Living with Pregnancy & Maternal Health

Questions clinicians ask

What does the evidence show about vertical transmission of hepatitis C in pregnant patients who use opioids?

Pregnant patients with chronic hepatitis C can transmit HCV to their infants during pregnancy or delivery. The brief addresses this risk specifically in opioid-using mothers, a population in whom maternal HCV infection and infant follow-up are important clinical considerations.

Can preeclampsia be identified before symptoms, and can it first appear after delivery?

An emerging blood test may help predict preeclampsia risk before clinical symptoms appear, although the brief presents it as a developing approach rather than an established diagnostic standard. Preeclampsia can also begin postpartum, with new hypertension and related organ dysfunction after childbirth.

Is maternal diabetes associated with epilepsy risk in children?

Maternal type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes have been linked to an increased risk of childhood epilepsy. The evidence supports an association across diabetes categories but does not, from the covered brief, establish that maternal diabetes directly causes epilepsy.

What are the long-term mental health implications of prenatal alcohol exposure?

Prenatal alcohol exposure can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a lifelong brain disorder. The covered evidence emphasizes that its mental health effects can persist across the lifespan rather than being limited to infancy or childhood.

Other conditions

• ADHD
• Allergy
• ALS
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Atopic Dermatitis
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Autism
• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer