There has been a thrilling development , as well as profound changes, in our understanding of the effect of fetal nutrition on the development and health of the child. The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) is an ongoing nationwide population-based pregnancy cohort study that between 1999 and 2008 ...

Aim:  To report pregnancy outcome following prophylactic transvaginal cervicoisthmic cerclage using a polypropylene sling in a population of high-risk pregnant women. Materials and Methods:  A retrospective study with a continuous series of 57 women presenting with prior failure of McDonald cerclage (n = 47) and/or absent portio-vaginalis of the cervix (n = 10). Results:  ...

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In order to investigate the effects of exposure to buprenorphine compared with methadone during pregnancy, a prospective multicenter study was conducted in collaboration with maternity hospitals, maintenance therapy centers, and general practitioners involved in addiction care. Ninety pregnant women exposed to buprenorphine and 45 to metadone were ...

A case of primary ovarian twin pregnancy is presented. A 30-year-old woman, gravida 3 para 2, was admitted to Medical College Hospital, Jabalpur, for postdated pregnancy with intrauterine fetal demise. Ultrasonography showed a break in the continuity of the uterus suggestive of a ruptured uterus. On laparotomy, twin ovarian pregnancy ...

Aims:  The purpose of this study was to define the most suitable cut-off point for fetal nuchal translucency thickness in a screening program for aneuploidy and trisomy 21 in the south of Vietnam. Material & Methods:  Two thousand and five hundred cases of singleton pregnancies were followed prospectively from the ...

Background. Preterm delivery remains a substantial health care problem complicating 5-10% of pregnancies and is the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality in the developed world. No effective methods to prevent preterm delivery have been identified to date. Objectiv. To review systematically the evidence from randomized controlled trials with ...

The developing fetus is protected from external environmental influences by maternal tissues. However, these structures have a limited elasticity, such that the fetus must grow in a confined space, constraining its size at the end of pregnancy. Can these constraints modify the morphology of the fetal skeleton? The intensity of ...

The purpose of this study is to determine fetal dose during four different stages of pregnancy for both pulmonary CT angiogram and abdominal and pelvic CT examination on 4-, 16-, and 64-MDCT scanners measured in an anthropomorphic phantom simulating a pregnant patient. Pulmonary angiograms and abdominal and pelvic studies were ...

Pelvic organ prolapse is common in rural women in Nepal. Pregnancy in a woman with pelvic organ prolapse is uncommon and rarely continues beyond the second trimester. If it proceeds after that, the uterus usually ascends with progression of pregnancy and becomes abdominal, leaving little trace of prolapse. Pregnancy continuing ...

Placental dysfunction leading to fetal growth restriction (FGR) is an important risk factor for neurodevelopmental delay. Recent observations clarify that FGR evolves prenatally from a preclinical phase of abnormal nutrient and endocrine milieu to a clinical phase that differs in characteristics in preterm and term pregnancies. Relating childhood neurodevelopment to ...

Lee B-E, Ha M, Park H, Kim Y, Hong Y-C, Kim YJ, Ha E-H. Psychosocial work stress during pregnancy and birthweight. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2011; 25: 246-254. Although there is a growing interest in the health effects of psychosocial work stress, studies on the relationships between job stress and ...

To define the incidence and outcome of intrauterine pregnancy of uncertain viability (PUV) and to develop and assess the performance of a model and a scoring system to predict ongoing viability. Of 1881 consecutive women undergoing transvaginal ultrasonography, a cohort of 493 women with an empty gestational sac < 20 ...

We report the case of a patient with acute renal failure and nephrotic syndrome during the second trimester of an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy. Despite pregnancy, percutaneous renal biopsy was performed to evaluate the etiology, showing Type I membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Two therapeutic options were considered: pregnancy termination, suggested by the gynecologists, ...

We report a rare case of ovarian function recovery and pregnancy after hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) in the acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) patient in third complete remission received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with busulphan-based conditioning regimen. Successful engraftment of the donor cells and full donor's chimerism was achieved without the ...

To characterize therapies prescribed during pregnancy to women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We conducted a cohort study of women with RA with pregnancies using health care utilization data from 2002-2008. We examined the distribution of RA drugs by therapeutic classes, including nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)/coxibs, glucocorticoids, nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs ...

Summary Estimates of maternal mortality are crucial to inform the planning of reproductive health programmes and guide advocacy. The aim of this study was to obtain a population-based estimate of maternal mortality in Lagos State, Nigeria. The sisterhood method was used in 2008 to carry out the survey using a ...

Pregnancy in a rudimentary uterine horn is a rare and potentially lethal condition. The highest risk of rupture is reported to be during the late first and second trimester. The risk of rupture correlates with the thickness of the myometrium surrounding the fetal pole. In 2005, a 20-year-old woman was ...

