Journal of Maternal-fetal & Neonatal Medicine

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OBJECTIVE: Leptin signaling plays an important role in regulating metabolism and reproduction. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between polymorphisms of leptin receptor ( LEPR ) gene A223G and A668G and preeclampsia (PE) and evaluated influences of genotypes on clinical, metabolic, and oxidative stress indices in Chinese women. METHODS: This is a case-control study including 322 patients with PE and 1295 healthy pregnant women. The two polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragments length polymorphism method...

OBJECTIVE: To identify the optimal gestational age of planned delivery in pregnancies complicated by chronic hypertension requiring antihypertensive medications that minimizes the risk of adverse perinatal events and maternal morbidity. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies after 37 weeks of gestation complicated by chronic hypertension on antihypertensive medication, delivered at 7 hospitals within an academic health system in New York from 12/1/2015 to 9/3/2020...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the impact of interpregnancy weight change from the first to the second pregnancy on the risk of infants being large for gestational age (LGA). METHODS: This nationwide prospective birth cohort analysis included 3245 women who delivered their first two live singletons between 2011 and 2014. Interpregnancy weight change was calculated as the difference between the prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) of the first and second pregnancies...

BACKGROUND: Oxytocin is routinely administered after delivery for prophylaxis and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, but it is associated with considerable cardiovascular side-effects. Carbetocin, a synthetic oxytocin analogue, has a myometrial contraction effect of 60 min when given IV, compared with 16 min for oxytocin. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there are differences in cardiovascular effects between oxytocin and carbetocin up to 1 h after treatment...

BACKGROUND: Respiratory distress is common in neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units. Additionally, infectious diseases such as intrauterine infections or vertical transmission are important underlying causes of respiratory failure. However, pathogens often cannot be identified in neonates, and there are many cases in which antibacterial drugs are empirically administered. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is advantageous in that it can detect trace amounts of bacteria that cannot be detected by culturing or bacteria that are difficult to cultivate...

Background: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a common critical lung disease in newborn infants, especially those in premature infants with higher mortality rate. Early and correct diagnosis is the key to improve its prognosis. Previously, the diagnosis of RDS mainly relied on chest X-ray (CXR) findings, and it has been graded into four stages based on the progression and severity of CXR changes. This traditional diagnosing and grading method may lead to high misdiagnosis rate or delayed diagnosis. Recently, using ultrasound to diagnose neonatal lung diseases and RDS is becoming increasingly popular, and the technology is gaining higher sensitivity and higher specificity...

BACKGROUND: Antenatal fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is currently limited by hospital-based accessibility as well as the availability of relevant equipment and expertise required to position device electrodes. Ambulatory FHR monitoring in the form of noninvasive fetal electrocardiography (NIFECG) is currently an area of research interest, particularly during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the potential to improve maternity care and reduce hospital attendances need to be evaluated...

OBJECTIVE: Severe preeclampsia diagnosed at or prior to 34 weeks is an indication for preterm delivery. Many patients with severe preeclampsia develop fetal growth restriction as a result of the placental dysfunction associated with both conditions. The ideal mode of delivery in cases of preterm severe preeclampsia with fetal growth restriction remains controversial, with providers often proceeding directly to cesarean delivery rather than attempting a trial of labor due to theoretic concerns about the harms of labor in the face of placental dysfunction...

Aim: The potential bond between pentraxin-3 levels and neonatal sepsis has been the center of research in many primary studies. The aim of the current meta-analysis is to examine whether there are differences among pentraxin-3 levels in septic and in healthy neonates. Materials and Methods: Our search strategy included the systematic search of the following databases: MEDLINE, Clinicaltrials.gov, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Google Scholar, using a structured algorithm. Statistical analysis of the overall outcome was done using Revman 5...

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors, maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes related to unintended lower segment uterine extension during cesarean delivery (CD). METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis in a single, university-affiliated medical center between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019. All singleton pregnancies delivered by CD were included. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify maternal and obstetrical predictors for uterine extension during CD...

