According to WHO, around 15% of pregnant women will develop an obstetric complication
Researchers from the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh have revealed that the majority of women who have survived cancer are at low risk of developing obstetric complications.
The study published in the Lancet Oncology was funded by Children with Cancer UK, the Brain Tumour Charity and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Currently the most prevalent cancer in the UK, breast cancer affects around 55,000 women every year.
According to the World Health Organization, around 15% of all pregnant women will develop a potentially life-threatening obstetric complication, including pyrexia and sepsis intrapartum haemorrhage, in pregnancy and childbirth and some will require a major obstetrical intervention to survive.
After analysing data from almost 100,000 female survivors of cancer who had been diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 39 years between 1971 and 2006, approximately 21,437 births had been recorded among 13,886 women who had survived cancer between 1997 and 2022, which was 32% lower than in the general population.
In addition, among the 27 complications investigated, data from the study showed that most expectant mothers saw a low likelihood of developing a complication in pregnancy or during birth and other specific cancers, including bladder, kidney, cervix or ovary cancer, carried a low risk of multiple complications, while leukaemia, cervical and breast cancers showed an increased risk.
Researchers have recommended that formal guidelines be introduced to ensure that cancer survivors can receive support and the results will help obstetricians identify those at higher risk of complications during pregnancy by offering enhanced monitoring and interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes.
Dr Raoul Reulen, lead senior author of the paper, Institute of Applied Public Health, University of Birmingham, commented: “Our findings suggest that cancer survivors who didn’t have cervical cancer or leukaemia can feel reassured about their risks going into pregnancy, as they do not greatly differ from the risks in the general public for the majority of obstetric complications.”

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2024/june/obstetric-complications.html