Condoms, short cohabitation tied to preeclampsia. (Limited Exposure to Sperm Antigens).

Los ANGELES -- Women who have lived with their sexual partners for only a few months and used barrier contraceptives may want to use some other form of birth control for a while before trying to get pregnant, to decrease their risk of preeclampsia, Dr. Jon 1. Einarsson said.

Some studies have suggested that women with limited exposure to paternal sperm antigens have a higher risk of developing preeclampsia, but the published data on this are conflicting. New data add support to that theory he said at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The current study is the first to examine whether frequency of intercourse influenced preeclampsia risk, said Dr. Einarsson of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

The rate of intercourse did not affect risk, but women using barrier contraceptive methods were significantly more likely to develop preeclampsia if the couple had cohabited less than 4 months vs. those who had lived together for at least a year.

Investigators matched each of 113 women with preeclampsia with 2 women without preeclampsia by age and parity, interviewed them immediately post partum, and analyzed their medical charts. Among women who did not use a barrier contraceptive, neither the duration of ...