Women with polycystic ovary syndrome should be considered as high risk pregnancies

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) should be given better monitoring during pregnancy researchers say.

The disorder, which leaves women with small cysts around the edge of their ovaries affects between 5 – 15 per cent of the female population.

Symptoms included problems with ovulation, periods, weight gain and fertility.

Now, researchers in Sweden are calling for women with the condition to be better motored through pregnancy as they are more likely to have a premature birth, pregnancy diabetes and pre-eclampsia.

The research, published on the British Medical Journal website, studied data on 3,787 births among women with polycystic ovary syndrome and 1,191,336 births among women without.

Results showed women with the condition more likely to be obese, were 45 per cent more likely to get pre-eclampsia and more than twice as likely to give birth early.

The babies themselves were also found more likely to develop asphyxia during labour.

Professor Nick Macklon from the University of Southampton, says: “It is clear that women with polycystic ovary syndrome should be considered “high risk” obstetric patients and that midwives, general practitioners, and obstetricians should monitor these women as such.”