OBJECTIVE: To determine how accurately the time of fetal death can be predicted from the extent of external maceration in a stillborn fetus. METHODS: Autopsy photographs of 86 stillborns with well-timed deaths were studied retrospectively. Sixty randomly chosen fetuses (learning set) were assessed unblinded to develop proposed gross criteria for ...

We present a study of fibrinogen levels in 133 patients who were prone to develop disseminated intravascular coagulation as a result of an underlying complication of pregnancy such as abruptio placentae, pregnancy-induced hypertension, missed abortion, septic abortion, intrauterine fetal death, vesicular mole and amniotic fluid embolism. A high incidence of ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether placental histologic examination is useful for predicting the approximate time of death in stillborn fetuses. METHODS: Hematoxylin and eosin slides of 71 placentas of stillborns with accurately timed deaths were studied retrospectively. Fifty-one placentas (learning set) were used to develop proposed histologic criteria for the timing ...

Trauma complicating pregnancy represents a significant threat to maternal survival and successful pregnancy outcome. Combining trauma center and perinatal center capabilities may provide improved outcome for pregnant trauma victims. The authors report their experience with 39 patients over a 10-year period to identify factors that influenced pregnancy outcome. There was ...

Placental abruption resulting in fetal death may seriously affect maternal health, especially when clotting disorders arise. The prevailing view is that the clotting system will only normalize after the uterus has been evacuated and therefore prompt delivery, often by induction of labor, is advocated. Over a 3-year period, 16 cases ...

OBJECTIVES: National data are thought to underestimate pregnancy-related mortality in the United States. A multisource surveillance system for pregnancy-associated deaths in New Jersey offers an opportunity to identify the magnitude of and the trends in pregnancy-related mortality at the state level. METHODS: Data from all reported pregnancy-related deaths in the ...

OBJECTIVE: To present estimates of maternal mortality associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and to discuss strategies to prevent these deaths. DESIGN: Retrospective review of all available data. SETTING: Database of the World Health Organization's Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood Programme. MAIN ...

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to review the clinical findings in infants who died in the perinatal period with brain damage attributable to asphyxia. STUDY DESIGN: The neuropathologic findings in 208 perinatal deaths have been reviewed. Thirty cases (22 fetal, eight newborn) had evidence of white matter or neuronal necrosis due ...

Management of the post-term pregnancy depends on the certainty of dating, likelihood of successful induction, and risks of expectant management. To estimate the risk of fetal death in an expectantly managed post-term population, we reviewed 8038 consecutive post-term gestations followed expectantly with a twice-weekly nonstress test and amniotic fluid index. ...

This descriptive study examines the grief response of mothers who experienced a fetal loss in the middle trimester of pregnancy. Twenty mothers who lost a baby through spontaneous abortion or perinatal death within 1 year participated in this study. Data were collected by mailed questionnaires. All characteristics typical of the ...

The records of the Cook County Medical Examiner were reviewed for the period January, 1986, to December, 1989. Ninety-five maternal deaths were identified. The causes of maternal death were categorized as direct maternal, indirect maternal, or nonmaternal. Direct maternal causes of death (18.9%) were the result of complications of pregnancy, ...

Intrauterine fetal brain death is a rare cause of a fixed fetal heart rate pattern. Seven cases have been previously reported in the literature, but only two of them were diagnosed prenatally and all the newborns died soon after delivery. Two additional cases of antepartum diagnosis of intrauterine fetal brain ...

As autopsy rates in general hospitals decline, interest in the perinatal autopsy continues to rise, reflecting the emergence of a vigorous specialty growing in parallel with fetal medicine, prenatal diagnosis and clinical genetics. Perinatal autopsies are best carried out in tertiary centres which provide these services. Meticulous documentation, flexibility of ...

Early perinatal mortality (EPM) was prospectively analysed in a rural District Hospital during a 4 month period. 2,171 deliveries were recorded with an early perinatal mortality rate (EPMR) of 53/1000. Factors significantly influencing EPM included maternal age, education, marital and socio-economic status. Antenatal care, gestation at delivery, birthweight, pregnancy and ...

A 27-year-old asymptomatic woman became pregnant 6 months after a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and was well until 28 weeks' gestation when she died suddenly while running up stairs. The potential pathophysiological mechanisms of sudden death during pregnancy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic implications, are ...

This study examined risk factors that contribute to antepartum fetal death. The population-based sample included 416 antepartum fetal deaths and 449 normal births as controls, from 29 hospitals in Shanghai, China. In addition to small-for-gestational-age and severe pregnancy-induced hypertension, exposure to environmental hazards (radiation, chemicals and pesticides) was significantly associated ...

