Antenatal Complications Increased With Maternal Multiple Long-Term Conditions

THURSDAY, Aug. 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The risk for antenatal complications is increased in association with maternal multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs), according to a study published in the September issue of The Lancet Public Health.

Lisa Kent, Ph.D., from Queen”s University Belfast in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving pregnant women aged 15 to 49 years to compare antenatal outcomes between women with and without MLTCs across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. MLTCs were defined using a list of 79 health conditions developed with input from women and clinicians.

Overall, 2,225,701 pregnancies or birth events were examined. The researchers found that women with MLTCs had increased risks for antenatal complications compared with those without MLTCs, including hyperemesis, vomiting, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, obstetric cholestasis, preeclampsia, placental abruption, venous thromboembolism, antenatal anxiety, and depression (adjusted risk ratios, 1.69, 1.61, 1.20, 1.26, 1.18, 1.28, 1.42, 1.32, 2.19, 4.25, and 4.09, respectively). For termination of pregnancy or chorioamnionitis, no significant associations were found. There was an increase in the risk for complications with the number of coexisting conditions.

“Maternity care is still largely organized around single health conditions, but 1 in 5 women now enters pregnancy with two or more,” joint first author Steven Wambua, Ph.D., from King”s College London, said in a statement. “By harmonizing five datasets covering all four U.K. nations, we could show consistently and across a much broader range of outcomes than before, that these women face higher risks and that risk climbs with every additional condition.”

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