OBJECTIVE: Women's understanding of pregnancy and antenatal care is influenced by their cultural context. In low income settings women may have limited influence over their reproductive health including when to seek health care. Awareness of signs of pregnancy complications is essential for timely care. The use of antenatal care services ...

Objective: To determine the knowledge and utilization of malaria preventive measures as well as barriers to the utilization of these measures by pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The study was a prospective cross-sectional survey involving pregnant women at the booking clinic of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital between May ...

INTRODUCTION: Cervical ectopic pregnancy is among the rarest clinical conditions happening in women of reproductive age. Yet its management can cause a high rate of morbidity. Therefore, conservative treatment of this condition is a matter of debate. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Hereby we present two cases of cervical ectopic pregnancies that ...

Primary ovarian pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic gestation and one that is often diagnosed only at the time of surgery. We report the first case to our knowledge of a live primary ovarian pregnancy diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasonography and successfully treated with transvaginal-guided aspiration and injection of methotrexate. ...

OBJECTIVE: to describe women's experiences of dietary information and the change of dietary habits during pregnancy. DESIGN: a qualitative design was used. In 2007 we conducted six focus group interviews using open-ended questions. SETTINGS: five rural and city antenatal clinics in northern Sweden were included PARTICIPANTS: twenty-three women in mid-pregnancy ...

A Muslim woman in her sixteenth week of pregnancy was informed that her ultrasound scan showed spina bifida, and laboratory results confirmed the diagnosis. The child would have various complications and, most probably, would need medical care for life. With the consent of her husband she decided to terminate the ...

Obesity is placing a huge burden on healthcare resources and the wellbeing of individuals. The first article in this two part series (October 2012) reviewed the prevalence of obesity in pregnancy and the increased risks for pregnant women to their own and their babies' health. Management of obesity during pregnancy ...

Abstract:Maternal mortality in northern Nigeria is among the highest in the world. To understand better the pathways through which the socio-demographic environment affects awareness of obstetric danger signs (i.e., potential problems associated with pregnancy), preparations for delivery, and skilled birth attendance, we conducted a survey of 5,083 women with recent ...

To optimise the health of pregnant women and their children by evidence-based primary and secondary prevention, more scientific knowledge is needed. To overcome the methodological limitations of many studies on pregnancy and child health, which often use a retrospective design, we established the PRIDE (PRegnancy and Infant DEvelopment) Study. The ...

Multiple guidelines and definitions of physical activity (PA) have been used to study the benefits of activity during pregnancy. The different guidelines lead to a wide range of prevalence estimates and this has led to conflicting reports about activity patterns during pregnancy. A longitudinal study was conducted to assess PA ...

This paper applies a life-course perspective to the problem of early pregnancy and pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity in adolescents in developing countries. It describes the contribution that two categories of "pregnancy-focused" programmes make-firstly, the provision of effective care and support in the antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal periods (downstream programmes), and ...

Background. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is the most common medical condition of pregnancy, affecting up to 85% of expecting mothers. In the USA, there is no FDA-approved medication for the treatment of NVP. Objective. To identify the primary concerns of American women leading them to contact the Motherisk ...

BACKGROUND: Emergencies can occur at any time during pregnancy. In addition to obstetricians and midwives, anesthesiologists should also be familiar with pregnancy-related emergencies. The aim of this study was to assess the basic and advanced knowledge regarding the management of pregnancy-related emergencies of anesthesiologists. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was distributed ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is little known about women's concurrent use of conventional and complementary health care during pregnancy, particularly consultation patterns with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This study examines health service utilisation among pregnant women including consultations with obstetricians, midwives, general practitioners (GPs) and CAM practitioners. METHODS: A sub-study ...

BACKGROUND: The maternal mortality ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa remains high, despite progress in reducing maternal mortality in other parts of the world. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions of women and communities to identify barriers to the uptake of obstetric services. SEARCH STRATEGY: A systematic review of qualitative studies exploring perceptions ...

Objective: Three online surveys explored compliance with the PPP by pharmacists and dermatologists, in the Netherlands. In 2007 and 2011, two pharmacist surveys were conducted to assess improvement over time. Methods: In 2007, survey was sent to members of the Utrecht Pharmacy Panel for Education & Research (UPPER) network (n ...

