Abstract
Military professionals who deploy to combat operations may encounter hazards that could adversely affect reproductive health. Pregnant women are generally exempt from deployment to military operations; however, exposures to such environments may inadvertently occur. We investigated whether maternal deployment during pregnancy was associated with adverse health outcomes in infants. The United States Department of Defense Birth and Infant Health Registry identified infants born to military service women between 2002 and 2005, and defined their health outcomes at birth and in the first year of life. Multivariable modeling was applied to investigate preterm birth and birth defects among infants, based on maternal deployment experience during pregnancy. Among 63,056 infants born to military women from 2002 to 2005, 22,596 were born to women with deployment experience in support of the current military operations before, during, or after their pregnancy. These included 2941 infants born to women who appeared to have been deployed some time during their first trimester of pregnancy. Compared to infants born to women who deployed at other times, or never deployed, exposed infants were not more likely to be born preterm, diagnosed with a major birth defect, or diagnosed with a malignancy. In this exploratory analysis, infants born to women who inadvertently deployed to military operations during their pregnancy were not at increased risk of adverse birth or infant health outcomes. Future analyses should examine outcomes related to specific maternal exposures during deployment, and outcomes among the growing number of infants conceived after deployment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.