Story by:<\/h2>\n\n- Susanne Clara Bard\n
\t\t\t –
\n\t\t\t scbard@ucsd.edu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Help](\"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/research-giving-bug-mobile.jpg\")
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/research-giving-bug-desktop.jpg\")
\n![\"Magazine](\"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Discoveries2026-frontcover-scaled.png\")
\nExplore the 2026 IssueDiscoveries Magazine<\/p>\n
Published Date<\/h2>\n
August 19, 2026<\/p>\n
Story by:<\/h2>\n\n- Susanne Clara Bard\n
\t\t\t –
\n\t\t\t scbard@ucsd.edu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Explore the 2026 IssueDiscoveries Magazine<\/p>\n
Article Content<\/h2>\n
This story is from the 2026 issue of Discoveries, a UC San Diego Health Sciences magazine<\/p>\n
As a first-timeparent-to-be, 30-year-old Sarah Cleveland wanted an unmedicated vaginal delivery but felt nervous about it. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who has given birth without medication,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like I needed to do something to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her anxiety was justified. Pelvic floor disorders stemming from lacerations and nerve damage during delivery are a little-known but painful reality for some birthing parents, often resulting in incontinence, chronic pain, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though they\u2019re not life\u2011threatening, these disorders are debilitating,\u201d saidLindsey Burnett, MD, PHD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (OBGYN & RS) in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Pelvic Health After Birth Program at UC San Diego Health. \u201cPelvic muscles get stretched to over 300% of their resting length during vaginal delivery; any other muscle in your body would be irreversibly damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Burnett, very little is known about the biology of pelvic floor disorders and how to prevent them, so she teamed up with Ken Loh, PHD, TaylorMade Golf Chancellor\u2019s Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, to investigate whether progressive weight\u2011bearing exercise can protect the pelvic floor. The researchers received a 2025 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine award from the Institute of Engineering in Medicine for their Biomechanical Monitoring for Birth Injury Prevention pilot study.<\/p>\n
When Cleveland heard about it, she signed up right away<\/p>\n
Pelvic floor disorders, like many pregnancy\u2011related conditions, have historically received little research attention<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s health care has traditionally been underfunded, but UC San Diego is leading innovation to ensure perinatal health gets the focus it deserves,\u201d said OBGYN & RS department chair Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MS<\/p>\n
Burnett and Loh\u2019s study is one of several collaborations between UC San Diego OBGYN & RS and engineering researchers using the power of technology to help bridge the knowledge gap<\/p>\n
Stretching the limits<\/h3>\n
Knowing how detrimental pelvic floor disorders can be, Burnett worked out with weights throughout her own two pregnancies and gave birth with no tearing. She wondered whether weight-bearing exercise can have the same effect on other pregnant women<\/p>\n
\u201cData suggests exercise during pregnancy has many benefits,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cThe question is what kind of exercise is feasible, and how much do you need to make a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
Beginning in the second trimester, Cleveland and her fellow participants work out at a local gym three times a week for 6 weeks under the guidance of professional prenatal fitness trainers<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of stretches and weighted exercises aimed at strengthening our core and our pelvic floor,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
Loh\u2019s lab develops \u201csmart\u201d materials to accurately measure human performance in real time. For the study, his team created wearable sensors by printing nanomaterials directly onto commercial kinesiology tape, which adheres to the inner thigh, glutes and back to track muscle engagement during the exercise sessions<\/p>Lindsey Burnett, MD, PhD (left), co-principal investigator of the Biomechanical Monitoring for Birth Injury Prevention study, leads participant Sarah Cleveland (right) in exercises to strengthen her pelvic floor. She is monitored by wearable sensors. Photo by Erik Jepsen<\/figcaption>The sensors, called Motion Tape, detect minute skin deformations that correlate with muscle contraction and exertion and transmit the data wirelessly to a phone app or laptop<\/p>\n
\u201cMotion Tape is extremely versatile and can be placed anywhere on the body, such as the chest region to measure breathing. We also use a camera\u2011based motion\u2011capture system to document the 3D movement of participants \u2014 data that can be used to optimize exercise regimens,\u201d said Loh<\/p>\n
The pilot study is following participants for 6 weeks postpartum, tracking cesarean versus vaginal delivery rates as well as the impact of the exercises on perineal tearing and pelvic floor strength<\/p>\n
Burnett and Loh hope to expand the study to more participants, with the ultimate goal of providing clinicians with data\u2011driven guidelines for effective prenatal exercise programs. If the sensor\u2011guided workouts prove effective, they can potentially reduce birth\u2011related injuries and empower patients such as Cleveland to approach childbirth with confidence<\/p>\n