OBJECTIVE: To define the natural course and complications, and develop a model for predicting persistency when low-lying placenta (LLP) is detected early in pregnancy. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included women with LLP detected during an early anatomic scan performed at 13-16 weeks gestation. Additional transvaginal ultrasound exams were assessed for resolution at 22-24 weeks and 36-39 weeks. Patients were categorized as: Group 1-LLP resolved by the second-trimester scan, Group 2-LLP resolved by the third trimester, or Group 3-LLP persisted to delivery...

BACKGROUND: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune multi-system disorder frequently affecting black women of childbearing age. No published data exist on the obstetric outcomes in a Caribbean population. OBJECTIVE: We analyzed pregnancy outcomes in an Afro-Caribbean cohort of women with SLE at a tertiary university hospital. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed of all pregnant women with SLE prior to pregnancy from January 1990 to December 2021 at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Jamaica...

BACKGROUND: In an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), governments restricted outdoor activities and imposed lockdown quarantine. This change in lifestyle probably affected individuals' eating habits and physical activity. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal antenatal weight gain, neonatal macrosomia, and other maternal and neonatal outcomes of women delivering at an academic medical center in Israel...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between pulmonary hemorrhage and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs). METHODS: The study participants were all VLBW newborns admitted from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021. The BPD subjects finally included were VLBWIs who survived until the diagnosis was established. This study was divided into pulmonary hemorrhage group (PH group, n  = 35) and non-pulmonary hemorrhage group (Non-PH group, n  = 190)...

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between a history of induced abortion and follow-up preterm birth. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 27,176 women aged 19 to 48 years old in the city of Dongguan. Participants were divided into two groups according to the history of induced abortion. We used log-binomial regression to estimate adjusted risk ratios of preterm birth (gestation at less than 37 weeks) and early preterm birth (gestation at less than 34 weeks) for women with a history of induced abortion...

BACKGROUND: Fluid management in newborns undergoing surgery can be challenging due to difficulties in accurately assessing volume status in context of high fluid needs perioperatively and postoperative third-space fluid loss. Fluid overload can be associated with an increase in neonatal morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the burden of fluid overload and to evaluate their associations with adverse effects among infants undergoing abdominal surgery at a tertiary perinatal center...

Objective: Doppler velocimetry has been widely used throughout the years as a valuable tool in the follow-up and prognosis of various pregnancy complications. Numerous Doppler indices have been introduced to qualitatively describe fetal blood flow. Currently, the Pulsatility index (PI) is the most widely used index for this purpose. In current clinical practice, middle cerebral artery (MCA) PI measurement is commonly used to assess fetal well-being, especially in late-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR). However, existing evidence suggests that MCA PI alone is inferior to the ratio between MCA and umbilical artery (UA) pulsatility indices in predicting adverse perinatal and neonatal outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Isolated coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare entity in which evidence for both prognosis and need for perinatal treatment is lacking. We aim to evaluate the characteristics, evolution and perinatal outcomes of reported cases, including one from our center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a systematic review in Medline, Pubmed, and Embase databases for cohort studies or case series related to prenatally diagnosed isolated congenital CAF according to PRISMA guidelines...

OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the effect of maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy on fetal cardiac structural and functional remodeling using fetal echocardiography. METHODS: A total of 59 pregnant women with history of hypothyroidism were prospectively enrolled as the study group, and 74 normal fetuses as the control group. Fetal echocardiography was performed on each subject. Demographic, clinical, and fetal echocardiographic variables were measured, including left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) free wall and ventricular septal thickness, fractional shortening (FS), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), combined cardiac output (CCO), cardiac index (CI), combined cardiac index (CCI), aortic and pulmonary artery velocity, ductus venosus (DV) and pulmonary vein (PV) spectral Doppler, and Tei index...