Changing homes in the first three months of gestation is linked to a greater risk of premature birth. This was revealed by US research published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

The researchers analyzed data on children born in Washington between 2007 and 2014, born of at least 18-year-old mothers. From these, they selected a sample of 30,000 women who had moved in the first three months of pregnancy. Then they compared the data with another 120,000 who had not.

The women in the first group tended to be younger, with a lower cultural level and a lower salary. He was also more likely to be unmarried and to have smoked during gestation. These are all risk factors for the fetus, linked to a greater risk of premature birth and low birth weight. As a result, the researchers took into account all these elements, so as to have the least possible "polluted" data. After eliminating the other potentially detected factors, the scientists verified whether the relocation alone had an effect on pregnancy.

A move in the first quarter is associated with 37% more chances that the child is born underweight and 42% who is born first. Furthermore, in 9.8% of the cases the children were smaller than calculated with prenatal tests.

The data concerns women from all social classes, young and old. However, researchers cannot explain the reason for this phenomenon. It is probably the fault of the stress and physical effort associated with the move.

Source: eurekalert.org