"Something as simple as taking a lowdose aspirin every day may protect pregnant women from the lifethreatening condition known as preeclampsia new research suggests. Preeclampsia is one of the most serious complications of pregnancy with a high risk of death for the mother and baby said senior study author Dr. Kypros Nicolaides. He is a professor of fetal medicine at Kings College Hospital in London. But he added This condition is to a great extent preventable. The new study looked at an aspirin dose of  milligrams mg per day because some past studies with smaller daily doses of aspirin have produced conflicting results according to Nicolaides. A baby aspirin dose is  milligrams. In those studies using smaller doses the reduction in preeclampsia risk hovered around  percent he said but the higher dose in this latest study was linked to a  percent reduction in risk.  Preeclampsia is a serious high blood pressure disorder. It can affect all of the organs in a womans body according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG. The exact cause of the disorder is unknown but certain risk factors make it more likely to occur including  A past history of preeclampsia  Being pregnant with more than one baby  Having longstanding high blood pressure  Having chronic conditions such as type  or type  diabetes autoimmune disease and kidney problems. Dr. Mitchell Kramer chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Huntington Hospital in New York said hed add women who are severely obese and women whove had babies who had restricted growth to the list of women at high risk of preeclampsia.  ACOG already recommends that women who are at high risk of preeclampsia take a lowdose baby aspirin beginning between  and  weeks of pregnancy. About  women completed the doubleblind placebocontrolled study. Just under  were randomly put into the daily aspirin group while just over  were placed in the placebo group. The women came from  different maternity hospitals across Europe and Israel. Instead of relying solely on standard risk factors the researchers combined those risk factors with measurements of maternal blood flow blood pressure and two hormones produced by the placenta. They used an algorithm they designed to combine all those factors to select women who they believed were at a high risk of preeclampsia.  Between  and  weeks the women began taking a daily  mg aspirin or a placebo. They continued taking the pills until they were  weeks pregnant or sooner if they delivered the baby early.  Just  women in the aspirin group developed preeclampsia while  women in the placebo group developed the complication the findings showed.  The reduction in risk was even greater for early deliveries. Women who delivered at less than  weeks were  percent less likely to have preeclampsia if they were taking  mg of aspirin Nicolaides said.  There were no serious side effects for expectant mothers or adverse events for the babies related to aspirin use during pregnancy the researchers noted.  However as with all drugs women should talk to their doctor about the use of aspirin in pregnancy before taking up this regimen because aspirin does increase the risk for bleeding. Nicolaides said the aspirin may help improve blood flow from the mother to the placenta.  According to Kramer This randomized study concludes that aspirins use is not only effective for reducing the incidence of preeclampsia at term but also preterm. This is important because it will reduce the need for preterm delivery which is risky for the baby.  Lowdose aspirin can also help reduce the chances of eclampsia which is seizures due to preeclampsia for highrisk women Kramer noted. The study is scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the Fetal Medicine Foundation meeting in Slovenia. The findings were also published simultaneously in a special online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. More information To learn more about preeclampsia visit the March of Dimes http SOURCES Kypros Nicolaides M.D. professor fetal medicine Kings College Hospital London Mitchell Kramer M.D. chairman department of obstetrics and gynecology Huntington Hospital Huntington N.Y. June   presentation Fetal Medicine Foundation meeting Slovenia June   New England Journal of Medicine online"