily Fortney, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in Sacramento, Calif., the study shows that health care workers must work harder to set expectations for new moms. 

“This is a deeper issue of how women are overall portrayed in the media and the pressure we face to return to some unrealistic size,” she says. “We need to be encouraging women to not focus on photos, but to focus on the postpartum experience in an all-encompassing way that includes both physical and mental health.”
 

Childbirth as an illness to overcome? 

While retail brands from Nike to Versace have begun to show a wider range of female shapes in advertisements and on the runway, postpartum women seem to be left out of this movement. Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers referred to a 2012 study that examined images in popular Australian magazines and concluded these photos likened the pregnant body to an illness from which women needed to recover. 

The images posted on Instagram indicate that belief is still pervasive. The images of postpartum women in fitness clothes suggest “that women want to be seen to be exercising as a means of breaking the ‘hold’ that pregnancy had on them or ‘repairing’ their postpartum body,” Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers say. 

New Orleans resident Sydney Neal, 32, a mother of two who gave birth to her youngest child in November 2021, said social media helped shape her view of what “recovery” would be like.

While Ms. Neal said some celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, a mother of two, have “kept it very real” on Instagram, she also “saw a lot of women on social media drop [their weight] quickly and post as if they were back to normal much faster than 6 months.”
 

Body-positive tools for new moms 

Dr. Gow is continuing to study this topic. Her team is currently doing a study that will ask women about social media use, how they feel about their bodies, and how their beliefs change after viewing images tagged with #postpartumbody. (Women with children under the age of 2 can access the survey here.) 

Because of the unrealistic images, Dr. Gow and her team said Instagram may not be a good tool for sharing health information with new moms.

But there are other options. 

Ms. de Montille, whose children were born in 2020 and 2022, used apps like Back to You and Expectful, and she follows Karrie Locher, a postpartum and neonatal nurse and certified lactation counselor, on Instagram. She said these tools focus on the mind/body connection, which “is better than focusing on the size of your jeans.” 

Women also should be able to turn to trusted health care professionals.

“Providers can start speaking about the romanticization of pregnancy and motherhood starting in prenatal care, and they can start speaking more about social media use and the pros and cons of use specifically in the perinatal period,” says Dr. Fortney. “This opens the door to a discussion on a wide range of issues that can actually help assess, prevent, and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.”

Ms. Neal, the mother of two in New Orleans, said she wished her doctor had talked to her more about what to expect after giving birth. 

“I don’t really know how to crack the body image nut, but I think starting in a medical setting might be helpful,” she says.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.

Does Instagram make new moms feel inadequate? Yes, suggests a new study that warns images of new mothers on social media may drive body dissatisfaction and feelings of not being good enough. 

Lead researcher Megan Gow, PhD, a National Health and Medical Research Council early career fellow at the University of Sydney Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, says she wanted to find out if Instagram images reflected the actual population of postpartum women. 

“We were concerned images would be idealized, placing postpartum women, who are already a vulnerable group, at increased risk,” she says.  

The findings, published recently in the journal Healthcare, suggest social media may not be the right platform to target health messages to new moms.
 

A vulnerable time

The months after an infant’s birth are a vulnerable time for new moms. Women contend with huge hormone shifts, sleep deprivation, and a major life change – all while caring for a new child.

A 2021 Nestle study found 32% of parents feel isolated, while a 2017 online poll in the United Kingdom found 54% of new moms felt “friendless.” And according to the American Psychological Association, up to one in seven new mothers will face postpartum depression, while 9% will have posttraumatic stress disorder, according to Postpartum Support International. 

The pandemic may have worsened the isolation new mothers feel. A May 2022 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found U.S. rates of postpartum depression rose in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While new motherhood was stressful enough in the analog age, women today must contend with social media, which increases feelings of isolation. A June 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology said social media users between the ages of 26 and 35 reported higher rates of loneliness. That’s in line with Dr. Gow’s study, which noted 39% of Instagram’s monthly active users are women between the ages of 18 and 44. And nearly two-thirds of them – 63% – log onto the platform daily.

“The postpartum phase can feel very isolated, and being vocal about the postpartum shifts that all mothers go through helps set expectations and normalize the experience for those of us who are post partum,” says Catie de Montille, 36, a mother of two in Washington, D.C. 
 

Instagram sets the wrong expectations

Instagram sets unreasonable expectations for new mothers, Dr. Gow and her colleagues found in their study. 

She and her fellow researchers analyzed 600 posts that used #postpartumbody, a hashtag that had been posted on Instagram more than 2 million times by October 2022. Other hashtags like #mombod and #postbabybody have been used 1.9 million and 320,000 times, respectively.

Of the 600 posts, 409 (68%) focused on a woman as the central image. The researchers analyzed those 409 posts to find out if they reflected women’s post-childbirth reality.

They found that more than 9 in 10 posts (91%) showed women who appeared to have low body fat (37%) or average body fat (54%). Only 9% showed women who seemed to be overweight. And the researchers also found just 5% of images showed features commonly associated with a postpartum body, like stretch marks or scars from cesarean sections. 

Women need to be aware that “what is posted on Instagram may not be realistic and is not representative of the vast majority of women in the postpartum period,” Dr. Gow says. 

The images also did not portray women as physically strong.

Dr. Gow’s team examined 250 images for signs of muscularity. More than half, 52%, showed few or no defined muscles. That finding came even though more than half of the original 409 images showed women in fitness attire (40%), underwear (8%), or a bathing suit (5%).

According to Emily Fortney, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in Sacramento, Calif., the study shows that health care workers must work harder to set expectations for new moms. 

“This is a deeper issue of how women are overall portrayed in the media and the pressure we face to return to some unrealistic size,” she says. “We need to be encouraging women to not focus on photos, but to focus on the postpartum experience in an all-encompassing way that includes both physical and mental health.”
 

Childbirth as an illness to overcome? 

While retail brands from Nike to Versace have begun to show a wider range of female shapes in advertisements and on the runway, postpartum women seem to be left out of this movement. Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers referred to a 2012 study that examined images in popular Australian magazines and concluded these photos likened the pregnant body to an illness from which women needed to recover. 

The images posted on Instagram indicate that belief is still pervasive. The images of postpartum women in fitness clothes suggest “that women want to be seen to be exercising as a means of breaking the ‘hold’ that pregnancy had on them or ‘repairing’ their postpartum body,” Dr. Gow and her fellow researchers say. 

New Orleans resident Sydney Neal, 32, a mother of two who gave birth to her youngest child in November 2021, said social media helped shape her view of what “recovery” would be like.

While Ms. Neal said some celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, a mother of two, have “kept it very real” on Instagram, she also “saw a lot of women on social media drop [their weight] quickly and post as if they were back to normal much faster than 6 months.”
 

Body-positive tools for new moms 

Dr. Gow is continuing to study this topic. Her team is currently doing a study that will ask women about social media use, how they feel about their bodies, and how their beliefs change after viewing images tagged with #postpartumbody. (Women with children under the age of 2 can access the survey here.) 

Because of the unrealistic images, Dr. Gow and her team said Instagram may not be a good tool for sharing health information with new moms.

But there are other options. 

Ms. de Montille, whose children were born in 2020 and 2022, used apps like Back to You and Expectful, and she follows Karrie Locher, a postpartum and neonatal nurse and certified lactation counselor, on Instagram. She said these tools focus on the mind/body connection, which “is better than focusing on the size of your jeans.” 

Women also should be able to turn to trusted health care professionals.

“Providers can start speaking about the romanticization of pregnancy and motherhood starting in prenatal care, and they can start speaking more about social media use and the pros and cons of use specifically in the perinatal period,” says Dr. Fortney. “This opens the door to a discussion on a wide range of issues that can actually help assess, prevent, and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.”

Ms. Neal, the mother of two in New Orleans, said she wished her doctor had talked to her more about what to expect after giving birth. 

“I don’t really know how to crack the body image nut, but I think starting in a medical setting might be helpful,” she says.

A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.