Injecting hope<\/h3>\n
While prevention is the ultimate goal, better treatments for pelvic floor injuries are also urgently needed<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are huge gaps in postpartum health research,\u201d said OBGYN & RS ProfessorMarianna Alperin, MD. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how pelvic skeletal muscles recover from injury because almost all of the research is on male animals or leg muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alperin co\u2011directs the UC San Diego Center for Women\u2019s Health Innovations through Scientific Discoveries, Engineering, and Medicine, a research hub that connects engineers, basic scientists and clinicians<\/p>\n
\u201cThe institution is extremely conducive to collaborative efforts between engineers who make technology and clinicians who know what women need,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes UC San Diego unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alperin has collaborated with Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering InnovationKaren Christman,PHD, to develop and test an injectable hydrogel made from muscle-tissue derived extracellular matrix (ECM) to repair the pelvic floor. The hydrogel is one of many biomaterials developed by Christman\u2019s research group. ECM is the 3D framework of proteins and carbohydrates that surrounds tissues and organs.<\/p>\n
Remote monitoring offers a way to protect families<\/a> during those critical weeks at home.<\/blockquote>\u2014 Ukachi Emeruwa, MD, MPH, assistant professor of OBGYN & RS<\/figcaption>\u201cThe hydrogel acts as a scaffold that recruits the body\u2019s own cells and encourages new muscle formation,\u201d said Christman, who co-directs the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute<\/p>\n
In an animal model of simulated birth injury, injecting the hydrogel directly into pelvic floor muscles promoted muscle regeneration and reduced scar tissue. The team plans to seek approval from the FDA to conduct rigorous clinical trials of the hydrogel in postpartum women who show signs of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction \u2014 potentially offering a minimally invasive alternative to surgery<\/p>\n
Predicting preeclampsia<\/h3>\n
While pelvic floor injuries can be debilitating, preeclampsia \u2014 high blood pressure during or after pregnancy \u2014 is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, according to Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RS Marni Jacobs, PHD \u201813<\/p>\n
\u201cPreeclampsia is a very severe complication of pregnancy,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
The condition currently affects up to one in 12 pregnancies in the U.S. but is on the rise. It can lead to preterm birth, stillbirth, maternal organ damage and long\u2011term cardiovascular disease. Complications and death due to preeclampsia can be prevented with better monitoring and treatment, but it remains difficult<\/a> to diagnose and even harder to predict, Jacobs said<\/p>\nResearchers in the School of Medicine\u2019s Division of Maternal and Fetal Health aim to change that through a variety of research initiatives. They\u2019re increasingly embracing emerging technologies, from wearable biometric monitors to 3D bioprinted models of the human placenta, to identify early signs of the disorder<\/p>\n
An early warning system<\/h3>\n
To improve the detection of postpartum preeclampsia and other cardiovascular complications, Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RSUkachi Emeruwa, MD, MPH, launched the WATCH Postpartum Hypertension study, a clinical trial that sends new parents home with a smartwatch equipped with an inflatable blood pressure cuff<\/p>\n
With a single press of a button, the cuff inflates, captures a blood pressure reading and automatically transmits the data to the patient\u2019s electronic medical record. Participants take eight readings a day for 6 weeks to detect the large fluctuations characteristic of postpartum cardiovascular complications and enable rapid intervention if needed<\/p>\n
\t\t\t –
\n\t\t\t scbard@ucsd.edu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\n
\nExplore the 2026 IssueDiscoveries Magazine<\/p>\n
Published Date<\/h2>\n
August 19, 2026<\/p>\n
Story by:<\/h2>\n\n- Susanne Clara Bard\n
\t\t\t –
\n\t\t\t scbard@ucsd.edu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Explore the 2026 IssueDiscoveries Magazine<\/p>\n
Article Content<\/h2>\n
This story is from the 2026 issue of Discoveries, a UC San Diego Health Sciences magazine<\/p>\n
As a first-timeparent-to-be, 30-year-old Sarah Cleveland wanted an unmedicated vaginal delivery but felt nervous about it. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who has given birth without medication,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like I needed to do something to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her anxiety was justified. Pelvic floor disorders stemming from lacerations and nerve damage during delivery are a little-known but painful reality for some birthing parents, often resulting in incontinence, chronic pain, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though they\u2019re not life\u2011threatening, these disorders are debilitating,\u201d saidLindsey Burnett, MD, PHD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (OBGYN & RS) in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Pelvic Health After Birth Program at UC San Diego Health. \u201cPelvic muscles get stretched to over 300% of their resting length during vaginal delivery; any other muscle in your body would be irreversibly damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Burnett, very little is known about the biology of pelvic floor disorders and how to prevent them, so she teamed up with Ken Loh, PHD, TaylorMade Golf Chancellor\u2019s Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, to investigate whether progressive weight\u2011bearing exercise can protect the pelvic floor. The researchers received a 2025 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine award from the Institute of Engineering in Medicine for their Biomechanical Monitoring for Birth Injury Prevention pilot study.<\/p>\n
