Medtech startup Peripear has won an Innovate UK award for developing a wearable designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.

The Oxford-based company is developing a hands-free warm compress device for use on the perineum during the second stage of labour.

Peripear describes its product as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.

The device is intended to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.

Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant.

The funding will support further product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.

Nina van Schaick, co-founder and chief operating officer of Peripear and midwife, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.

“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.

“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.

 “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.

“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”

Pregnancy complications are linked to greater health-related social needs among Black and Latina women, a study has found.

Adverse pregnancy outcomes include pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, low birth weight and preterm birth.

These complications are associated with risks of further complications, chronic disease and cardiovascular disease, and disproportionately affect Black and Latina women.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham found that adverse pregnancy outcomes among Black and Latina women were also associated with substantially greater health-related social needs.

These included education, transport, food security, financial strain, employment and social support.

The researchers said integrating assessments of social needs into postpartum care could help improve long-term maternal health and reduce disparities.

Michael C. Honigberg, cardiologist and researcher with the Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute and senior author, said: “Pregnancy can offer a critical window of engagement for patients and providers.

“Pregnancy complications should be viewed as an opportunity not only for cardiovascular risk prevention but also for screening for and addressing social needs.”

Honigberg and colleagues from Mass General Brigham’s Heart and Vascular Institute and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology analysed data from the BUSY-BP cohort study.

The study included Black and Latina women recruited from hospitals and health centres affiliated with Mass General Brigham.

Participants completed a screening tool covering their living situation, food, transport, utilities, safety, financial strain, employment, family and community support, education and other needs.

The study included 883 women who had previously been pregnant, including 400 participants, or 45.3 per cent, who had experienced one or more adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Researchers found that the rate of adverse pregnancy outcomes increased as the burden of health-related social needs rose, particularly for needs related to education.

These included help with starting or completing job training, gaining a high school diploma or obtaining a General Educational Development equivalency certificate.

The authors said further research is needed to separate cause and effect and identify interventions based on the findings that could improve health outcomes.

Honigberg said: “Identifying and testing interventions, such as social support programmes that can help women during the postpartum period, will be critical for improving downstream health outcomes for women and babies.”

Phthalates found in plastics and personal care products may be linked to higher blood pressure during pregnancy, a study suggests.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the US.

Higher blood pressure during pregnancy has also been linked to adverse health outcomes for both mothers and children.

While family history and lifestyle are known risk factors, growing evidence suggests exposure to phthalates may also contribute to raised blood pressure during pregnancy.

Phthalates are chemicals found in plastics, personal care products and hundreds of other consumer goods. Some can interfere with the body’s natural hormones.

Kimberly Parra, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said: “Our study suggests that having higher concentrations of personal care products-associated chemicals, known as phthalates, in the body might contribute to elevated blood pressure in pregnancy.

“While our study does not show that phthalates cause high blood pressure during pregnancy, it suggests that reducing exposure to this class of chemicals by limiting personal care products containing these ingredients, particularly those with fragrance, may be a way to address high blood pressure in pregnancy and improve pregnancy health.”

Researchers measured phthalate exposure and blood pressure in 338 pregnant women from the Environmental Reproductive and Glucose Outcomes Study at three points during pregnancy.

They analysed whether higher levels of the chemicals, individually and in combination, were linked to higher blood pressure or an increased risk of pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders.

Women with higher urine concentrations of phthalates associated with fragrances and personal care products had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, markers of increased risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Systolic blood pressure is the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats, while diastolic pressure measures it between beats.

Around 13 per cent of participants developed a pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorder.

Women with higher levels of certain phthalates, particularly those found in personal care products, tended to have higher blood pressure later in pregnancy.

Parra said: “More research is needed to better understand these findings, particularly whether the effects are driven by changes in oestrogen-related pathways. Additional studies should also examine the potential role of other phthalates and their replacement chemicals.”