Preventive measures against<unk>  have been heavily studied. Because the pathogenesis of<unk>  is not completely understood, prevention remains a complex issue. Below are some of the currently accepted recommendations. Diet Supplementation with a balanced protein and energy diet does not appear to reduce the risk of<unk> . Further, there is no evidence that changing salt intake has an effect. Supplementation with antioxidants such as vitamin C, D and E has no effect on<unk>  incidence; therefore, supplementation with vitamins C, E, and D is not recommended for reducing the risk of<unk> . Calcium supplementation of at least 1 gram per day is recommended during pregnancy as it prevents<unk>  where dietary calcium intake is low, especially for those at high risk. Higher selenium level is associated with lower incidence of<unk> . Higher cadmium level is associated with higher incidence of<unk> . Aspirin Taking aspirin is associated with a 1 to 5% reduction in<unk>  and a 1 to 5% reduction in premature births in women at high risk. The World Health Organization recommends low-dose aspirin for the prevention of<unk>  in women at high risk and recommends it be started before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends a low-dose regimen for women at high risk beginning in the 12th week. Benefits are less if started after 16 weeks. The more recent study ASPRE, beside its performance in identifying suspected women to develop<unk> , has also been able to demonstrate a strong drop in the rate of early<unk>  (-82%) and preterm<unk>  (-62%). Such efficacy of aspirin has been reached due to high performing screening to identify at high risk women, adjusted prophylaxis dosage (150 mg/day), timing of the intake (bedtime) and must start before week 16 of pregnancy. Physical activity There is insufficient evidence to recommend either exercise or strict bedrest as preventive measures of<unk> . Smoking cessation In low-risk pregnancies, the association between cigarette smoking and a reduced risk of<unk>  has been consistent and reproducible across epidemiologic studies. High-risk pregnancies (those with pregestational diabetes, chronic hypertension, history of<unk>  in a previous pregnancy, or multifetal gestation) showed no significant protective effect. The reason for this discrepancy is not definitively known; research supports speculation that the underlying pathology increases the risk of<unk>  to such a degree that any measurable reduction of risk due to smoking is masked. However, the damaging effects of smoking on overall health and pregnancy outcomes outweighs the benefits in decreasing the incidence of<unk> . It is recommended that smoking be stopped prior to, during and after pregnancy. Immune modulation Some studies have suggested the importance of a woman's gestational immunological tolerance to her baby's father, as the baby and father share genetics. There is tentative evidence that ongoing exposure either by vaginal or oral sex to the same semen that resulted in the pregnancy decreases the risk of<unk> . As one early study described, "although<unk>  is a disease of first pregnancies, the protective effect of multiparity is lost with change of partner". The study also concluded that although women with changing partners are strongly advised to use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, "a certain period of sperm exposure within a stable relation, when pregnancy is aimed for, is associated with protection against<unk> ". Several other studies have since investigated the decreased incidence of<unk>  in women who had received blood transfusions from their partner, those with long preceding histories of sex without barrier contraceptives, and in women who had been regularly performing oral sex. Having already noted the importance of a woman's immunological tolerance to her baby's paternal genes, several Dutch reproductive biologists decided to take their research a step further. Consistent with the fact that human immune systems tolerate things better when they enter the body via the mouth, the Dutch researchers conducted a series of studies that confirmed a surprisingly strong correlation between a diminished incidence of<unk>  and a woman's practice of oral sex, and noted that the protective effects were strongest if she swallowed her partner's semen. A team from the University of Adelaide has also investigated to see if men who have fathered pregnancies which have ended in miscarriage or<unk>  had low seminal levels of critical immune modulating factors such as TGF-beta. The team has found that certain men, dubbed "dangerous males", are several times more likely to father pregnancies that would end in either<unk>  or miscarriage. Among other things, most of the "dangerous males" seemed to lack sufficient levels of the seminal immune factors necessary to induce immunological tolerance in their partners. As the theory of immune intolerance as a cause of<unk>  has become accepted, women who with repeated<unk> , miscarriages, or in vitro fertilization failures could potentially be administered key immune factors such as TGF-beta along with the father's foreign proteins, possibly either orally, as a sublingual spray, or as a vaginal gel to be applied onto the vaginal wall before intercourse.
Pre-eclampsia
Eclampsia
Early pregnancy bleeding
Hypertensive disease of pregnancy
Gestational hypertension
Gestational diabetes
Antepartum bleeding
Recurrent miscarriage