From 1981 to 1986 antenatal cardiotocographic monitoring was performed on 9,992 high-risk pregnancies selected from a total obstetrical population of 31,518 patients (31.7%). A critical fetal reserve pattern was detected in 89 patients (0.9%) whose pregnancies resulted in 68 surviving infants, 19 perinatal deaths and 2 sudden infant deaths. Since ...

The complete clinical evaluation of pregnancy loss, stillborn infants, and neonatal deaths can result in the anticipation of an accurate diagnosis in a high percentage of cases. Appropriate focused fetal studies may include a clinical examination, fetal karyotype, photographs, skeletal radiographs, fetal autopsy, examination of the placenta and cord, and ...

Although genital condylomata worsen with pregnancy, we are unaware of any reports of fatal maternal laryngeal papillomatosis. A maternal death at 20 weeks' gestation of a patient with chronic laryngeal papillomatosis is described. Pregnant patients with a history of this disorder who have symptoms should be considered candidates for immediate ...

At the Medical Central Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Sibenik over 1970-1991 period there were 26,116 deliveries (multiple births excluded), of which 254 (0.97%) occurred in grand multiparas (five and more deliveries). The authors have found that the number of grand multiparas decreased by 38.3% (P < 0.001) over ...

This study examined the association between exposure to occupational hazards and pregnancy outcomes using data from a case-control study conducted in 29 hospitals in Shanghai, China. The sample included 1,875 perinatal deaths and newborns with birth defects and the same number of controls. Information on mother's exposure to occupational radiation, ...

1. The clinical records of 237 patients with extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) attending King's College Hospital, London, between March 1973 and October 1985 were analyzed in terms of familial and reproductive factors, as well as of their possible effect on patient survival. 2. The male:female ratio was 0.93, and the ...

The active roles assumed by most pregnant women today put them at risk for vehicular accidents, falls, industrial accidents, violence, and other injuries. Trauma during pregnancy increases the maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity risks. Knowledge of the physiology of pregnancy is essential to establishing priorities and providing optimum care ...

This article presents results from a population-based study of the magnitude and causes of maternal mortality in the Giza governorate of Egypt in 1985-86. Deaths to women in the reproductive ages were identified through the death registration system. Family members of the deceased were interviewed using the "verbal autopsy" approach. ...

The aim of this study was to assess any changes in cause-specific fetal death rates in the nonreferred population of a tertiary care unit. The fetal death rate (per 1000 births) among 88,651 births diminished from 11.5 in the 1960s to 5.1 in the 1980s. Fetal death due to intrapartum ...

The impacts of IgA nephropathy and pregnancy on each other were evaluated in 118 women who conceived 168 times between 1970 and 1988. Rates of spontaneous abortion, normal delivery, live birth and perinatal death were 9, 66, 87 and 4%, respectively. Infants born to women with glomerular filtration rates (GFR) ...

Historically, primary hyperparathyroidism during pregnancy was associated with significant risk of maternal morbidity and fetal death. Maternal hypercalcemia results in fetal hypercalcemia, leading to suppression of fetal parathyroid gland function. Neonatal hypocalcemia with tetany is a common occurrence after birth when maternal calcium flow is interrupted. From 1930 to 1990, ...

To examine the relationship between elevated antiphospholipid antibody levels in the maternal circulation and late fetal death, we carried out a case-control study in which levels of anticardiolipin and antiphosphatidylserine antibodies were measured in banked second-trimester sera from 309 pregnancies ending in fetal death and from 618 viable control pregnancies. ...

Although her own physician ascribed her death to tuberculosis, later evaluation of Charlotte Brontë's life and work led some observers to conclude that the cause of her death was hyperemesis gravidarum, a pregnancy complication that was ascribed to neurosis and a rejection of her pregnancy and her femininity. A full ...

The incidence of gonorrhea has decreased substantially in the past decade. Disseminated gonorrhea is more common in women than in men, although gonococcal endocarditis is more common in men. Disseminated gonorrhea is most commonly described in women during menses or pregnancy. Only two cases of gonococcal endocarditis during pregnancy have ...

Few studies provide data on pregnant trauma patients that can be used to direct management decisions. Therefore, this retrospective study of 79 pregnant patients who were injured and admitted to a trauma center during a 9-year period was conducted to obtain such information. Maternal mortality for these pregnant patients was ...

A multicenter study involving three American College of Surgeons Level 1 trauma centers was undertaken to assess parameters that may predict fetal outcome. The records of 93 injured pregnant patients admitted from April 1, 1985, to March 31, 1990, were reviewed. There were three maternal deaths (3%) (mean Injury Severity ...

Late fetal death is the principle cause of perinatal mortality (PNM) in Ireland. Real-time ultrasound scanning has been suggested as a means for identifying the fetus at risk of abnormal pregnancy outcome. Using an ultrasound-based method of fetal assessment the author noted a significant reduction in late fetal death rates ...