OBJECTIVE: to gain a better understanding of women's baseline level of knowledge of stillbirth and determine whether giving written information during pregnancy results in improvement in knowledge about stillbirth. DESIGN: a pre-post intervention study. SETTING: women undergoing antenatal care at a small maternity hospital were asked, via questionnaire, about their ...

With more than one third of pregnancies in the United States being delivered by cesarean and the growing knowledge of morbidities associated with repeat cesarean deliveries, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the American College of Obstetricians and ...

A patient with microprolactinoma, who had two successful pregnancies, is described for management issues. First pregnancy was uneventful. During the second pregnancy, the tumor enlarged to macroprolactinoma with headache and blurring of vision which was managed successfully with bromocriptine. Post delivery, complete disappearance of the tumor was documented.

The incidence of pregnancies affected with neural tube defects (NTDs) has been reduced by food fortification programs and public health campaigns promoting folic acid supplementation, but the incidence of NTDs in the USA has not achieved the full potential reduction expected with adequate periconceptional folate utilization. In seeking new ways ...

Complications of late pregnancy are managed infrequently in the emergency department and, thus, can pose a challenge when the emergency physician encounters acute presentations. An expert understanding of the anatomic and physiologic changes and possible complications of late pregnancy is vital to ensure proper evaluation and care for both mother ...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is defined by acute heart failure in the late stages of pregnancy to a few months postpartum. Cardiogenic shock in PPCM, though rare, can be life-threatening, often requiring support with mechanical circulatory support devices. We present a case of 37-year-old Caucasian female who developed cardiogenic shock within ...

BACKGROUND: Enabling women with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to have successful pregnancies requires complex decisions. The study aimed to assess patients' views on IBD and pregnancy and to evaluate any association with subject knowledge. METHODS: General attitudes of females with IBD were assessed on fertility, medication use, delivery mode and ...

BACKGROUND: The publication of several sets of French guidelines was unfortunately not accompanied by planned assessment of their impact on practices. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of eight French perinatal guidelines on actual obstetric practices. METHODS: Historical cohort setting in France: the Audipog database of ...

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in order to determine the extent of internet use by pregnant women to gain information about their pregnancy. The research was conducted in two hospitals in Izmir, Turkey between August and October 2009, after written permission had been obtained. The research sample consisted ...

Objective. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are one of the main causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Internationally, several organizations have developed clinical guidelines to assist professionals and to supply patients with the best possible care. To improve the care for this group of patients, insight into the application of clinical ...

OBJECTIVE: to investigate whether and how Chinese pregnant women used the Internet to retrieve pregnancy-related information. DESIGN AND SETTING: a descriptive, cross-sectional design using a waiting-room questionnaire was employed to obtain information from Chinese pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of a general hospital in Guangzhou, mainland China from September ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The absence of robust evidence of safety of medicines in pregnancy, particularly those for major diseases provided by public health programmes in developing countries, has resulted in cautious recommendations on their use. We describe a protocol for a Pregnancy Registry adapted to resource-limited settings aimed at providing evidence ...

A number of ear, nose and throat symptoms are often associated with pregnancy, which although transient (most will disappear after birth), can have a significant impact on the woman's quality of life. It is essential therefore that midwives are aware of how such symptoms might present during pregnancy, in order ...

Pregnancies complicated by severe sepsis and septic shock are associated with increased rates of preterm labor, fetal infection, and preterm delivery. Sepsis onset in pregnancy can be insidious, and patients may appear deceptively well before rapidly deteriorating with the development of septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, or death. The ...

Placenta previa, placenta accreta, and vasa previa cause significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. With the increasing incidence of both cesarean delivery and pregnancies using assisted reproductive technology, these 3 conditions are becoming more common. Advances in grayscale and Doppler ultrasound have facilitated prenatal diagnosis of abnormal placentation to ...

Primary ovarian ectopic pregnancy, i.e., the implantation of the gestational sac in the ovary, is one of the rarest forms of ectopic pregnancy. Its incidence after natural conception ranges from 1 in 2000 to 1 in 60 000 deliveries and accounts for 3% of all ectopic pregnancies. The diagnosis is ...

The implementation of systematic pregnancy screening programmes, and the increased use and improving quality of medical imaging techniques, have lead to earlier detection and better understanding of the natural history of fetal anomalies. Where most fetal conditions are adequately treatable after birth, some disorders progress during fetal life and can ...

