Recent research brings good news about preeclampsia, a condition in pregnancy that affects up to a third of moms of multiples. Researchers at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center used gene expression profiling to identify the genes in placental cells of pregnant women that produce a high level of protein. A concentration of these proteins narrow blood vessels, raising the mother's blood pressure and impairing the delivery of blood and nutrients to the placenta.

What does this mean for moms of multiples?

Identifying the gene means that doctors will be better able to rapidly diagnose the condition and develop effective therapy to prevent it. In the past, diagnosis relied on inconclusive symptoms; by the time the symptoms were exhibited, the blood flow to the placenta may already have been reduced by up to 50%.