The primary obstetric cause of total perinatal-related wastage (TPRW) in twin pregnancy was studied in a clearly defined population over a 3-year period. There were 77 deaths from 204 pairs of twins; the perinatal mortality rate (PMR) was 51/1,000 and TPRW was 189/1,000. Of the 77 deaths 52% were late ...

A cell suspension of Listeria monocytogenes strain Scott A in phosphate buffer solution alone or with added glycerol, milk fat, lactose, or casein was frozen and stored at -18 degrees C. At suitable intervals, samples of cell suspensions were thawed at 35 degrees C and plated on suitable media to ...

Minute Virus of Canines (MVC) was shown to cause transplacental infections with embryo resorptions, especially in dams given parenteral inoculations prior to gestational day 30. Responses to oral-nasal inocula were inconsistent. Direct exposures of embryos or fetuses to MVC via the amniotic sac, however, resulted in their deaths after an ...

To identify causes and risk factors for pregnancy-related mortality in New York City, we analyzed 224 pregnancy-related deaths that occurred from 1980 to 1984. The leading causes of death were ectopic pregnancy complications, embolism, intrapartum cardiac arrest, and hypertension. Mortality ratios were determined by comparing the characteristics of the women ...

Maternal mortality is the culmination of a series of detrimental events in a woman's life, pregnancy being the last one. The underlying pathology is the lack of education, sanitation, accessible health care, as well as poor nutrition and poverty. These affect women during pregnancy and childbirth when they are more ...

C57BL/6J mice were used to study the ocular teratogenic effects of cyclophosphamide administered to pregnant females on d 9 of pregnancy at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight. Nile blue staining demonstrated increased cell death at the base of the optic stalk, in the optic vesicle, and in the ...

Nine patients with severe Rh iso-immunization were treated by plasma exchange combined with immunosuppression. Apart from 3 abortions, previous pregnancy losses consisted of 7 intra-uterine and 5 neonatal deaths. Only 2 patients had had no previous pregnancy loss. Differences in the optical density of the amniotic fluid of 8 patients ...

During the last decade, 89 sets of triplets were born in Denmark with a gestational age of more than 25 completed weeks. Fifteen pregnancies (16.9%) were complicated by fetal death in the third trimester, with a total of 17 intrauterine deaths. Six neonatal deaths occurred, leaving 22 survivors among these ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the reported association between air pollution and cause specific mortality in the city of Athens. DESIGN: Cause specific mortality was contrasted between 199 d with high values of air pollution and 2*199 comparison days with low pollution, matched in a 1:2 ratio on ...

Fetal death due to acute carbon monoxide poisoning is rarely reported in the medical literature. Of the eight cases found in literature review, only one documented the fetal carboxyhemoglobin concentration. This paper reports a fetal death due to accidental nonlethal maternal carbon monoxide intoxication in which both maternal and fetal ...

Data collected from 25 cases of fetal or newborn death associated with maternal cocaine use are reported. The average week of gestation at which fetal death occurred was week 30. Abruptio placentae was observed in 7 cases and placental infarct was found in 4 cases. The average fetal blood cocaine ...

Toxicologic screening for cocaine and its metabolites was performed on 103 cases of fetal death autopsied in the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York. In 64 cases cocaine or its metabolites were found in the blood or in the brain. Some malformations were also found. The study ...

The maternal mortality ratio in New York City during the 3-year period of 1981-1983 was 36.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. Eight (7%) of 120 deaths occurred more than 42 days after termination of the pregnancy. Eighteen (15%) of the cases involved white, non-Hispanic women, 66 (55%) were black, and ...

Maternal floor infarction of the placenta is a relatively rare disorder that on gross examination is characterized by a thickened gray-yellow maternal floor of the placenta with histologic evidence of massive fibrin deposition involving the decidua basalis and the contiguous villi. This lesion has been associated with fetal death, preterm ...

One regional trauma center's experience with a large number of seriously injured pregnant women was reviewed to identify factors affecting maternal and fetal outcome after injury. Of 318 pregnant women who suffered trauma from January 1984 through December 1988, 25 (8%) were severely injured and would have required hospital admission ...

The antepartum death of a fetus in a twin pregnancy is associated with significant risk of mortality and morbidity in the surviving infant. A recent case of single intrauterine death in a suspected monozygotic twin pregnancy at a regional hospital prompted a study of similar cases in the hospital's recent ...

Between January 1975 and June 1989, 240 patients with cerebral vascular malformations were treated at Henry Ford Hospital. In 16 of the patients, the treatment was influenced by pregnancy. Eleven of the patients presented with hemorrhage, four with seizures, and one with hydrocephalus. There were no maternal or fetal deaths ...