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The gestational timing of pregnancy loss: Adaptive strategy?
Author(s) -
Baird Donna Day
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.20935
Subject(s) - pregnancy , hum , luteal phase , corpus luteum , gestation , medicine , gestational age , intrauterine growth restriction , obstetrics , biology , history , genetics , performance art , art history
This commentary links early pregnancy milestones (rescue of the corpus luteum, the luteal‐placental shift, and blocking of the spiral arteries) with the pattern of gestation‐specific pregnancy loss in humans. The objective is to describe the pattern and present an adaptive hypothesis: that high first trimester pregnancy loss results from selection to reduce the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality associated with human delivery. Specific questions within the broad framework of this hypothesis can be addressed with research in comparative physiology and endocrinology. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. Published 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.