Childbearing women are used to receiving the majority of perinatal care and concern, making decisions about fundamental lifestyle factors that dramatically change their daily experiences. From sushi to nail polish, women are bombarded with messaging that what they put in and on their bodies during their fertile years could impact future children. This focus is shifting to include men as new research on the sperm quality emerges, suggesting that men might want to consider their future progeny just as seriously.
According to the CDC, preeclampsia affects 5-7% of all pregnancies and is a leading cause of maternal morbidity. In the United States, the rate of preeclampsia in Black women is 60% higher than White women, and Black women are more likely to have adverse outcomes. While current medical practices focus primarily on maternal health history and wellness when assessing preeclampsia risk, emerging research suggests we need to be considering paternal factors as well. Traditional measures of sperm health—motility, morphology, volume, and count— are only a glimpse into cellular functionality. Should we be looking more closely at the paternal partner's lifestyle and habits? It appears so.
We already know that paternal genetic material plays an important role in placental development, but until recently, there was no information on the role of the paternal genetic material on pregnancy conditions, like blood pressure. In a study published in November of 2024, researchers found that irregularities and abnormalities in the methylation of epigenetic DNA in sperm was linked to prenatal preeclampsia, as well as low birth weight (Nair, 2024). Methylation is a natural process that our bodies undergo constantly, but factors such as vitamin B12 and folate deficiency, stress, inadequate exercise, alcohol consumption and heavy metal exposure can lead to irregularities. These are common considerations for a woman preparing for pregnancy, but this study is the first to look at the impact of the paternal methylation levels and their role in the health of the pregnancy.
With this new perspective, you might want to talk to your male partners and friends about how they are planning to prepare for conception in order to improve pregnancy outcomes. This more comprehensive approach to reproductive health could be particularly valuable in addressing the disparities in preeclampsia rates and ultimately lead to healthier pregnancies for all families.
Nair, S., Khambata, K., Warke, H., Bansal, V., Patil, A., Ansari, Z., & Balasinor, N. H. (2024). Methylation aberrations in partner spermatozoa and impaired expression of imprinted genes in the placentae of early-onset preeclampsia. Placenta, 158, 275-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2024.10.068
Dawson, E. L. (2022). Preeclampsia, genomics and Public Health. Genomics and Public Health Blog - Archive. https://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/2022/10/25/preeclampsia/