Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a disease of weakened pelvic floor support tissues, leading to changes in the pelvic organ position and function of pelvic organs, with long-term effects on women. This study aimed to assess pelvic floor function using electrophysiology and clinical symptoms, exploring the risk factors for PFD one month postpartum. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 845 women from postpartum outpatient clinic of Nantong Affiliated Hospital from August 2019 to October 2021...

BACKGROUND: Mistreatment of women during childbirth is a global health challenge. Maternity healthcare providers play a key role in influencing women's birth experience. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare providers regarding mistreatment of women during labour and childbirth in public hospitals in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was part of an implementation research project that was conducted from October to December 2021 at five public teaching hospitals in Tehran...

OBJECTIVE: Hospital-based labor and delivery units are closing at increasing rates in the rural US, significantly impacting maternal and newborn health. The objective of this study to determine if rurality-measured as distance from the hospital-and socioeconomic status-measured as insurance payor-impact both spontaneous and medically indicated preterm birth incidence at a single rural academic institution. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using electronic medical records of patients with singleton pregnancies delivering at a single rural academic institution between 2016-2018...

Choline is a known developmental programming agent of the bovine preimplantation embryo. Culture of the embryo with 1.8 mmol/L choline, a concentration much higher than in blood, alters development to cause increased weaning weight and other changes during the postnatal period. It was hypothesized here that choline exerts similar effects on the developmental program of the embryo when added at concentrations similar to those in peripheral blood (i.e., 4 mol/L). Oocytes were collected via ovum pick up and embryos were produced in vitro...

BACKGROUND: Universal screening for depression and anxiety in pregnancy has been recommended by several leading medical organizations, but the implementation of such screening protocols may overburden health care systems lacking relevant resources. Text message screening may provide a low-cost, accessible alternative to in-person screening assessments. However, it is critical to understand who is likely to participate in text message-based screening protocols before such approaches can be implemented at the population level...

BACKGROUND: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to drugs such as cocaine is a public health problem that causes deficits in brain development and function in humans and animals. One of the main effects of prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure is increased vulnerability to developing the substance use disorder at an early age. Furthermore, the negative emotional states associated with cocaine withdrawal increase the fragility of patients to relapse into drug abuse. In this sense, prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure enhanced the cocaine- and nicotine-induced locomotor activity and locomotor sensitization, and rats exposed prenatally to cocaine displayed an increase in anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in adulthood (PND 60-70)...

IMPORTANCE: The incidence of severe maternal morbidity (SMM)-and particularly cardiovascular SMM (cvSMM), the first cause of pregnancy-related mortality-has been rising in North America. Although hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are common, their association with cvSMM specifically remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between individual subtypes of HDP and cvSMM, in addition to overall SMM, in a large, nationally representative sample. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A population-based cohort study using the United States National Inpatient Sample was conducted...

Postpartum depression is a significant public health issue that occurs within the first 12 weeks after childbirth. It is more prevalent among teenage mothers compared to adults. However, the findings of the existing interventional studies cannot be readily applied to teenage mothers due to their unique psychosocial concerns. Furthermore, these findings have shown inconsistencies regarding the benefit of psychological and psychosocial interventions in reducing the incidence of postpartum depression. The current review is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in preventing postpartum depression, specifically among teenage mothers...

BACKGROUND: The integration of patient-centered care (PCC) and value-based healthcare (VBHC) principles, emphasizing personalized, responsive care and cost efficiency, is crucial in modern healthcare. Despite advocation from the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) for the global adoption of these principles through patient-reported measures (PRMs), their implementation, especially the pregnancy and childbirth (PCB) set, remains limited in maternity care. This study focuses on understanding the optimal organizational entity for integrating standard ICHOM-PCB-PRMs into routine maternity care in Finland...

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic polyhydramnios is associated with adverse neonatal outcome. The aim of this study was to examine the value of the middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (MCA-PI) in predicting adverse perinatal outcome in pregnancies affected by idiopathic polyhydramnios. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed during 2013-2022 at a tertiary-care university affiliated hospital. The study included singleton pregnancies with idiopathic polyhydramnios...

Background: The good qualities of breastfeeding are well known. The aim of this study was to closely examine the impact of specific maternal, prenatal, obstetric, and early neonatal factors on the success of breastfeeding. Materials and Methods: We used data from the Kuopio Birth Cohort study and analyzed 2,521 online questionnaires, which were answered by women 1 year after giving birth. Breastfeeding variables were divided into successful breastfeeding (breastfeeding exclusively with one's own breast milk ≥4 months or breastfeeding with formula ≥6 months) and poor breastfeeding (breastfeeding exclusively with one's own milk <4 months and duration of all breastfeeding <6 months) for univariate and multivariable analyses...

