Pregnant women with obesity face an increased risk of complications, including the need for a cesarean section, which carries its own set of risks. A University of Oklahoma physician-researcher recently earned a $3.1 million National Institutes of Health grant to lead a multicenter national clinical trial studying whether antibiotics given at the beginning of labor induction result in a decrease in C-sections.
The trial is thought to be the first large-scale study of its kind in the United States. Today, 40% of American women are obese when they become pregnant, and they have health problems that make them more likely to require delivery before their due date, typically at 39 weeks. Sometimes, a C-section is necessary, but it can cause other problems, such as wound infections and a higher risk of bleeding.
Because labor inductions have increased along with the rise in obesity, we need a way to minimize C-sections so the mother can have the lowest risk for complications. We are conducting this study with first-time mothers with obesity because they have the highest risk for a C-section." Stephanie Pierce, M.
D., study principal investigator, OU Health maternal-fetal medicine specialist and associate professor in the OU College of Medicine Pierce was awarded the grant after the success of her pilot study demonstrating that antibiotics given at the start of labor induction to first-time pregnant women with obesity resulted in a 27% lower C-section delivery rate. That study was pu.