Objective. To document the ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) during pregnancy compared to three months after delivery in singleton and twin pregnancies. Design. Descriptive study with a follow-up design. Setting. University hospital in Eastern Finland. Population. 43 childbearing women; 32 with singleton and 11 with twin pregnancies. Methods. Ambulatory blood ...

To determine the role of pregnancy on Trypanosoma cruzi parasitemia, a matched cohort study was carried out in a rural Bolivian community comparing parasite rates in gravidae, puerperae, and non-pregnant infected women. A selection of 67 chronically infected women, who delivered between March 2004 and May 2005, were initially evaluated ...

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-associated liver disease of unknown etiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in maternal and fetal adrenal function in clinical and experimental ICP. The maternal and fetal serum levels of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were determined in 14 ...

To evaluate the peer-reviewed literature on iodine deficiency and hypothyroxinemia in pregnancy. We review published studies on isolated hypothyroxinemia in pregnancy, methodology of free thyroxine (T4) assays, impact of iodine deficiency on free T4 levels, and status of ongoing prospective randomized trials of isolated hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy. Hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy ...

A serious complication of heparin treatment, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is rarely observed in pregnant women. Drug therapy during pregnancy should always be chosen to minimize fetal risk. The management of HIT in pregnancy represents a medical challenge. Unlike heparins, the anticoagulants used in patients with HIT do cross the placenta, ...

The purpose of this study was to correlate 2-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) measurements of lateral ventricular width and 3-dimensional measurements of lateral ventricular and supratentorial parenchymal volumes to postnatal outcomes in fetuses with ventriculomegaly. A total of 307 fetuses (mean gestational age, 26.0 weeks; range, 15.7-39.4 weeks) had MR volumetry ...

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) levels and preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome at last trimester and to investigate if the severity of preeclampsia would be associated with PAPP-A levels. METHODS: Four groups were constructed; mild-preeclampsia group consisted of 19 women, severe-preeclampsia group 17, HELLP group 5 ...

Objective. To study pregnancy and fetal outcome in women with primary SS (pSS) compared with women in the general population. Methods. In a nested case-control setting, variables related to pregnancy and fetal outcomes were compared. Cases (n = 16) were identified through registry linkage (Malmö pSS registry and a database entailing information ...

The aim of this study was to assess and compare uterine artery (UtA) blood flow volume in pregnant patients with an abnormal uterine Doppler pulsatility index (PI) who delivered fetuses with an appropriate weight for gestational age (AGA) or with intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR). We prospectively recruited singleton pregnancies with ...

Remifentanil undergoes extensive placental transfer and has been used to provide fetal immobilization and anaesthesia for in utero fetal endoscopic interventions. We report three cases of the ex utero intrapartum treatment performed under neuraxial anaesthesia where the maternal administration of remifentanil was used to provide fetal immobilization and analgesia. Fetal ...

The number of pregnancies complicated by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is growing; however, their clinical characteristics remain incomplete. We aimed to assess clinical characteristics, glycemic control, and selected pregnancy outcomes in pregestational T2DM from Poland and to compare them with those of T1DM. We analyzed 415 consecutive singleton pregnancies; ...

The objective of this study was to assess pregnancy outcome in women with aPL-associated refractory loss(es) treated with early low dose prednisolone in addition to aspirin and heparin. Eighteen women with aPL who had refractory pregnancy loss(es) were given prednisolone (10mg) from positive pregnancy test to 14 weeks' gestation. Before ...

OBJECTIVE: Customized growth charts derived using maternal demographic characteristics alone have been shown to improve the prediction of pregnancy complications compared to population growth curves. We sought to estimate the impact of adding ultrasound biometric parameters to the customized chart for the prediction of IUFD. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study ...

OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate the safety of metformin administration during pregnancy in a group of PCOS patients by assessing its effect on the prevalence of gestational complications and neonatal outcome. STUDY DESIGN: Our prospective, single centre study included 98 pregnant women with PCOS treated with metformin throughout pregnancy and 110 ...

OBJECTIVE.: Maternal physiologic responses to pregnancy promoting fetal oxygen and nutrient delivery are important determinants of reproductive success. Incomplete physiologic compensation for reduced oxygen availability at high altitude (≥2,500 m) compromises fetal growth. Populations of highland (e.g., Andeans, Tibetans) compared with lowland origin groups (e.g., Europeans, Han Chinese) are protected ...

BACKGROUND: Adolescent pregnancy is an important health issue. Prevention programs are usually aimed at the prevention of repeat pregnancy, ignoring the adolescents at risk of becoming pregnant for the first time. OBJECTIVES: To analyse if socio-economic status, family type and mother's age at first pregnancy are risk factors for adolescent ...

