Journal of Maternal-fetal & Neonatal Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To report the outcome of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) undergoing treatment. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were women with CSP undergoing treatment. The primary outcome was successful treatment for CSP, defined as no need for additional medical or surgical strategies. Secondary outcomes were the type of additional treatment (surgical or medical), need for blood transfusion, emergency laparotomy, hysterectomy, post-treatment complications...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with those of normal vaginal birth (NVB) in a tertiary hospital in China. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 1,024 women who birthed vaginally between January 2019 and December 2020. The VBAC group ( n  = 512) included women with one previous cesarean, while the NVB group ( n  = 512) had no previous caesareans. All women used epidural analgesia...

BACKGROUND: Women with Sjögren's Disease are more likely to experience pregnancy complications compared to their counterparts without the disease. Attention to detail and familiarity with the most recent research and guidelines in this field are required to achieve optimal maternal and fetal outcomes. Such complications include pregnancy induced hypertension, fetal growth restriction, thromboembolic events, and preterm delivery. Among the most life-threatening sequela of maternal Sjogren's Disease is fetal autoimmune congenital heart block (ACHB), which has high potential to cause intrauterine fetal death, neonatal mortality, developmental delay, and other long-term pediatric complications...

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in a cohort of pregnant patients served by a single health system. Treatments and outcomes are compared by maternal SARS-CoV-2 status and COVID-19 symptomatology. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with delivery outcomes from March 2020-December 2021. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was defined by patients who had a positive test or COVID-19 diagnosis during pregnancy. Descriptive analysis compared demographics, medical management during pregnancy, and both perinatal and non-obstetric outcomes by SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 status (negative, positive-asymptomatic, and positive-symptomatic)...

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the characteristics of fetal mesenteric blood flow perfusion across various gestational weeks and evaluated the efficacy of Microvascular Flow (MV-Flow) imaging technology in assessing intestinal wall blood flow in fetuses with meconium peritonitis (MP). METHOD: In this retrospective study, we analyzed 35 fetuses with MP and 160 healthy fetuses. We examined the correlation between the Vascular Index (VI) of mesenteric perfusion and gestational age, conducted an analysis comparing MP operative and non-operative groups, and developed a predictive model for surgical intervention...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the pressure algometer in predicting gynecological surgery pain. We looked into the predictive value of preoperative pain sensitivity to gynecological pain and the relationship between preoperative pressure pain threshold (PPT), pressure pain tolerance (PTO), and postoperative pain outcomes. METHODS: Reliability test : We recruited 60 volunteers at Nantong University. For three consecutive days, two examiners measured the pain sensitivity of each participant using a pressure algometer...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of folic acid (FA) and vitamin D supplementation on increasing maternal serum folate and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations during pregnancy and further reveal its role in reducing the risk of fetal growth restriction (FGR) in patients with preeclampsia (PE). METHODS: A total of 300 preeclamptic patients (treatment group 204 and control group 96) who had undergone routine obstetric examinations were retrospectively analyzed in this study...

OBJECTIVE: Maternal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has been suggested to be a predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in the offspring of mothers with pre-gestational diabetes mellitus, although there is little data supporting this contention. We aimed to assess the relationship between maternal HbA1c and postnatal LVH. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of infants born to mothers with pre-gestational diabetes mellitus from 2015 to 2021 at our institution...

OBJECTIVE: With the increasing number of cesarean sections worldwide, the need to determine the gestational age for scheduled cesarean sections has increased. The literature needs clear information, especially about cesarean sections four or more times. Our study aims to determine the ideal gestational week for mothers and babies in patients who are not in labor and who will have four or more cesarean sections. METHODS: In our retrospective study, the records of 2318 pregnant women were accessed, and those with singleton pregnancies, without medication use during pregnancy, and without any complicated pregnancies, such as newly defined preeclampsia, diabetes, and thyroid disease, and those over 18 years of age were included...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and the risk of gestational diabetes among US adults. METHOD: We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2007-2018 data to perform this study. LE8 scores comprised 4 health behaviors (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and sleep duration) and 4 health factors (BMI, non-high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure)...

