Introduction: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) has been associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections and infertility. Diagnosis of BV should be rapid, reliable and safe. This is especially vital in pregnant women where intervention may be necessary for the well-being of both the mother ...

An increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes has become a very challenging task in prenatal care worldwide. International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) has recently issued recommendations on the diagnosis and classification of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. These recommendations, the first to provide harmonised, evidence-based criteria for the diagnosis ...

This paper reviews current equine assisted reproduction techniques. Embryo transfer is the most common equine ART, but is still limited by the inability to superovulate mares effectively. Immature oocytes may be recovered by transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of immature follicles, or from ovaries postmortem, and can be effectively matured in vitro. ...

BACKGROUND: High homology of GH with placental GH (pGH) and hPL frequently resulted in falsely high GH levels in competitive immunoassays during pregnancy. However, in immunometric assays, falsely high or low GH levels can result from GH-like molecules binding to both or only one monoclonal antibody. Since our GH-IFMA assay ...

Pregnancy gingivitis is a major oral infection. Periodontium acts as a reservoir of inflammatory mediators and sub gingival biofilms of bacteria. To evaluate the anaerobic oral microbial flora in pregnant women before delivery and after delivery by comparing them with control group. The study group included fifteen cases of pregnant ...

Abstract Background: Listeria monocytogenes usually causes mild maternal illness, but can be devastating to the fetus. Case: Listeriosis in a pregnant patient successfully treated with empiric antibiotic therapy is described. After induced delivery, despite severe placental infection, a healthy infant was born. Additionally, archived placental specimens with similar pathological manifestation ...

Historical control data on rabbit prenatal developmental toxicity studies, performed between 1994-2010, were obtained from 20 laboratories, including 11 pharmaceutical and chemical companies and nine contract laboratories, in Japan. In this paper, data were incorporated from a laboratory if the information was based on 10 studies or more. Japanese White ...

Genital tract secretions exhibit bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli. We hypothesized that this defense may be modulated during pregnancy. Secretions were collected by vaginal swab from 70 pregnant women (35-37 weeks' gestation) and 35 nonpregnant controls. We mixed E coli with swab eluants or control buffer and colonies enumerated to ...

The safety of laparoscopic management of adnexal masses in pregnancy has been documented. Herein we report laparoscopic removal during pregnancy of a cystically degenerated leiomyoma of the sigmoid colon, which had been mistaken for an adnexal mass. When smooth muscle gastrointestinal tumors are observed, it is important that they be ...

Introduction. Acute intestinal obstruction in pregnancy is a rare, but life-threatening complication associated with high fetal and maternal mortality. Case report. A 20-year old gravida presented with a 24 hour history of several episodes of vomiting, complete constipation and severe crampy abdominal pain. The patient was admitted with the diagnosis ...

Abstract Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the incidence of women with prior GBS genital colonization who have recolonization in subsequent pregnancies. Methods: This is a retrospective, cohort study of patients with a prior GBS genital colonization in pregnancy and a subsequent pregnancy with a recorded GBS ...

: Fetal epignathus, a teratoma arising from the oropharynx that may be lethal, can be diagnosed prenatally. : A 29-year-old woman, gravida 1, was evaluated for an elevated alpha-fetoprotein level. Imaging evaluation revealed a fetal epignathus without intracranial extension. Preterm labor necessitated delivery at 27 5/7 weeks of gestation with ...

CONTEXT: The thyroid hormone and retinol binding protein transthyretin (TTR) is synthesised by human trophoblasts. Polarised JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells grown in bicameral chambers secrete TTR predominantly apically but also basally and these cells and human trophoblasts also take up TTR suggesting that there may be a placental TTR shuttle that ...

AIMS: To examine the causes of variability in the effect of maternal drinking on the foetus, with particular reference to the pattern, frequency and duration of the period of drinking, differences in maternal, foetal and placental metabolism of ethanol/acetaldehyde, and genetic factors. METHODS: Narrative review of published studies of the ...

Context:Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental chemicals. Fetal exposure to certain phthalates [e.g. di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP)] causes masculinization disorders in rats, raising concern for similar effects in humans. We investigated whether DBP exposure impairs steroidogenesis by the human fetal testis.Objective:The aim of the study was to determine effects of DBP exposure on ...

Objective. To review the procedure related complication rates following fetal blood sampling and intrauterine red cell transfusion for anaemic fetuses at a single tertiary centre. Design. This is a retrospective study of 114 intrauterine transfusions. Setting. A single tertiary referral fetal medicine centre at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, Imperial ...

Controversies still exist regarding the existence of a 'safe' level of alcohol intake during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of fetal death (spontaneous abortion and stillbirth) according to maternal alcohol consumption in a large Danish pregnancy cohort. A cohort study carried out within the ...

