Daily beetroot juice may help support kidney health during pregnancy in women with chronic kidney disease, early research suggests.

Pregnancy puts additional strain on the kidneys. Around half of women with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease experience a decline in kidney function while pregnant.

Despite these risks, outcomes for pregnant women with the condition have changed little over the past 30 years.

Many medicines used to manage kidney disease are also unsuitable during pregnancy, meaning women often need to stop taking them for at least nine months.

Researchers at King’s College London examined whether dietary nitrate from beetroot juice could offer a simple and safe way to support kidney function during pregnancy.

Beetroot juice is naturally rich in nitrate, which the body converts into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide widens blood vessels and improves blood flow, which could reduce the strain placed on the kidneys during pregnancy.

The study involved 108 pregnant women with stage 2 to 5 chronic kidney disease across eight UK hospitals.

Before reaching 25 weeks of pregnancy, participants were randomly assigned to receive either standard care or a daily beetroot juice supplement containing dietary nitrate.

The study was mainly designed to assess whether a larger clinical trial would be practical. However, the findings also suggested possible benefits for mothers and babies.

Kate Bramham, consultant nephrologist at King’s College Hospital, professor at King’s College London and senior author of the study, said: “For women living with chronic kidney disease, pregnancy has always meant navigating a difficult trade-off between preserving their own health and keeping their baby safe, often with few tools to do both.

“These results are an encouraging first step towards a low-cost, low-risk intervention that could genuinely make a difference for this group of women, who have been underserved by research for far too long.”

Women receiving beetroot juice experienced around 70 per cent fewer serious adverse events overall than those receiving standard care. Of the serious adverse events that occurred, around half affected newborn babies.

Among women with more advanced kidney disease, researchers also observed trends towards better kidney function after pregnancy, fewer newborn admissions to neonatal care and a reduced need for blood pressure medication during pregnancy.

The researchers found no safety concerns linked to beetroot juice supplementation during pregnancy, including no increase in hyperkalaemia, which means unusually high potassium levels in the blood.

There have been concerns that beetroot juice could increase the risk of hyperkalaemia in pregnant women with chronic kidney disease, with some online advice recommending that they avoid it. However, no increase was recorded among women receiving the supplement.

Dr Priscilla Smith, a nephrologist, King’s College London PhD student and first author of the study, said: “Pregnancy can put additional stress on the kidneys, and for women with chronic kidney disease there are currently limited options to protect kidney function during this time.

“Our findings suggest beetroot juice could offer a simple and accessible approach that is safe and worth exploring further.”

The researchers said larger clinical trials are now needed to determine whether beetroot juice can significantly reduce kidney function decline and improve long-term outcomes for mothers and babies.

If confirmed, the intervention could offer an inexpensive and widely available way to support women with chronic kidney disease during pregnancy, when safe treatment options remain limited.

The research was supported by funding from Kidney Research UK.

Dr Andrew Webb, clinical senior lecturer at King’s College London and a co-author of the study, said: “By increasing nitric oxide production, dietary nitrate from beetroot juice may help improve blood vessel function and support kidney health.

“These early findings provide an important foundation for future research into protecting women with chronic kidney disease during pregnancy and their babies.”

Ectopic pregnancy admissions have risen in England since 2021, according to a 20-year analysis of NHS data.

Women in the most deprived areas had more than twice the admission rate of those living in the least deprived communities.

The study was the first 20-year national analysis of NHS England data on the issue.

Dr Nicola Tempest, academic clinical lecturer in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, said: “Pregnancy loss affects millions of women worldwide, yet we know surprisingly little about how its prevalence and impact has changed over time.

“Our research shows that admissions for ectopic pregnancy have continued to rise despite declining birth rates, highlighting an ongoing demand for NHS services.

“Women from the most deprived areas consistently experienced much higher admission rates for both miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, underlining persistent health inequalities.

“Pregnancy loss should be recognised as a major women’s health research priority so we can better understand its causes and develop services that meet women’s needs and address the risk factors that are contributing to these rates.

“Importantly, research must address one of the most common and deeply personal questions women ask after pregnancy loss: ‘Why did this happen to me?’”

Ectopic pregnancy is one of the most common early pregnancy complications, with an estimated 11,000 hospital admissions each year, or around one in every 90 pregnancies.

