Vaginal bleeding is not uncommon in the first trimester of pregnancy. Ultrasound is the foremost modality for evaluating normal development of the gestational sac and embryo and for discriminating the causes of bleeding. While correlation with quantitative βHCG and clinical presentation is essential, sonographic criteria permit diagnosis of failed pregnancies, ...

During feto-placental development, chorion-amnion fusion occurs in early second trimester and persistent separation of the membranes beyond 17 weeks' gestation is considered abnormal (1). Several reports have shown that complete chorion-amnion separation, defined as the amnion being separated from the chorion on at least three sides of the gestational sac, ...

The care of the unborn child is of tremendous interest to many specialties, with anaesthesiology now gaining a distinct role as part of fetal multidisciplinary care. This book is an impressive collective effort of not less than 85 internationally renowned scientists and clinicians that compile their knowledge and expertise in ...

Ten to fifteen percent of infertile men are azoospermic, and sixty percent of these men have been classified as having non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). NOA results from testicular failure, and one of the causes of this is the presence of varicocele. Varicocele is observed in 5-10 % of men with NOA. This ...

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the scientific evidence about the risks of using methylphenidate for ADHD in pregnancy and lactation, to present a case in which interruption of treatment after delivery and during breastfeeding was harmful and to discuss the implications of treating or not ADHD in pregnancy and lactation. METHOD: For ...

After several decades of declining rates, maternal mortality climbed in California from a three-year moving average of 9.4 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1999-2001 to a high of 14.0 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2006-2008 (p < 0.001). The Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division of the California Department of ...

Placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) is characterized by multiple hypoechoic vesicles which are similar to molar changes in the placenta; however, the process of such morphological changes of PMD during pregnancy has not been fully understood. We performed a review of all PMD cases published in English and identified 49 articles ...

A variety of changes in the eye can occur during pregnancy. These can be physiological, pathologic related to the pregnancy, or pathologic unrelated to the pregnancy. Pregnancy also can affect preexisting conditions. Pregnant women often discuss changes in their health first with their obstetrician; therefore, knowledge of common ophthalmic complaints ...

Suboptimal communication between anesthesiologists and obstetricians can be associated with unintended poor maternal and neonatal outcomes, especially for emergency cesarean deliveries. Obstetricians use the results of antepartum and intrapartum fetal assessments to assess fetal well-being and to make decisions about the timing and method of delivery. Because abnormal results may ...

Building upon over 30 years of experimental and clinical development, fetal surgery can be argued to be a standard of care for selected indications, though application of these techniques remains limited to a small number of highly selected fetuses, and availability to a small number of highly specialized centers. Despite its ...

OBJECTIVES: This review explored the extent to which the role of midwives in nutrition education during pregnancy has been reported in the literature and areas requiring further research were identified. REVIEW METHOD: A review of the literature was undertaken. Articles included in the review were published in English, in scholarly ...

Repeat pregnancy within 2 years of a previous birth or abortion occurs in approximately 35% of recently pregnant female adolescents. The majority of these pregnancies are classified as unintended with about half ending in births and the remainder in abortions. Rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) is associated with increased maternal and ...

In Roman Catholic Moral Theology, a direct abortion is never permitted. An indirect abortion, in which a life threatening pathology is treated, and the treatment inadvertently leads to the death of the fetus, may be permissible in proportionately grave situations. In situations in which a mother's life is endangered by ...

As many as 15% of women experience hypertension during pregnancy. Large proportions of them are receiving antihypertensive medications. This review investigated whether hypertension itself, or the antihypertensive medications, adversely affect long term child neurocognitive development. The existing evidence suggests that methyldopa and labetalol probably do not adversely affect neurobehavioral development. ...

Recently published results suggest that prenatal repair of fetal myelomeningocele is a potentially preferable alternative when compared to postnatal repair. In this article, the pathology of myelomeningocele, unique physiologic considerations, perioperative anesthetic management, and ethical considerations of open fetal surgery for prenatal myelomeningocele repair are discussed. Open fetal surgeries have ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the most appropriate surgical technique for optimizing hemostasis and preservation of subsequent fertility after postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). DESIGN: Systematic review of the literature. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): None. INTERVENTION(S): Review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and the Cochrane Library. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Comparison of the effectiveness of conservative ...

Editors' Note: Dr. Egan inquires about the possibility of Tournay phenomenon in Kawasaki and Mayer's "Tadpole pupil." Dr. Charles, in reference to "Disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis in pregnancy: A systematic review," suggests that it might be appropriate to continue glatiramer acetate in women trying to conceive given the lack ...

