“This nationwide study of pregnant women with MASLD confirms that MASLD should be regarded as a high-risk obstetric condition, carrying significant implications for pregnancy care,” the authors write. “Reassuringly, MASLD was not associated with abnormal birth weight parameters or other severe end points, such as neonatal death or stillbirth.”
A recent study published in eClinicalMedicine highlights that pregnant women with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) face a significantly increased risk of preterm birth. Analyzing Swedish registry data, researchers found that women with biopsy-confirmed MASLD had a preterm birth rate of 16.7%, compared to 4.7% in matched controls. This elevated risk persisted even when compared to overweight or obese women without MASLD, suggesting that the liver disease itself contributes to the risk, independent of body mass index.
The study also noted a higher incidence of cesarean sections among women with MASLD; however, this association was not significant when compared to overweight or obese controls. Importantly, MASLD was not linked to adverse outcomes such as low Apgar scores, congenital malformations, stillbirth, or neonatal death.
Given these findings, the researchers recommend that MASLD be considered a high-risk obstetric condition. They suggest that pregnant women with MASLD receive close monitoring throughout pregnancy to mitigate potential complications.
For more detailed information, the full article is here: Physician’s Weekly.