Mum's heart risks linked to risks in newborn bubs

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-06 01:00

International

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Mum’s risk of heart disease could be linked to heart disease risks in her baby, according to chinese researchers who say their findings could improve screening and management in these at-risk mums and bubs. The team looked at data from over 14,000 pregnant women and their 15,677 children and found that mum’s heart disease was linked with higher risks of heart defects in her babies, especially septal defects (such as a hole in the heart). Kids with congenital heart disease were more likely to be preterm births when their mums themselves had congenital heart disease. Meanwhile, mums with acquired heart disease (not from birth), saw higher risk of chromosomal and genetic abnormalities in their babies.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, China

Funder: This research was funded by grant 82304115 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Dr Qu), grant GDPH-KD022021034 from the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (Dr Chen), grant KY012025119 from the WHO collaborating center support funding (Dr Chen), and grants DFJH201802 and KJ012019424 from Guangdong peak project (Dr Zhuang). Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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