Preeclampsia and Stem Cell Research: The Parent’s Perspective

Preeclampsia is a disorder of the placenta that complicates 5-8% of all pregnancies worldwide and is the leading cause of maternal death in the developed world. It’s also the leading cause of fetal growth restriction and there’s no cure except to deliver the baby. Due to this fact preeclampsia is the number one cause of induced preterm delivery in the U.S. Babies that survive often spend months in neonatal intensive care and have many complications and increase risk for heart disease and diabetes later in life. In this video Silvia Michelazzi, a preeclampsia survivor, and her husband Dr. Matteo Moretto-Zito share their daughter’s birth story. CIRM grantee Dr. Mana Parast, a UCSD perinatal pathologist who is working on finding a preeclampsia treatment, introduces the couple.