Women who develop kidney stones during pregnancy have nearly double the risk of preterm delivery as compared to pregnant women who do not. However, the overall incidence of kidney stones in pregnancy is quite low. American researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, conducted a study in which they compared the records of 2,239 pregnant women with kidney stones between 1987 and 2003 to randomly selected pregnant women without stones. The records were linked with birth certificate records. The incidence of kidney stones was 2 admissions per 1,000 deliveries. It was found that women with kidney stones had an 80-percent increased risk of preterm delivery. However, there was no connection found between stones and low birth weight or infant death. Also, 26 percent of the women with kidney stones underwent interventions while pregnant. The risk of preterm delivery was not linked with the intervention or with the trimester of admission for kidney stones. Although there is reticence to perform surgical procedures in pregnant women, the findings did not show a change in the risk of preterm delivery in those receiving surgical intervention. Nonetheless, the relationship between kidney stones in pregnant and preterm delivery may prompt urologists to treat small, asymptomatic stones more aggressively in women during their reproductive years.
Obstetrics & Gynecology,
May 2007