BACKGROUND: Various techniques have been proposed to predict and evaluate the timing and conditions of childbirth in pregnant women at different stages of pregnancy. Providing precise methods for forecasting childbirth status can reduce the burden on the healthcare system. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of transvaginal sonography of cervical length (CL) and cervical angle (CA) on full-term delivery outcomes. METHODS: This cohort study analyzed 151 pregnant women between 37 and 42 weeks of gestational age who were treated at Rasoul Akram Hospital affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences from June 2023 to January 2024...

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy-induced hypertension remains one of the important types of diseases that affect maternal and infant outcomes; prenatal and perinatal ultrasound examination is an important tool for evaluating fetal development. So, this study aimed to explore the clinical value of applying fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) measuring left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in mid-to-late fetuses to predict neonatal complications in patients with gestational hypertension...

OBJECTIVE: Fetal cardiac anomalies are the most commonly diagnosed structural anomalies. In these cases, Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists are tasked with counseling patients on a spectrum of diagnoses as well as their prognostic implications. A recent study of pediatric cardiologists demonstrated that personal beliefs regarding termination impact the counseling provided to patients. Our objective was to study whether the personal beliefs of MFMs impact counseling of patients with severe fetal cardiac anomalies and to compare these providers to their cardiology counterparts...

PURPOSE: Preeclampsia (PE) is a common complication of pregnancy that carries significant risks for both the mother and the fetus, and is frequently accompanied by hyperuricemia, yet the exact source of elevated uric acid (UA) levels remains partially elucidated. Several potential origins for increased UA levels include abnormal renal function, increased tissue breakdown, and increased activity of the enzyme Xanthine Oxidase (XO). The aim of the study was to determine serum levels of UA and XO not only in maternal serum, but also in umbilical vein (UV) and umbilical artery (UA) and explore their possible role in PE development...

OBJECTIVE: The inconsistency in conclusions from early observational studies has sparked our interest in elucidating the relationship between lipid levels and susceptibility to hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). This study wishes to employed Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate the causal relationship between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and HG. METHODS: We employed Tow-Sample MR analysis to investigate the causal associations between LDL-C and HG...

OBJECTIVES: Pre-eclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH) are two different categories of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Given earlier observational research, the relationship between sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and a higher risk of GH/PE is still up for dispute. Hence, the present investigation aimed to examine the possible link between SHBG and the likelihood of GH/PE. METHODS: As a first stage, single nucleotide polymorphisms from summary-level genome-wide association studies were tightly screened using quality-control techniques...

OBJECTIVES: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disease in women of childbearing age, and the incidence of PCOS has increased in recent years. However, the pathogenesis of this disease has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: The expression of miR-151a-3p in ovarian granulosa cells (KGN) was determined using real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation and flow cytometric assays were used to investigate the effect of miR-151a-3p on KGN cells...

OBJECTIVE: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder. Late-onset (Lo)-PE can cause serious complications in both the mother and child. This study aimed to explore biomarkers for elucidating the mechanisms underlying Lo-PE, via a metabolomic analysis of first-trimester maternal serum. METHODS: This study was conducted at Fukushima Regional Center as an adjunct to Japan Environment and Children Study and included 12 patients with Lo-PE matched to 12 women with healthy pregnancies...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the serum concentration of the spexin, which has been shown to have an anorexic effect in animal models, in pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted with 80 pregnant women who applied to the Umraniye Training and Research Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic between April 2022 and September 2022. The HG group consisted of 40 pregnant women who were diagnosed with HG in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, and the control group consisted of 40 healthy pregnant women matched with the HG group in terms of age, BMI, and gestational week...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of abnormal placental shapes (APS) compared with prenatal ultrasound. METHODS: From an initial cohort of 613 women with a high prevalence of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders, the MRI findings of 27 pregnant women with APS who underwent antenatal ultrasound and MRI examinations before delivery were retrospectively analyzed. The clinicopathological findings were used as the gold standard, and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of antenatal MRI and a multidisciplinary team experienced in diagnosing APS were assessed...