Preface

Adverse pregnancy outcomes are on the rise world-wide, leading to increased perinatal morbidity and mortality. Moreover, pregnancy disorders can lead to disruption in fetal programming. The fetal programming hypothesis suggests that the intrauterine environment during critical periods of organogenesis and tissue growth may permanently alter organ structure and function in an epigenetic manner. Accompanied with this are immense economic and emotional costs. In the course of its research on healthy pregnancy, scientists have made great progress in understanding features of disorders that may occur during pregnancy. These ongoing investigations are important to find ways to treat and prevent these disorders to support women in having healthy pregnancies and babies.

Since 1989, when David Barker showed an inverse relationship between birth weight and mortality due to adult ischemic heart disease, the role of prenatal programming, and by consequence pregnancy disorder, as a determinant of adult diseases has become increasingly clear. While epidemiological evidence for the role of early developmental growth patterns leading to specific adult disease outcomes has continued to strengthen, experimental evidence from animal models has brought new and compelling support for this important determinant of health throughout lifetime.

This eBook aims at providing readers with the latest research on the current state of knowledge related to pregnancy disorders that affect fetal development and possibly fetal programming. This eBook contains eight reviews by experts who are working in this burgeoning area of integrative physiology is an attempts to unite nature and nurture. We trust it to be useful to all of those who have an interest in unraveling the mysteries of life. We believe that better management of pregnancy today will have long term and wide-scale effects on the health of our society.