A number of factors can affect the health of pregnant people and their babies. These factors can sometimes increase or decrease the risk of preterm birth or other complications.

​

"Risk Factors" are generally thought to be those that increase a person's risk for an outcome like preterm birth. 

​

"Protective Factors" are generally thought to decrease a person's risk for an outcome like preterm birth.

​

HELLO EGG founders and partners recently published data on patterns of preterm birth and related risk and protective factors in the journal JAMA Open.

Click on this link to read this study entitled:

​

You can also read related commentary by clicking on this link:  

​

While our discussion of risk and protection is largely driven by this recent article and related research from the group and others over the past decade, there are other risk and protective factors that are not discussed in detail here and are not measured by the HELLO EGG Healthy Pregnancy Questionnaire (HPQ). It is critical that you discuss your health with your prenatal provider and develop a plan together for addressing risk and having your healthiest pregnancy possible.

​

Information provided through this site and HELLO EGG is for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as health advice.

​

Risk Factors

Some risk factors for preterm birth and related complications are addressable through interventions and some are more helpful for understanding risk but do not have specific known interventions. For example, managing hypertension and stopping smoking are examples of factors with clear interventions, while a factor like years of education does not have a clear intervention attached to it but may be associated with some increased risk.

​

It's also important to note that some social factors affect pregnancy health including racial identity and associated experiences of racism and discrimination as well as income and place of birth, which have strong influences on the type of services and resources available to a person. You can read more about social determinants of health and "mommy blaming" HERE.

Below are a list of risk factors for preterm birth where a substantial amount of research has been done showing that each factor is associated with increased risk across populations. There are many additional risk factors not outlined here. More information about preterm birth and risk factors can be found on the websites of the CDC and the US National Institute of Health.​

It is critical that all pregnant women and expectant mothers be seeing a prenatal provider who can help them better understand their pregnancy health and risk. Prenatal providers are able to work with women and expectant mothers to develop a personalized care plan that is specific to their needs. 

​

You can search for a provider and other resources in your community on the EGG HP website HERE.