When Cleveland heard about it, she signed up right away<\/p>\n
Pelvic floor disorders, like many pregnancy\u2011related conditions, have historically received little research attention<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s health care has traditionally been underfunded, but UC San Diego is leading innovation to ensure perinatal health gets the focus it deserves,\u201d said OBGYN & RS department chair Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MS<\/p>\n
Burnett and Loh\u2019s study is one of several collaborations between UC San Diego OBGYN & RS and engineering researchers using the power of technology to help bridge the knowledge gap<\/p>\n
Stretching the limits<\/h3>\n
Knowing how detrimental pelvic floor disorders can be, Burnett worked out with weights throughout her own two pregnancies and gave birth with no tearing. She wondered whether weight-bearing exercise can have the same effect on other pregnant women<\/p>\n
\u201cData suggests exercise during pregnancy has many benefits,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cThe question is what kind of exercise is feasible, and how much do you need to make a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
Beginning in the second trimester, Cleveland and her fellow participants work out at a local gym three times a week for 6 weeks under the guidance of professional prenatal fitness trainers<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of stretches and weighted exercises aimed at strengthening our core and our pelvic floor,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
Loh\u2019s lab develops \u201csmart\u201d materials to accurately measure human performance in real time. For the study, his team created wearable sensors by printing nanomaterials directly onto commercial kinesiology tape, which adheres to the inner thigh, glutes and back to track muscle engagement during the exercise sessions<\/p>Lindsey Burnett, MD, PhD (left), co-principal investigator of the Biomechanical Monitoring for Birth Injury Prevention study, leads participant Sarah Cleveland (right) in exercises to strengthen her pelvic floor. She is monitored by wearable sensors. Photo by Erik Jepsen<\/figcaption>The sensors, called Motion Tape, detect minute skin deformations that correlate with muscle contraction and exertion and transmit the data wirelessly to a phone app or laptop<\/p>\n
\u201cMotion Tape is extremely versatile and can be placed anywhere on the body, such as the chest region to measure breathing. We also use a camera\u2011based motion\u2011capture system to document the 3D movement of participants \u2014 data that can be used to optimize exercise regimens,\u201d said Loh<\/p>\n
The pilot study is following participants for 6 weeks postpartum, tracking cesarean versus vaginal delivery rates as well as the impact of the exercises on perineal tearing and pelvic floor strength<\/p>\n
Burnett and Loh hope to expand the study to more participants, with the ultimate goal of providing clinicians with data\u2011driven guidelines for effective prenatal exercise programs. If the sensor\u2011guided workouts prove effective, they can potentially reduce birth\u2011related injuries and empower patients such as Cleveland to approach childbirth with confidence<\/p>\n
Injecting hope<\/h3>\n
While prevention is the ultimate goal, better treatments for pelvic floor injuries are also urgently needed<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are huge gaps in postpartum health research,\u201d said OBGYN & RS ProfessorMarianna Alperin, MD. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how pelvic skeletal muscles recover from injury because almost all of the research is on male animals or leg muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alperin co\u2011directs the UC San Diego Center for Women\u2019s Health Innovations through Scientific Discoveries, Engineering, and Medicine, a research hub that connects engineers, basic scientists and clinicians<\/p>\n
\u201cThe institution is extremely conducive to collaborative efforts between engineers who make technology and clinicians who know what women need,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes UC San Diego unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alperin has collaborated with Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering InnovationKaren Christman,PHD, to develop and test an injectable hydrogel made from muscle-tissue derived extracellular matrix (ECM) to repair the pelvic floor. The hydrogel is one of many biomaterials developed by Christman\u2019s research group. ECM is the 3D framework of proteins and carbohydrates that surrounds tissues and organs.<\/p>\n
Remote monitoring offers a way to protect families<\/a> during those critical weeks at home.<\/blockquote>\u2014 Ukachi Emeruwa, MD, MPH, assistant professor of OBGYN & RS<\/figcaption>\u201cThe hydrogel acts as a scaffold that recruits the body\u2019s own cells and encourages new muscle formation,\u201d said Christman, who co-directs the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute<\/p>\n
