Researchers Find that Accelerated Aging Biology in the Placenta Contributes to a Rare Form of Pregnancy-Related Heart Failure
Blocking senescence or “aging” in the placenta may help prevent or treat this major cause of maternal death.
Patient Education5 Minute ReadNov | 1 | 2016
Zika is a virus spread by a particular type of mosquito (the Aedes species). People who contract Zika often only experience mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes), and four out of five people with Zika will never exhibit any symptoms.
However, Zika infection during pregnancy has been linked to severe birth defects. If you are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with the virus.
While the symptoms experienced by an expectant mother who contracts Zika may be mild, she can transmit the virus to the baby, which is cause for greater concern.
Recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that contracting Zika during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects, such as microcephaly and other brain defects, along with eye abnormalities leading to blindness.
Microcephaly is a birth defect that affects the growth of a baby’s skull and causes children born with this defect to have smaller skulls than is typically expected. This is problematic because it indicates that the baby’s brain has not grown as much as it should have. This lack of growth impacts brain development, and babies with microcephaly can have a number of problems, such as seizures, balance and movement problems, hearing loss, and vision problems.
The best way to protect yourself and your baby from Zika virus during pregnancy is to avoid exposure by staying away from areas where Zika transmission has been reported. While the species of mosquito that transmits Zika virus has been found as far north as New England, at present the areas of greatest concern are Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Check the CDC’s Zika Travel Notices to learn more about specific travel warnings and areas to avoid.
If you must travel to an area where Zika has been detected, take precautions to avoid infection:
If your partner has recently traveled to an area affected by Zika and has been infected, it is a good idea to use condoms for the rest of your pregnancy to ensure that the virus is not passed from your partner to you.
Get more tips from the CDC on how to protect yourself from Zika during pregnancy.
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Blocking senescence or “aging” in the placenta may help prevent or treat this major cause of maternal death.
Like many people who consider freezing their eggs, Lauren was hesitant because of the unknowns that came with the process. She was nervous about self-administering hormone injections at specific times, how her body might feel, and keeping up with follow-up appointments.
Conventional trauma-focused therapies and midwife-led counseling appear most promising.
Non-invasive method has the potential to survey the entire fetal exome without the need for amniocentesis.
Read about what it means to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy in your late 30s or early 40s with insights from Lisa Luther, MD, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
In September 2023, Melissa Nelson, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC , became the chief of the Midwifery Service within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mass General consistently ranks among the best women's health care providers in the country, offering innovative treatments from leading experts in obstetrics, gynecology, infertility, cancer, and urogynecology. Learn more about our department.