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Alison Cowan, MD, ob-gyn hospitalist and head of medical affairs at Mirvie, discusses the latest predictions for women’s health in 2023. From maternal mortality to preterm birth, Cowan dives into what health conditions will be affecting women most in 2023 and how the specialty is trying to combat these issues.

Senior editor Heather Landi spoke with Alison Cowan, M.D., head of medical affairs at personalized pregnancy startup Mirvie and a practicing OB-GYN, about how to improve and modernize the U.S. healthcare system for pregnant women.

Only 1 in 10 survey respondents were able to identify all of the common warning signs of preeclampsia correctly. However, 75% report they have a good understanding of preeclampsia and 59% report discussing their preeclampsia risk with their pregnancy care provider

It is astounding and unacceptable that over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and it should galvanize us all to action. The best cure is prevention, and we should all do everything possible to stop these diseases before they take hold. At Mirvie, we aim to help patients and doctors by providing tools to predict preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications months before they arise.

If OB/GYNs have the technology to determine who is at risk for complications like preeclampsia and preterm birth, they can work with patients and their midwives to create a more tailored pregnancy care plan. Personalized care plans usually lead to better health outcomes for mothers and their newborns, Dr. Cowan pointed out.

In addition to giving patients and their healthcare providers more time to prepare for and begin treating a potentially early birth, according to Michal Elovitz, M.D., chief medical advisor at Mirvie, since the study results shed new light on the underlying biology of preterm birth, the findings could also be used to help develop even more targeted treatments for the condition.

Following compelling clinical results, pregnancy health startup Mirvie is poised to develop noninvasive, RNA-based blood tests that can predict pregnancy complications ahead of their symptoms.

A new blood test performed in the second trimester could help identify pregnancies at risk of early and very early spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), based on a prospective cohort trial. The cell-free RNA (cfRNA) profiling tool could guide patient and provider decision-making, while the underlying research illuminates biological pathways that may facilitate novel interventions.

"Prenatal care as we know it in the U.S. was first developed to primarily diagnose pre-eclampsia, yet these protocols have not changed in over 50 years," said Eleni Tsigas, CEO of the Preeclampsia Foundation. "Mothers and babies deserve more – there is an urgent need for innovation that not only identifies the risk of developing pre-eclampsia early, but also helps bring pregnancy health into the 21st century."

The Mirvie Preeclampsia Test is the first test for early identification of preeclampsia risk months before any clinical presentation of symptoms to receive FDA breakthrough designation, Mirvie said. “This designation shows the FDA recognizes the chasm between what’s available to expecting parents and doctors today and the need for a breakthrough to address this enormous problem,” said Maneesh Jain, CEO and co-founder of Mirvie.