Aspirin for the Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Low-dose aspirin (LDA) has been used for several years for the prevention of preeclampsia (PE). LDA started in early pregnancy is associated with improvement of placental implantation. The best evidence suggests that LDA can prevent more than half of PE cases in high-risk women when started before 16 weeks of gestation. Moreover, LDA started in early pregnancy reduces the risk of other placenta mediated complications such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and perinatal death. The efficacy of LDA has been demonstrated in women with abnormal first-trimester uterine artery Doppler or with prior history of chronic hypertension or preeclampsia.