Embryo reduction may prevent the negative effects of twinning in dairy cattle; however, the technique may carry an additional risk of pregnancy loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on pregnancy maintenance of embryo reduction by manual amnion rupture in unilateral and bilateral twin pregnant cows. ...

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) utilized by pregnant women influence fetal neurobehavioral development. In this observational study we investigated developmental milestones of fetal behavior during the pregnancy of women with psychiatric disorders who took SSRIs throughout gestation (medicated group; n=96) ...

Interstitial pregnancy, which is a rare form of tubal ectopic pregnancy, can grow larger than those within the fallopian tube because the surrounding myometrium is more expandable than the tube; many cases are advanced and treated with surgical resection or a large amount of methotrexate (MTX). This report presents a ...

Aim:  Assess possible adverse effects of the chronic use of indinavir during pregnancy in a rat model. Methods:  40 pregnant EOM-1 albino rats were randomly allocated into four groups of 10 animals each: a control (Ctr) group (without any handling) and three experimental groups (Exp 1, Exp 2 e Exp ...

The male antigen (HY), the elevated level of fetal antigen in twin pregnancies, and the increased number of MHC mismatches in dizygotic twin pregnancies might affect immunological tolerance during pregnancy. Using the Perinatal Database of the Japanese Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, we studied the occurrence of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) ...

High-altitude studies offer insight into the evolutionary processes and physiological mechanisms affecting the early phases of the human lifespan. Chronic hypoxia slows fetal growth and reduces the pregnancy-associated rise in uterine artery (UA) blood flow. Multigenerational vs. shorter-term high-altitude residents are protected from the altitude-associated reductions in UA flow and ...

To describe smoking, heavy drinking, and folic acid supplementation in preconception women and determine if the likelihood of healthy preconception behaviors differs by whether and when women intend future pregnancy. Analysis was based on 35,351 nonpregnant women who participated in the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System who were of ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) polymorphism rs1007888 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and its association with postpartum metabolic syndrome. In a case-control study, 147 GDM and 169 healthy pregnant patients were recruited. Blood sample was taken 2 times from ...

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) is thought to regulate neurodevelopmental processes through maternal-fetal interactions that have long-term mental health implications. It is thought that beyond fetal 5-HT neurons there are significant maternal contributions to fetal 5-HT during pregnancy but this has not been tested empirically. To examine putative central and peripheral ...

Objective. To determine the outcome of labor induction with intravaginal misoprostol among women with perception of persistent decrease in fetal movements at term. Method. The study group comprising 107 women who had induction of labor at term for primary complaint of decreased fetal movements (DFM) were compared with equal number of women ...

Since the 1980s, attempts at experimental fetal cardiac bypass for the purpose of correcting severe congenital heart defects in the womb have been hampered by deterioration of placental function. This placental pathophysiology in turn affects transplacental transport of nutrients and gas exchange. To date, the effects of bypass on fetal ...

The goal of this study was to identify placental specific microRNAs present in maternal plasma that differentiate between women with normal pregnancies and nonpregnant individuals. The selection of appropriate pregnancy-associated microRNAs with diagnostic potential was based on the following criteria: (1) detection rate of 100% in full-term placentas, (2) detection ...

Second trimester maternal serum screening can identify high risk pregnancies and fetuses at risk for birth defects (in addition to those in the standard interpretation). The purpose of this study was to quantify such risks to improve counseling. We compared outcomes of 692 pregnancies that had abnormal levels of at ...

There is now a large body of evidence demonstrating the influence of the in utero environment on postnatal growth. Regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy elicits maternal and fetal adaptations that appear specific to the period of gestation in which training is initiated and maintained. This review considers the evidence for ...

PURPOSE: Minimally invasive fetal surgery is expected to improve therapeutic outcomes, and surgical robots are expected to aid the dexterous manipulation of fragile fetal tissues. Although robots are currently used for surgery on soft tissues, practical information concerning the viscoelastic characteristics of fetal tissues is lacking. Hence, the mechanical properties ...

Abstract Objective. The impact of pregnancy on lupus activity has been controversial especially in Chinese women. Research looking at predictive factors in this population are sparse. The aim of this study was therefore twofold: to determine the frequencies of abnormal pregnancy outcomes in a Chinese cohort and to identify clinical and ...

In healthy pregnancy reactive oxygen species and antioxidants remain in balance and DNA damage is repaired effectively. However, pregnancy is an inflammatory state exhibiting increased susceptibility to oxidative stress such that this balance can be easily disrupted. Increased DNA damage has been shown to be involved in many pathological states ...