OBJECTIVE: Aim: To estimate the frequency of different types of healthcare-associated maternal peripartum infections and their risk factors among women in Ukraine. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: Multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted in nine regional perinatal centers of Ukraine between January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023. The criteria for specific healthcare-associated maternal peripartum infections (endometritis, episiotomy infection, and maternal sepsis) site were adapted from the CDC/NHSN case definitions...

Clinical onset and exacerbation of autosomal dominant SPG9A hereditary spastic paraplegia, including reversible wasting, has been described during pregnancy. SPG9A is due to ALDH18A1 mutations resulting in proline and ornithine deficiency. We present the case of a 29 year old primagravida at 32 weeks who presented with six months of upper limb amyotrophic wasting on a background unrecognized progressive spasticity due to SPG9A. The wasting reversed significantly following delivery. Our report highlights the unusual clinical features including cataract and joint laxity which may suggest SPG9A, echoes the existing descriptions of pregnancy-related provocation of amyotrophy in this condition and documents the outcome of two subsequent pregnancies following dietary intervention...

OBJECTIVE: To disclose the relationships between serum LH and reproductive outcomes in Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol pretreated with luteal estradiol. METHODS: 371 patients, pretreated with estradiol, followed the GnRH antagonist protocol. They were divided into four groups based on the quartiles of serum LH levels on the day of gonadotropin (Gn) initiation(LHGI ) and trigger (LHtrigger ). Data on various pregnancy outcomes were collected...

OBJECTIVES: To explore the value of applying flow high definition (HD) glass body in prenatal diagnosis of vasa previa and to preliminarily discuss the types of vasa previa. METHODS: Two-dimensional ultrasound, flow HD, and flow HD glass body were used to image the umbilical cord insertion site and placenta, observe the cervical internal os and surrounding areas, and retrospectively analyze cases of vasa previa. RESULTS: There were 15 cases of vasa previa, including 14 cases of singleton pregnancies and 1 case of twin pregnancy, with a total of 22 vasa previa, including 10 veins and 12 arteries...

OBJECTIVES: Th1/Th2 shift occurs during pregnancy. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares may induce the dysregulation of Th1 and Th2 cells. We aimed to investigate the dynamic changes of Th1/Th2 associated transcription factors and cytokines in patients with SLE during pregnancy. METHODS: Twenty-five pregnant patients with SLE and twenty-two healthy age-matched women served as controls from September 2021 to March 2022 were enrolled in the study. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were performed to measure the expression of Th1 specific transcription factors T-bet, cytokine IFN-γ, and Th2 specific transcription factors GATA3, cytokine IL-4...

BACKGROUND: There is a huge gap in the knowledge of the body's nutrient resources in women with multiple gestations. Due to the increased demand hypothesis and taking into account common vitamin D deficits in women with singleton pregnancies, this issue should also be investigated in twin pregnancies. This study evaluated blood vitamin D concentration in women with twin pregnancies and in the umbilical cord blood of their newborns as well as analyzed environmental factors that may affect the level of this nutrient...

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the prevalence, epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of birth defects among livebirths in central China, aiming to provide evidences for the prevention of birth defects and government Decision-makings. METHODS: Birth data from China's Hubei Province between 2015 and 2022 were collected, including basic information of the livebirths, the mothers and the fathers, as well as information about delivery and each prenatal examination...

INTRODUCTION: 45,X/46,XY mosaicism is a rare anomaly in sexual differentiation, presenting with diverse phenotypes and often leading to infertility due to abnormal gonadal development. AIMS: This report aims to present a case study of a 45,X/46,XY mosaic male patient with an ejaculatory disorder attributed to seminal vesicle dysplasia. METHODS: In this case study, diagnostic procedures encompassed blood tests, semen analysis, chromosomal examination, and imaging studies to assess gonadal morphology...

Hepatitis viral infection can cause severe complications, even mortality in pregnant women and their offspring. Multiple studies have shown that vertical transmission can cause viral hepatitis infections in newborns, especially in hepatitis B, C, and E. Screening for hepatitis viral infection in pregnant women is essential. Once infected, pregnant women should be given timely antiviral treatments, which could effectively alleviate the disease progression and reduce adverse outcomes. Besides, the mechanism of viral hepatitis mediating adverse pregnancy outcomes has been a hot topic...