A liver condition that many people have never heard of may affect around one in six women of childbearing age worldwide. A 2025 global analysis estimated that 15.8% of women aged 15 to 49 were living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in 2021.
Imagine Lisa, 31, arriving for her first pregnancy appointment. Five years earlier, routine blood tests had shown mildly raised liver enzymes, markers that can indicate liver damage. Further tests found excess fat in her liver. Because she also has obesity and type 2 diabetes, and other possible causes have been ruled out, her findings fit the diagnostic criteria for MASLD.