Colonic obstruction due to sigmoid colon volvulus during pregnancy is a rare but complication with significant maternal and fetal mortality. We describe a case of sigmoid volvulus in a patient with 33 weeks of gestation that developed complete necrosis of the left colon. Case. 27-year-old woman was admitted with 3 ...

Fetal intervention encompasses a range of procedures on the fetus with congenital structural anomalies, whilst still on the placental circulation. The concept of fetal surgery was conceived in order to prevent fetal or early postnatal death, or to prevent permanent irreversible organ damage. The benefit of these procedures has to ...

A 24-year-old pregnant woman had a bowel obstruction secondary to a gravid uterus. A multispecialty team approach resulted in a restorative proctocolectomy, which led to resolution of acute symptoms and a successful pregnancy.

BACKGROUND:Emerging antenatal interventions and care delivery to the fetus require diagnostic support, including laboratory technologies, appropriate methodologies, establishment of special algorithms, and interpretative guidelines for clinical decision-making.CONTENT:Fetal diagnostic(1) and therapeutic interventions vary in invasiveness and are associated with a spectrum of risks and benefits. Fetal laboratory assessments are well served ...

Alcohol-exposed pregnancies are especially of concern for American Indians. The Indian Health Service reported that 47% to 56% of pregnant patients admitted to drinking alcohol during their pregnancy. In addition, rates of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are estimated to be as high as 3.9 to 9.0 per 1,000 live births among ...

Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) monitoring is one of the most important fetal well being tests. Existing FHR monitoring methods are based on Doppler ultrasound technique, which has several disadvantages. Passive fetal monitoring by phonocardiography is an appropriate alternative; however, its implementation is a challenging task due to low energy of ...

Ethanol (EtOH) consumption during pregnancy can lead to fetal growth retardation, mental retardation, and neurodevelopmental delay. The fetal brain initiates neurogenesis and vasculogenesis during the second trimester, and depends on maternal-fetal circulation for nutrition and growth signals. We used high-resolution in vivo ultrasound imaging to test the hypothesis that EtOH ...

Genes from Ugt1a family in placenta and fetal liver are responsible for hormone, nutrient and chemical balance during pregnancy. Assisted reproduction technologies (ART) i.e. intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) alter steroid homeostasis in pregnancy through increased glucuronidation. Here we show that ART (particularly ICSI) upregulates Ugt1a1, 1a2, ...

Abstract This paper proposes an improved local principal component analysis (LPCA) in pseudo phase space for fetal heart rate estimation from a single lead abdominal ECG signal. The improved LPCA process can extract both the maternal ECG component and the fetal ECG component in an abdominal signal. The instantaneous fetal ...

In addition to lowering cholesterol, statins increase nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, improving endothelial function. In the fetus, enhanced NO during acute hypoxia opposes the fetal peripheral vasoconstrictor response, part of the brain-sparing defence. This study tested the hypothesis that treatment with statins depresses the fetal circulatory response to acute hypoxic ...

Exposure to glucocorticoid levels inappropriately high for current maturation alters fetal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) development. In an established fetal sheep model, we determined whether clinical betamethasone doses used to accelerate fetal lung maturation have persistent effects on fetal HPAA hypotensive-stress responses. Pregnant ewes received saline (n = 6) or betamethasone ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical course and outcome of fetal sinus bradycardia (SB) due to maternal antibody-induced sinus node dysfunction. METHODS: We reviewed the maternal, prenatal, and postnatal findings of fetuses with SB associated with elevated maternal anti-SSA/Ro and anti-SSB/La antibodies. RESULTS: Of the 6 cases diagnosed prenatally, 3 had ...

Chronic chorioamnionitis is a histological manifestation of maternal anti-fetal cellular rejection. As failure of graft survival is the most catastrophic event in organ transplantation, we hypothesized that fetal death could be a consequence of maternal rejection. The aim of this study was to assess whether there is evidence of cellular ...

Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia constitutes the most common cause of severe thrombocytopenia in fetuses and neonates and of intracranial hemorrhage among term newborns. The cornerstone of therapy involves the use of steroids and intravenous immunoglobulins. Despite the risk of potentially devastating consequences to the fetus, fetal blood sampling has ...

The limits of placental plasticity, i.e., the ability of the placenta to adapt and alter its growth trajectory in response to altered fetal requirements, are not known. We report fetal and placental hemodynamic adaptations in a novel non-human primate model in which the fetal inter-placental bridging vessels were surgically ligated. ...

AIMS: We aimed to assess the effects of exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol and illegal drugs during early pregnancy on the head circumference (HC) at birth of otherwise healthy neonates. METHODS: A follow-up study from the first trimester of pregnancy to birth was carried out in 419 neonates. An environmental ...

