Mother's Health Struggles May Pose a Risk for Her Children: Study Reveals - Video

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity are at a higher risk of giving birth to smaller babies in terms of birth weight, length, and head circumference, according to a recent study conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

In the study, 390 children born to women with PCOS were compared to around 70,000 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

The researchers found that on average, the babies born to mothers with PCOS weighed less, were shorter, and had a smaller head circumference at birth. This was particularly the case when the mothers were obese, meaning they had a BMI over 30.

“In women of normal weight who have PCOS, we only find that their children have a lower birth weight compared to women who do not have PCOS. It is the group of children born to mothers with obesity that stands out the most. These babies have lower weight, shorter stature and a smaller head circumference. Obesity places an additional burden on mothers who have PCOS and their children,” said Professor Eszter Vanky at NTNU’s Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine.

“What is unusual is that women who are generally overweight and gain a lot of weight during pregnancy usually have an increased risk of giving birth to large babies. This also applies to women who develop gestational diabetes. On average, women with PCOS have higher BMIs, gain more weight during pregnancy, and 25% of them develop gestational diabetes. However, the outcome is the opposite: these women give birth to babies who are smaller than average. We still don’t know why, but we see that the placenta is affected in these women,” said Vanky.

Researchers explains that even though the placenta in these women is smaller in size, it seems to deliver more nutrients relative to the baby’s body weight compared to a normal placenta. Vanky describes it as a placenta in overdrive.

The researchers have also followed up on some of the children when they reached the age of 7 years.

Reference: Talmo MSA, Fløysand IS, Nilsen GØ, et al. Growth Restriction in the Offspring of Mothers With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430543. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30543