Prevent Disease.com - Switching Partners Risks Pregnancy Problems



		Switching Partners Risks Pregnancy Problems Women whose second child is fathered by a different man than the first have double the risk of a having a preterm or small baby, Norwegian researchers stated. In what is thought to be the first study looking into the impact of switching partners between the first two births, scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim found it could influence the pregnancy and birth. "Low birthweight, preterm birth and infant deaths were significantly higher among women who had changed partners from the first to the second birth, compared to women who had the same partner for both children," Professor Lars Vatten, of the University of Science and Technology, said in an interview. Vatten and his colleagues, who studied data from the Norwegian birth registry of nearly 500,000 women over a 30-year period, said they do not know why there is an increased risk of a preterm birth but they believe lifestyle factors could be involved. "We speculate that women who change partners may have a different lifestyle from women who have the same partner for a first and second child," said Vatten. He added they could be more likely to smoke and drink alcohol during the pregnancy and could have poorer nutrition which could affect the unborn child. The study covered a period from 1967 when about three percent of women in the study had two children fathered by different men to the end of 1998 when the percentage had risen to about 10 percent. "It has to do with divorce and societal changes. People tend to get divorced much more often now than before and women have children with different partners because of that," Vatten added. Babies who have a low birthweight or who are born premature have a higher chance of developing respiratory problems and other medical complications because of their size and underdeveloped lungs. Medical studies have also shown that small babies have a higher risk of suffering from heart disease as they grow older. Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".