(Madera, CA) - Preterm birth – delivery before 37 weeks – is known to be one of the leading causes of perinatal mortality. Studies have explored contributing factors to early delivery such as gestational age, sociodemographic and clinical patterns but have lacked consideration to these implications across generations and among ethnic and racial groups. It isn’t until now that we have a closer look at the risk factors and patterns for grandmother-mother-child generations in California’s richly diverse population.
Valley Children’s Dr. Lissa Francois dives into risks of preterm delivery in the study “Cross-generational Contributors to Preterm Birth in California: Singletons Based on Race/Ethnicity,” published in American Journal of Perinatology. The study found the only consistent factor that increases the risk of early delivery in all maternal race and ethnicity groups was high blood pressure.
Dr. Francois is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has been part of the Valley Children’s team since 2016 as a maternal-fetal specialist. Her areas of special interest are hypertensive disorders, diabetes, abnormal placentation, multiple gestation and vascular disorders.