OBJECTIVES: The association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO), primarily preterm birth (PTB), is still controversially discussed in the literature. Therefore, the aim of the present systematic review was to analyze the existing literature on the potential association between inflammatory mediators detected in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and ...

Beta2-adrenergic agonist medications such as albuterol and terbutaline are often prescribed during pregnancy to treat conditions such as asthma, pulmonary disease, preterm labor, or acute non-reassuring fetal heart rate abnormalities during labor. Recently a review article questioned the safety of beta2-adrenergic agonist use in pregnancy, postulating a "biologically plausible" link ...

Prostaglandin medications are frequently used in the process of induction of labor. Understanding the history and research that supports prostaglandin use for induction of labor is crucial for safe practice. Dinoprostone has been the standard of care for cervical ripening in term pregnancies. Misoprostol administration via various routes has been ...

The Editors and Publisher would like to inform the readers the following article has been retracted from publication in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine: Ortendahl M, Näsman P. Quitting smoking is perceived to have an effect on somatic health among pregnant and non-pregnant women. J Matern Fetal Neonatal ...

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition in association with pregnancy. Incident UI in pregnancy or postpartum are significant risk factors for UI later in life. Epidemiological studies on UI during pregnancy and postpartum list numerous variables associated with UI. For women, the main focus is on pelvic floor muscle ...

In the roundtable that follows, clinicians discuss a study published in this issue of the Journal in light of its methodology, relevance to practice, and implications for future research. Article discussed: Orbach H, Matok I, Gorodischer R, et al. Hypertension and antihypertensive drugs in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. Am J ...

BACKGROUND: the incidence of obesity increases in all developed countries to frightful percentages, also in women of reproductive age. Maternal obesity is associated with important obstetrical complications; and this group also exhibits a higher incidence of prolonged pregnancies and labours. OBJECTIVE: to review the literature on the pathophysiology of onset ...

Although selective termination of pregnancy and fetal reduction in multiple pregnancy both involve the termination in utero of the development of live fetuses, these two procedures are different in several aspects. Nevertheless, several authors tend to amalgamate and confuse their psychosocial consequences and the ethical issues they raise. Therefore, this ...

BACKGROUND: Caesarean section rates are increasing worldwide, and the long-term effects are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the risk of subsequent ectopic pregnancy in women with a previous caesarean section, compared with vaginal delivery. SEARCH STRATEGY: Systematic review of the literature using CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, PubMed, SCOPUS and ...

Because women are becoming pregnant at a later age, hypertension is more commonly encountered in pregnancy. In addition, with increasing numbers of young women living with renal transplants and kidney disease, it is important for physicians to be aware of the effects of pregnancy on these diseases. A multidisciplinary approach ...

Depression and gestational diabetes are common and serious problems during pregnancy. While information exists regarding maternal and fetal outcomes in women who have either depression or gestational diabetes, there is a paucity of data regarding outcomes in women who have both. This article reviews and summarizes studies examining depression during ...

ABSTRACT: The editors of BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 12 (2012).

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Every year more than 20 million infants are born with low birth weight worldwide. About 3.6 million infants die during the neonatal period. More than one third of child deaths are thought to be attributable to maternal and child under nutritionObjectives: To systematically review the effect of supplementing ...

An intramural ectopic is a rare type of ectopic pregnancy in which the gestational sac is implanted within the myometrium, separate from the endometrial cavity and Fallopian tubes. There are only 53 cases in the published literature. We report a case of intramural ectopic pregnancy treated surgically and review the ...

The incidence of uterine myomas in pregnancy is estimated from 0.1 to 3.9 %. Although a lot of women with uterine fibroids bring the pregnancy without adverse events, data provided in the literature suggest that uterine fibromyomas are associated with several complications. The most important clinic question concerns the impact of ...

This review covers four topics. 1) Placental pathology in Himalayan mountain people. To determine morphological changes of the placenta at high altitude, pathological examination was made of 1000 Himalayan placentas obtained in Nepal and Tibet and the results compared with Japanese placentas delivered at sea level. Characteristic findings in the ...

BACKGROUND: Kidney diseases, which have a prevalence of 3% in women of childbearing age, are increasingly encountered in pregnancy. Glomerulonephritis may develop or flare up in pregnancy, and a differential diagnosis with pre-eclampsia may be impossible on clinical grounds. Use of kidney biopsy is controversial, but a systematic review has ...