In addition to its role in neurotransmission, embryonic serotonin (5-HT) has been implicated in the regulation of neurodevelopmental processes. For example, we recently showed that a subset of 5-HT1-receptors expressed in the fetal forebrain mediate a serotonergic modulation of thalamocortical axons response to axon guidance cues, both in vitro and ...

We posit that: (i) light alcohol consumption during pregnancy does not improve the cognitive development of human offspring and (ii) observational study outcomes indicating apparent protective effects arise from residual confounding due to socioeconomic status. Our hypotheses counter emerging hypotheses apparent in the epidemiological literature that light alcohol consumption during ...

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a leading cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and behaviors of mothers of children with FAS in the United States using population-based data from the FAS Surveillance Network (FASSNet). FASSNet used a multiple source ...

Regulations for the disposal of genetically engineered animals are strict due to concern for their inappropriate introduction into the food chain, and of the possible public health and environmental impacts of these organisms. Nontransgenic animals that give birth to transgenic offspring are treated as if they are transgenic due to ...

In human pregnancy, reduced placental perfusion has been associated with fetal aortic thickening. However, the relative contributions of fetal undernutrition versus fetal underoxygenation to triggering alterations in fetal cardiovascular development remain uncertain. Here, we isolate the effects of chronic fetal hypoxia on fetal cardiovascular development in a specific rodent model ...

The phenotype and fate of fetal microchimeric cells transfered into the maternal circulation during pregnancy are not well described. Since progenitors from distal sites mobilize during wound healing, we analyzed the recruitment and plasticity of fetal progenitors into maternal wounds. Wounds were generated on normal and bleomycin-induced fibrotic skin of ...

We describe a 22-week female fetus after pregnancy was terminated because of fetal magnetic resonance imaging showing a large left cerebral hemispheric cleft suggestive of porencephaly or schizencephaly. Postmortem examination revealed a large cavernous angioma of the left opercular region with evidence of previous hemorrhage and extensive cerebral infarction. In ...

Many pregnant women in Denmark have been advised that some alcohol intake is acceptable. In the 1999-2007-period, the Danish National Board of Health advised pregnant women that some alcohol intake was acceptable. From 2007, alcohol abstinence has been recommended. We aimed to describe the attitudes towards and knowledge about alcohol ...

The knowledge of the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy isn't indeed a new issue, but the recent evidences of ethyl-glucuronide and ethyl-sulfate in meconium as novel biomarkers of prenatal ethanol exposure open new perspectives for the early diagnosis of the alcohol-related birth defects. This is crucial for a better ...

: To explore the factors possibly associated with the intrapartum management of nonreassuring fetal status and the factors affecting the decision to expedite delivery for fetal distress among different obstetric health care providers. : In a cross-sectional study, a standardized hypothetical clinical scenario of management of fetal distress was presented ...

Issues. The lack of consensus about whether low to moderate levels of prenatal alcohol exposure are a risk factor for fetal development has generated considerable debate about what advice policies and guidelines should provide. Approach. This paper reviews the evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining the risk from low ...

Fetal hypoxia adversely affects the brain and heart development, yet the mechanisms responsible remain elusive. Recent studies indicate an important role of the extracellular matrix in fetal development and tissue remodeling. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) have been implicated in a variety ...

It is the current status of fetal ventriculomegaly that although the technology for diagnosis is advanced, it does not have significant impact on the management outcome. Fetal ventriculomegaly is mainly treated after birth. We reviewed the literature and suggested policies of postnatal evaluation and surgical management of fetal hydrocephalus. Our ...

Reliable monitoring of fetal condition often requires more information than is provided by cardiotocography, the standard technique for fetal monitoring. Abdominal recording of the fetal electrocardiogram may offer valuable additional information, but unfortunately is troubled by poor signal-to-noise ratios during certain parts of pregnancy. To increase the usability of abdominal ...

This article is third in a series on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), and centers on preventing an alcohol exposed pregnancy (AEP). FASDs are 100% preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy. As many pregnancies are unintended, Arkansas providers would best serve childbearing women if they would ...

Fetal sheep defend blood pressure, blood volume, and blood gases using baro- and chemoreflexes that influence autonomic and neuroendocrine responses. The local generation of prostanoids within the fetal brain is also an important component in activating hormone responses to these stimuli, but the relationship between the reflexes and prostanoid biosynthesis ...

This study describes the factors associated with self-reported substance use in pregnant young women attending a hospital clinic and evaluates 3 ways in its identification. A cross-sectional study of 30 pregnant young adults who responded to a mail survey containing the CRAFFT screening tool. All completed a diagnostic interview that ...