Overweight pregnant women at higher risk of blood clot

London, Feb 20: Overweight women are more likely to face greater risk of blood clot in lungs during pregnancy, researchers say.

Obese women are more likely to have a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to problems with their blood circulation which gets aggravated when they conceive. Obesity increases the risk of developing a pulmonary embolism -- a blood clot which travels to the lungs -- by as much as 165 per cent, according to the research conducted on 229 maternity units.''Overweight and obese pregnant women are at particular risk, with more than two and a half times increased risk compared with women of normal weight,'' Daily Times qouted Marian Knight from the University of Oxford as saying.

Women, their doctors and midwives should be aware of the risk factors for blood clotting. Even a previous pregnancy could pose a major risk factor.

''This is an especially important observation given the increasing prevalence of obesity in our population,'' added Dr Knight.

UNI