Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I am somehow not surprised

Having a baby makes mom's body turn on itself: Pregnancy may trigger autoimmune disorders, researchers say
The question of whether pregnancy might help trigger these diseases has been debated for years. To shed light on the controversy, investigators analyzed medical records of more than 1 million women in Denmark born between 1962 and 1992. Of these, 43.4 percent had not been pregnant, 44.3 percent had their first pregnancy delivered conventionally, 7.6 percent had their first pregnancy delivered via cesarean section, and 4.1 percent had abortions. (The numbers do not quite add up because the women who had abortions did not all say whether they had other pregnancies.)

Of the approximately 1 million investigated, 25,570 developed autoimmune diseases. The researchers found that in the first year after conventional deliveries or cesarean sections, women had a 15 or 30 percent greater risk, respectively, of contracting such disorders. Surprisingly, this risk appeared 30 percent lower in the first year following abortion.

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