Pregnancy-related conditions such as early labour, impaired foetal growth, postbirth haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia can be fatal to mothers and their babies, according to the NHS.
But a new campaign seeks to change that.
The Accelerating Innovation for Mothers (AIM) initiative, which is backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to end the stigma around carrying out drug trials on pregnant women and finally get them involved.
The Times reports AIM's aim is to put an end to leaving out pregnant women from vital research which could result in life-saving drugs for mothers and their babies.
AIM is being backed by the health sector and has been referred to as 'a cultural approach in medicine that intrinsically expects maternal sacrifice' benefitting the foetus, per The Times.
At present there are currently two drugs available for pregnancy-specific conditions, and only one drug has developed and registered for pregnancy-specific conditions in the last 30 years.
The AIM team are reportedly working with pharmaceutical companies to fund and secure clinical trials involving pregnant women, after having identified and edited down a selection of drugs in production that could be used for pregnancy-specific conditions.
Chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Clare Murphy, told the news outlet: 'There is a cultural focus on the foetus that pervades everything. We need to get to a point where we recognise that foetal health and impact on the foetus cannot be the only consideration. Women’s health is also absolutely critical, both to herself and for the healthy continuation of pregnancy.'
Metin Gülmezoglu, executive director of the non profit Concept Foundation which is backing the campaign, added: 'The stigma surrounding the inclusion of pregnant women in medicines research has contributed to the devastating reality of thousands of preventable maternal deaths globally.'
Out of 2,173,810 women who gave birth between 2017-2019, 191 died in the course of or up to six weeks after pregnancy, and 495 during or after their pregnancy, according to NPEU, a unit established by the University of Oxford.
AIM is collaborating with myriad experts, including professors at King’s College, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and University College London (UCL), to establish a research network.
UCL previously announced that its researchers were taking part in a new grading system, along with other international experts, to monitor complications during clinical trials involving pregnant women. The system was established to improve women's safety, including when it comes to bleeding or the detection of a structural abnormality in an unborn baby. Overall, the grading system seeks to fill the gap in pregnancy research.
Professor Anna David, a director in the women's health department at UCL, who spearheaded the research, previously said: 'Conducting clinical trials in pregnancy raises many challenges, primarily due to safety concerns for mother and foetus, and particularly when testing novel maternal and foetal therapies.
'We wanted to design a new set of criteria to help all those involved in pregnancy trials so that we can develop new drugs and therapies for women and babies and further advance pregnancy research.'
Common health problems, including diabetes, epilepsy and autoimmune conditions haven't been tested on pregnant women, meaning those who conceive can lack direction when it comes to treatment.
A former study, published by Science Daily, suggested women are more likely than men to experience harmful side effects of medications due to drug dosages having historically been derived from clinical trials conducted on men.
And when it comes to coronavirus, a recent Covid in Pregnancy (Cops) Study found a link between Covid-19 and birth-related complications towards the end of a pregnancy.