Context. Envenomations during pregnancy pose all the problems of envenomation in the nonpregnant state with additional complexity related to maternal physiologic changes, medication use during pregnancy, and the well-being of the fetus. Objective. We review the obstetric literature and management options available to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality while limiting ...

Preeclampsia is an important syndrome complicating pregnancy. While the pathogenesis of preeclampsia is not entirely known, poor placental perfusion leading to widespread maternal endothelial dysfunction is accepted as a major mechanism. It has been suggested that altered placental expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may cause shallow cytotrophoblastic invasion and incomplete ...

Abdominal cocoon (AC) is a rare condition of uncertain etiology. We report the case of a 29-year-old infertile Chinese woman with AC, who successfully got twin pregnancy and delivery through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET). And this review discusses the current concepts of its pathogenesis, diagnosis and ...

Obstructive azoospermia is a common cause of male infertility and can result from infection, congenital anomalies, or iatrogenic injury. Microsurgical vasal reconstruction is a suitable treatment for many cases of obstructive azoospermia, although some couples will require sperm retrieval paired with in-vitro fertilization. The various causes of obstructive azoospermia and ...

To review current knowledge about emergency contraception (EC), including available options, their modes of action, efficacy, safety, and the effective provision of EC within a practice setting. The combined estradiol-levonorgestrel (Yuzpe regimen) and the levonorgestrel-only regimen, as well as post-coital use of copper intrauterine devices, are reviewed. Efficacy in terms ...

It has been nearly 15 years since the first review on pregnancy and iron deficiency was published in Nutrition Reviews. Many unresolved issues raised in that seminal review have been addressed. New proteins involved in nonheme and heme iron transport have been identified in the enterocyte, and information on the ...

Juvenile dermatomyositis has variable clinical presentations both in and outside of pregnancy. A literature review indicated that optimal maternal and fetal outcomes can be anticipated when the pregnancy is undertaken while the disease is in remission. Poorer outcomes are associated with flare-up of the disease in early pregnancy compared with ...

Paediatricians will encounter many babies and children who are the result of assisted reproductive technologies. Although in most cases there are no adverse health consequences, ART is associated with some risks which are reviewed in this article. CONCLUSION: ART has had a major impact on multiple gestation and the incidence ...

INTRODUCTION: Uterine rupture (UR) in early pregnancy in nulliparous women is a rare and unpredictable occurrence with high maternal morbidity and fatal fetal outcomes. Intrauterine anomalies could be the primum movens of this dangerous condition and underestimated in the literature. PRESENTATION OF CASE: An uncommon case of uterine rupture at ...

Dietary supplementation with ω-3 long chain fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has increased in popularity in recent years and adequate DHA supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood is of clinical importance. Some evidence has been built for the neuro-cognitive benefits of supplementation with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) ...

AIM: To provide evidence on how women's circumstances and experiences influence their smoking behaviour in pregnancy, including their attempts to quit. BACKGROUND: Women in disadvantaged circumstances are more likely to smoke prior to pregnancy; they are also less likely to quit in pregnancy and, among those who quit, more likely ...

Objectives: We describe the sonographic features and pregnancy outcomes of placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD), an entity often misdiagnosed as molar pregnancy. Methods: We reviewed PMD cases from our institution and performed a systematic review of the existing literature. All cases described placental morphology by antenatal ultrasound. Results: We found 3 ...

BACKGROUNDThe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the fertility outcome after borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) management and the results of conservative management, risk of recurrence and alternative options.METHODSThe search strategy was based on relevant terms concerning BOT using Medline and the Central Cochrane Library. Both early and advanced ...

Abstract Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are risk markers for future maternal coronary heart disease (CHD). Clinical assessment of a woman's history of pregnancy complications relies on self-report, but the predictive value of maternal recall is unclear. A systematic review was conducted to comprehensively review and critically assess the available ...

The fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch and silencing of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) have been areas of long-standing interest among hematologists, given the fact that clinical induction of HbF production holds tremendous promise to ameliorate the clinical symptoms of sickle cell disease (SCD) and β-thalassemia. In this article, we discuss historic attempts to ...

While Korea does not have any legal statement on surrogacy, treatments are carried out in practice. As a result, every Institutional Review Board (IRB) of each fertility clinic faces an ethical predicament in reviewing each case. There is a need to arrange the institutions' own standards of surrogate pregnancy procedures ...