A study in Gastroenterology examined endoscopy's effects on pregnant women.
Researchers performed a population-based cohort study examining 3,052 pregnant women who had endoscopies. Using the Swedish Medical Birth Registry and the Swedish Patient Registry, they calculated adjusted relative risks for pregnancy's adverse outcomes according to endoscopy status.
Here's what they found.
1. Exposure to endoscopy during pregnancy causes an increased risk of preterm birth, but not congenital malformation or stillbirth.
2. None of the 15 stillbirths that occurred happened less than two weeks after endoscopy.
3. Comparing births by the same mother, where she underwent an endoscopy for only one birth, there was no association between endoscopy and gestational age or birth weight.
Researchers concluded, "In a nationwide population-based cohort study, we found endoscopy during pregnancy to be associated with increased risk of preterm birth or small for gestational age, but not of congenital malformation or stillbirth. However, these risks are small and likely due to intrafamilial factors or disease activity."