Aortic coarctation is an unusual cause of hypertension during pregnancy and its management is not clarified. We report transcatheter balloon dilatation and stenting for native aortic coarctation in a 22-year-old pregnant woman with severe and uncontrolled systemic hypertension. Arterial blood pressure could be successfully controlled with medical treatment during the ...

To examine the history of superovulation for ovulation induction, its contributions to reproductive medicine, and its impact on multiple births. A search of the relevant literature using PubMed and other online tools. Infertility has been a condition known and studied for thousands of years. However, it was not until this ...

Background. The association between combination antiretroviral (cARV) therapy use by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women during pregnancy and risk of prematurity is still controversial. We explored this question, focusing on the initiation of ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PIs) during pregnancy, which is now standard care.Methods. Trends in prematurity (<37 gestational weeks) were studied ...

Limited data are available to assess the long-term effects of burns to the trunk sustained during early childhood on subsequent pregnancies. This population-based retrospective longitudinal study uses linked Western Australia hospital morbidity and midwives' notification data for the period 1983-2008. During the study period, 824 girls younger than 15 years ...

Objective. To investigate the incidence of various antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs), measured by commercial-based laboratory, with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) patients and the impact of the species, isotype, titer, and number of positive aPLs on reproductive outcome in Japanese. Method. In this retrospective cohort study, 263 patients with RSA without possible ...

This study compared adherence (persistence and execution) during pregnancy and postpartum in HIV-positive women having taken part in the adherence-enhancing program of the Community Pharmacy of the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine in Lausanne between 2004 and 2012. This interdisciplinary program combined electronic drug monitoring and semi-structured, repeated ...

Unplanned teenage pregnancy constitutes an important health problem, whilst contraceptive services are free throughout South Africa and the number of Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) services is increasing. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of secondary school girls towards contraception in Thulamela Municipality of ...

The necessity for early interaction between the embryo and the oviductal and/or uterine environment in the horse is reflected by several striking differences between equine embryos that develop in vivo and those produced in vitro. Better understanding of the salient interactions may help to improve the efficiency of in vitro ...

Maternal recognition of pregnancy in the horse is the sum of events leading to maintenance of pregnancy; in a narrow sense, maternal recognition of pregnancy refers to the physiological process by which the lifespan of the corpus luteum is prolonged. The horse is one of the few domestic species in ...

The purpose of this article is 2-fold: to emphasize the importance of a reproductive life plan and to define its key elements. We review the 2006 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding ways to improve the delivery of preconception health care to women in the ...

To describe patterns of leisure time physical activity during pregnancy in relation to pre-pregnancy leisure time physical activity, socio-demographic characteristics, fertility history, and lifestyle factors. 4,718 nulliparous with singleton pregnancy and intended spontaneous vaginal delivery were included in the study at gestational week 33 from May 2004 to July 2005. ...

Objective-To investigate the density of the primary epidermal lamellae (PEL) around the solar circumference of the forefeet of near-term fetal feral and nonferal (ie, domesticated) horses. Sample-Left forefeet from near-term Australian feral (n = 14) and domesticated (4) horse fetuses. Procedures-Near-term feral horse fetuses were obtained from culled mares within ...

Childbirth information received by mothers during antenatal period influences their satisfaction with the care during perinatal period. It is important for the midwives to know the type of information that satisfies their clients. This study found that the childbirth information that mothers received during antenatal period did not satisfy them. ...

Objective. The objective of this clinical review is to highlight the otolaryngological symptoms that occur in pregnancy. Where available, the authors discuss the current evidence of the etiology and management of the various presentations. While it is appreciated that many of these complaints are transient, their impact on the maternal ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the outcome of fertility work-up, treatment, and dropout in a cohort of subfertile couples in a well-defined area in Western Europe. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Maastricht University Medical Center. PATIENT(S): Subfertile couples referred by their general physician between 2001 and 2003. INTERVENTION(S): Demographic data, findings of ...

INTRODUCTION: A case report is presented of a 23-year-old patient who was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) Type IV (vascular type) in the 23rd week of her second pregnancy. EDS Type IV has one of the highest mortality rates for pregnant women of any condition with significant morbidity if ...

INTRODUCTION Prediction models for spontaneous pregnancy are useful tools to prevent overtreatment, complications and costs in subfertile couples with a good prognosis. The use of such models and subsequent expectant management in couples with a good prognosis are recommended in the Dutch fertility guidelines, but not fully implemented. In this ...