{
  "id": 12727345,
  "title": "HPV vaccination before pregnancy linked to lower risk of preterm birth and other major complications",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/hpv-vaccination-before-pregnancy-linked-to-lower-risk-of-preterm",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-07T22:30:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hpv-vaccination-pregnancy-linked-preterm.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A large Swedish study, published in The BMJ, has found that receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before pregnancy is linked to a lower risk of major pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth. The research, which analyzed data from 624,713 singleton, first-time births among women aged 16-35 in Sweden between 2006 and 2023, revealed that women who received the quadrivalent HPV vaccine before pregnancy had significantly reduced odds of preterm and very preterm births, spontaneous preterm rupture of membranes, and delivering a severely small baby compared to those who did not receive the vaccine. The study also noted that the risk reduction was more pronounced among women vaccinated before the age of 17. While the findings suggest that HPV vaccination may extend beyond cancer prevention to reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes, the researchers caution that the study is observational and cannot definitively establish cause and effect. They also acknowledge limitations, such as incomplete information on spontaneous abortions and the potential influence of unmeasured factors. Nonetheless, the results support the global strategy for HPV vaccination and its continued implementation in routine immunization programs.",
  "summary": "Receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of major pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, with a greater reduction in risk seen among women vaccinated at an earlier age, according to a large Swedish study published by The BMJ.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}