It occurs when a fertilised egg implants outside the womb. Ectopic pregnancies result in pregnancy loss and can put the mother’s health at risk if the pregnancy continues.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool analysed hospital and maternity services data collected between 2004 and 2024.

Admissions rose significantly from 2004 to 2012, increasing by an average of around three per cent each year.

Rates remained broadly stable from 2012 to 2021 before rising significantly again.

Since 2021, admissions have increased by an average of more than four per cent a year.

The researchers said the recent rise may reflect demographic changes, including women having children later and higher rates of risk factors such as obesity.

Disruption to hospital and maternity services during the Covid-19 pandemic may also have contributed.

The study also found that miscarriage admissions fell significantly between 2018 and 2021. They rose modestly in subsequent years, although the increase was not statistically significant.

A result is statistically significant when researchers consider it unlikely to have occurred through chance alone.

For more than a decade, women in the most deprived communities had more than twice the hospital admission rate for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy compared with those in the least deprived areas.

The researchers pointed to preventable inequalities in health, risk factors and access to care as likely contributors.

Tempest said: “These findings show that where a woman lives continues to have a profound influence on her reproductive health outcomes.

“Ultimately, reducing these inequalities will require an equity-focused approach that combines high-quality clinical care with prevention, education and services designed around the needs of the communities most at risk.

“Behind every admission for pregnancy loss, there is a woman, a family and an unanswered question, our aim and mission is not only to improve the care but also to understand and prevent it.”

A preeclampsia study has found unusual cell activity in mothers and babies that could reveal new targets for treatment.

The condition affects 2 to 4 per cent of pregnancies worldwide and is a leading cause of maternal and foetal mortality.

There is currently no cure, and severe cases can put both the mother and baby at risk.

Scientists from UCL and University College London Hospitals found that stressed placental cells, poorly functioning blood vessels and an overactive immune response all contribute to the condition.

Preeclampsia causes high blood pressure during pregnancy. It can affect blood flow to the baby and cause symptoms such as swelling, headaches, blurred vision and pain under the ribs.

Without treatment, it can damage the mother’s health, slow the baby’s growth and, in severe cases, become life-threatening.

Previous research has focused only on the placenta, the organ that develops during pregnancy to support the baby’s growth, rather than the tissues around it.

The researchers said the findings could reveal new therapeutic targets, which are biological processes that future treatments could be designed to alter.

Senior author professor Sara Hillman, of the UCL EGA Institute for Women’s Health, said: “We studied individual cells from both the mother and the baby to see how their activity changes in healthy pregnancies compared with preeclampsia.

“This helped us to confirm some changes already suspected in the condition and also discover new ones.”

The team studied 20 pregnant women recruited at UCLH, including 10 with severe preeclampsia and 10 without the condition.

They used genomic testing to examine individual cells in the placenta and other tissues where cells from the developing baby and mother come into contact.

Genomic testing examines genetic information to help researchers understand how cells behave and the roles they may play.

The other tissues studied were the myometrium, the muscular layer of the womb, and the chorioamniotic membranes, which surround the baby during pregnancy.

The team compared cells from healthy pregnancies and those affected by preeclampsia at different gestational ages, meaning different stages of pregnancy.

They used technology that can read the genetic information of thousands of individual cells at the same time, allowing them to see what each cell was doing and where it was located in the tissue.

In preeclamptic pregnancies where babies were born prematurely, before 37 weeks, during the third trimester, placental cells showed signs of stress and low oxygen levels.

The cells also did not use energy in the normal way.

Some cells responsible for reshaping the mother’s blood vessels were not working properly, the researchers found, which may affect blood flow to the baby.

There were also signs of an overactive immune response in the placenta, nearby tissues and the mother’s blood.

The researchers said this response, together with other stress molecules released by the placenta, helps explain why preeclampsia affects the whole body and can become serious.

They hope the findings will help researchers find treatments for the condition and potentially save lives.

Co-lead author Dr Yara Sanchez Corrales, of the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said: “These findings point to specific biological processes that could be targeted with treatments. Acting early in pregnancy, especially in more severe early-onset cases, could help improve outcomes and reduce the high risks associated with severe preeclampsia.

“We hope that our findings may set us on the path to reducing premature births and fatalities associated with preeclampsia.”

Co-lead author Mr Theodoros Xenakis, of the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said: “Future studies may provide an even clearer picture of the biological changes linked to the disease by including more participants and using even more precise methods.”