In an animal model of simulated birth injury, injecting the hydrogel directly into pelvic floor muscles promoted muscle regeneration and reduced scar tissue. The team plans to seek approval from the FDA to conduct rigorous clinical trials of the hydrogel in postpartum women who show signs of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction \u2014 potentially offering a minimally invasive alternative to surgery<\/p>\n
Predicting preeclampsia<\/h3>\n
While pelvic floor injuries can be debilitating, preeclampsia \u2014 high blood pressure during or after pregnancy \u2014 is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, according to Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RS Marni Jacobs, PHD \u201813<\/p>\n
\u201cPreeclampsia is a very severe complication of pregnancy,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
The condition currently affects up to one in 12 pregnancies in the U.S. but is on the rise. It can lead to preterm birth, stillbirth, maternal organ damage and long\u2011term cardiovascular disease. Complications and death due to preeclampsia can be prevented with better monitoring and treatment, but it remains difficult<\/a> to diagnose and even harder to predict, Jacobs said<\/p>\nResearchers in the School of Medicine\u2019s Division of Maternal and Fetal Health aim to change that through a variety of research initiatives. They\u2019re increasingly embracing emerging technologies, from wearable biometric monitors to 3D bioprinted models of the human placenta, to identify early signs of the disorder<\/p>\n
An early warning system<\/h3>\n
To improve the detection of postpartum preeclampsia and other cardiovascular complications, Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RSUkachi Emeruwa, MD, MPH, launched the WATCH Postpartum Hypertension study, a clinical trial that sends new parents home with a smartwatch equipped with an inflatable blood pressure cuff<\/p>\n
With a single press of a button, the cuff inflates, captures a blood pressure reading and automatically transmits the data to the patient\u2019s electronic medical record. Participants take eight readings a day for 6 weeks to detect the large fluctuations characteristic of postpartum cardiovascular complications and enable rapid intervention if needed<\/p>\n
\t\t\t –
\n\t\t\t scbard@ucsd.edu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Explore the 2026 IssueDiscoveries Magazine<\/p>\n
Article Content<\/h2>\n
This story is from the 2026 issue of Discoveries, a UC San Diego Health Sciences magazine<\/p>\n
As a first-timeparent-to-be, 30-year-old Sarah Cleveland wanted an unmedicated vaginal delivery but felt nervous about it. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who has given birth without medication,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like I needed to do something to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her anxiety was justified. Pelvic floor disorders stemming from lacerations and nerve damage during delivery are a little-known but painful reality for some birthing parents, often resulting in incontinence, chronic pain, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though they\u2019re not life\u2011threatening, these disorders are debilitating,\u201d saidLindsey Burnett, MD, PHD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (OBGYN & RS) in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Pelvic Health After Birth Program at UC San Diego Health. \u201cPelvic muscles get stretched to over 300% of their resting length during vaginal delivery; any other muscle in your body would be irreversibly damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Burnett, very little is known about the biology of pelvic floor disorders and how to prevent them, so she teamed up with Ken Loh, PHD, TaylorMade Golf Chancellor\u2019s Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, to investigate whether progressive weight\u2011bearing exercise can protect the pelvic floor. The researchers received a 2025 Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine award from the Institute of Engineering in Medicine for their Biomechanical Monitoring for Birth Injury Prevention pilot study.<\/p>\n
When Cleveland heard about it, she signed up right away<\/p>\n
Pelvic floor disorders, like many pregnancy\u2011related conditions, have historically received little research attention<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s health care has traditionally been underfunded, but UC San Diego is leading innovation to ensure perinatal health gets the focus it deserves,\u201d said OBGYN & RS department chair Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MS<\/p>\n
Burnett and Loh\u2019s study is one of several collaborations between UC San Diego OBGYN & RS and engineering researchers using the power of technology to help bridge the knowledge gap<\/p>\n
Stretching the limits<\/h3>\n
Knowing how detrimental pelvic floor disorders can be, Burnett worked out with weights throughout her own two pregnancies and gave birth with no tearing. She wondered whether weight-bearing exercise can have the same effect on other pregnant women<\/p>\n
\u201cData suggests exercise during pregnancy has many benefits,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cThe question is what kind of exercise is feasible, and how much do you need to make a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
