Aspirin can prevent a life-threatening pregnancy complication. Why don't we tell women this?

Baby aspirin is routinely prescribed to people who survive a heart attack. But there is another vulnerable group who benefits from a low daily dose of aspirin: pregnant women who are at risk of developing pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening high blood pressure condition.

But not enough pregnant women. We hear that low-dose aspirin can help. Now, leading experts hope to change that.

ImageCredit...Gary Cameron/Reuters

Story: Aspirin reduces the risk of certain complications.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential group of experts that issues national guidelines, has recommended for 10 years that women at risk of pre-eclampsia start taking aspirin for babies when they are 12 weeks pregnant.

Both U.S. organizations The College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine support the recommendation, saying that Low-dose aspirin is safe and unlikely to cause complications. The optimal time to start is before 16 weeks of pregnancy, although it can be initiated later, the groups advise.

People at risk of developing pre-eclampsia include anyone who had preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy, as well as those carrying twins, triplets, or other multiples; those with kidney disease, autoimmune disease, type 1 or type 2 diabetes; and those with chronic hypertension.

A pregnant woman may also be at risk if she is pregnant for the first time, is 35 years or older, has an index of body mass greater than 30, or has a family history of pre-eclampsia.

Taking aspirin reduces the risk of pre-eclampsia by 15 percent, while reducing the risk of premature birth by 20 percent. and reduce the risk of another complication, intrauterine growth restriction, by 18%, studies show.