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If the idea of spending your pregnancy lying on the sofa fills you with dread, you’re not alone. While many pregnant women take comfort in resting up ahead of baby’s arrival – and with some women having to do so for medical reasons, such as pre-eclampsia – others prefer to keep active during pregnancy.
Only about 40 percent of women who gave birth in the United States in 2019 had good heart health before the pregnancy, according to research published today in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association (AHA). The major factors in low pre-pregnancy health noted by researchers included excess weight, hypertension, and diabetes.
The placenta is the nutritive organ for the human fetus. It plays multiple roles in protecting the pregnancy from pathogens, producing the right endocrine milieu, supplying nutrients, and removing wastes. A more interesting role for this organ is the regulation of maternal mood and behavior, thus impacting neonatal well-being.