Beginning in the second trimester, Cleveland and her fellow participants work out at a local gym three times a week for 6 weeks under the guidance of professional prenatal fitness trainers<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of stretches and weighted exercises aimed at strengthening our core and our pelvic floor,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
Loh\u2019s lab develops \u201csmart\u201d materials to accurately measure human performance in real time. For the study, his team created wearable sensors by printing nanomaterials directly onto commercial kinesiology tape, which adheres to the inner thigh, glutes and back to track muscle engagement during the exercise sessions<\/p> The sensors, called Motion Tape, detect minute skin deformations that correlate with muscle contraction and exertion and transmit the data wirelessly to a phone app or laptop<\/p>\n \u201cMotion Tape is extremely versatile and can be placed anywhere on the body, such as the chest region to measure breathing. We also use a camera\u2011based motion\u2011capture system to document the 3D movement of participants \u2014 data that can be used to optimize exercise regimens,\u201d said Loh<\/p>\n The pilot study is following participants for 6 weeks postpartum, tracking cesarean versus vaginal delivery rates as well as the impact of the exercises on perineal tearing and pelvic floor strength<\/p>\n Burnett and Loh hope to expand the study to more participants, with the ultimate goal of providing clinicians with data\u2011driven guidelines for effective prenatal exercise programs. If the sensor\u2011guided workouts prove effective, they can potentially reduce birth\u2011related injuries and empower patients such as Cleveland to approach childbirth with confidence<\/p>\n While prevention is the ultimate goal, better treatments for pelvic floor injuries are also urgently needed<\/p>\n \u201cThere are huge gaps in postpartum health research,\u201d said OBGYN & RS ProfessorMarianna Alperin, MD. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how pelvic skeletal muscles recover from injury because almost all of the research is on male animals or leg muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n Alperin co\u2011directs the UC San Diego Center for Women\u2019s Health Innovations through Scientific Discoveries, Engineering, and Medicine, a research hub that connects engineers, basic scientists and clinicians<\/p>\n \u201cThe institution is extremely conducive to collaborative efforts between engineers who make technology and clinicians who know what women need,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes UC San Diego unique.\u201d<\/p>\n Alperin has collaborated with Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering InnovationKaren Christman,PHD, to develop and test an injectable hydrogel made from muscle-tissue derived extracellular matrix (ECM) to repair the pelvic floor. The hydrogel is one of many biomaterials developed by Christman\u2019s research group. ECM is the 3D framework of proteins and carbohydrates that surrounds tissues and organs.<\/p>\n Remote monitoring offers a way to protect families<\/a> during those critical weeks at home.<\/blockquote> \u201cThe hydrogel acts as a scaffold that recruits the body\u2019s own cells and encourages new muscle formation,\u201d said Christman, who co-directs the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute<\/p>\n In an animal model of simulated birth injury, injecting the hydrogel directly into pelvic floor muscles promoted muscle regeneration and reduced scar tissue. The team plans to seek approval from the FDA to conduct rigorous clinical trials of the hydrogel in postpartum women who show signs of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction \u2014 potentially offering a minimally invasive alternative to surgery<\/p>\n While pelvic floor injuries can be debilitating, preeclampsia \u2014 high blood pressure during or after pregnancy \u2014 is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, according to Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RS Marni Jacobs, PHD \u201813<\/p>\n \u201cPreeclampsia is a very severe complication of pregnancy,\u201d she said<\/p>\n The condition currently affects up to one in 12 pregnancies in the U.S. but is on the rise. It can lead to preterm birth, stillbirth, maternal organ damage and long\u2011term cardiovascular disease. Complications and death due to preeclampsia can be prevented with better monitoring and treatment, but it remains difficult<\/a> to diagnose and even harder to predict, Jacobs said<\/p>\n Researchers in the School of Medicine\u2019s Division of Maternal and Fetal Health aim to change that through a variety of research initiatives. They\u2019re increasingly embracing emerging technologies, from wearable biometric monitors to 3D bioprinted models of the human placenta, to identify early signs of the disorder<\/p>\n To improve the detection of postpartum preeclampsia and other cardiovascular complications, Assistant Professor of OBGYN & RSUkachi Emeruwa, MD, MPH, launched the WATCH Postpartum Hypertension study, a clinical trial that sends new parents home with a smartwatch equipped with an inflatable blood pressure cuff<\/p>\n With a single press of a button, the cuff inflates, captures a blood pressure reading and automatically transmits the data to the patient\u2019s electronic medical record. Participants take eight readings a day for 6 weeks to detect the large fluctuations characteristic of postpartum cardiovascular complications and enable rapid intervention if needed<\/p>\nInjecting hope<\/h3>\n
Predicting preeclampsia<\/h3>\n
An early warning system<\/h3>\n