barrier contraception and preeclampsia?

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

Can you address the research regarding the relationship between barrier birth control methods and incidence of preeclampsia? Thank you for this information.

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

There have been some papers on the relationship between prior maternal exposure to sperm and the risk of preeclampsia. In general, increased exposure seems to decrease the risk. Thus women having used diaphragms or condoms are suggested to be at greater risk. Those with greater sperm exposure are at less.

The size of the risk effect that has been reported is small. The suggested association has the potential to be confounded by by other variables that these two groups of women have in common. For instance, if those with greater sperm exposure had greater exposure to smoking (a known exposure that decreases the risk of preeclampsia) then it would seem that sperm exposure was the cause.