Maternal-fetal

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated an abrupt transition to exclusive virtual interviewing for maternal-fetal medicine fellowship programs. OBJECTIVE: To assess maternal-fetal medicine fellowship program directors' approaches to exclusive virtual interviews and to obtain program director feedback on the virtual interview experience to guide future interview cycles. STUDY DESIGN: A novel cross-sectional online survey was distributed through the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine to program directors following the completion of the interview season, but prior to the results of the National Resident Matching Program on October 14, 2020...

FcRn, a non-classical Fc gamma (γ) receptor (FcγR) with near ubiquitous expression, plays key roles in disease pathogenesis and progression though immunoglobulin G (IgG) transport, IgG recycling, and IgG-immune complex clearance. FcRn function can be inhibited using IgG-based and non-IgG-based antagonists, by exploiting the pH-dependent binding affinity of FcRn for the IgG Fc region. FcRn therapeutics have shown promise in murine models and human clinical trials for autoimmune diseases and maternal-fetal immune cytopenias; they appear safe, well-tolerated, and reduce circulating IgG levels...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the maternal-fetal Doppler patterns in pregnant women recovered from COVID-19. METHODS: This prospective case-control study was conducted in Ankara City Hospital between July 1, 2020 and August 30, 2020. Thirty pregnant women who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and completed the quarantine process were compared with 40 healthy pregnant women in terms of the fetal Doppler parameters. All pregnant women diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were followed up in our clinic and their diagnoses have been confirmed in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples by quantitative real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method...

Importance: The etiologic complexities of preterm birth remain inadequately understood, which may impede the development of better preventative and treatment measures. Objective: To examine the association between specific preterm-birth phenotypes and clinical, growth, and neurodevelopmental differences among preterm newborns compared with term newborns up to age 2 years. Design, Setting, and Participants: The INTERBIO-21st study included a cohort of preterm and term newborn singletons enrolled between March 2012 and June 2018 from maternity hospitals in 6 countries worldwide who were followed up from birth to age 2 years...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of surgical procedure on the operation's results in patients undergoing emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH). METHODS: The records of patients who underwent EPH due to postpartum hemorrhage between 2010 and 2020 in two tertiary centers with a high crude delivery rate were retrospectively analyzed. Surgical data were compared according to the EPH type. RESULTS: During the study period, 115,709 births occurred in these two centers...

INTRODUCTION: There are conflicting reports on the effect of pregnancy on liver transaminase (aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) levels. In this study, we sought to investigate the trajectories of AST and ALT levels during normal pregnancy and to compare them with AST and ALT levels of matched nonpregnant controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our multicenter retrospective study included 34,396 women who delivered at term at 12 primary maternity care units between January 2011 and December 2018 and 57,152 nonpregnant women younger than 45 years who received a medical checkup between 2016 and 2019...

AIM: Cesarean sections (C-sections) are surgical procedures that save maternal and infant lives. In some cases, C-sections are done when they are not necessary, while in other cases, some women are unable to access this life-saving intervention. Sociodemographic characteristics are associated with an increased use of C-section. Disparities in socioeconomic status and other factors exist in the rates of C-sections across diverse populations worldwide. Although C-sections are common in Jordan, there is limited evidence about the characteristics associated with C-sections...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate which parameters of a sonographic cervical length measurement are associated with preterm birth in women with ultrasound- or exam-indicated cerclage. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of women with singleton pregnancies who underwent ultrasound- or exam-indicated Shirodkar cerclage by a single maternal-fetal medicine practice between 2011 and 2019. All patients underwent sonographic cervical length measurement 2-3 weeks after cerclage placement, and then every 2-4 weeks up to 32 weeks...

PURPOSE: This work investigates ICSI outcome between LASER Artificial Shrinkage (LAS) and Micro-Needle Artificial Shrinkage (MNAS) before vitrification. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four hundred and nine women were included in the study; which were randomly divided into two groups according to the technique used for artificial shrinkage step of the blastocyst before vitrification: in the first group, Laser beam was used while in the second group the micro-needle was used...

AIM: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of two modalities of noninvasive ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure-CPAP and non-synchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation-nsNIPPV, on breathing pattern of very low birth weight preterm infants immediately after extubation. METHODS: It was conducted a quasi-experimental study at a public university hospital. Infants with gestacional age ≤32 weeks and birth weight ≤1,500 g were randomized into the sequences, prior extubation: CPAP - nsNIPPV (1) or nsNIPPV - CPAP (2)...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an inpatient post-cesarean analgesic regimen which separated oxycodone and acetaminophen resulted in less inpatient opioid use, when compared to a regimen using combination medications containing both acetaminophen and oxycodone in a cohort including patients of all gestational ages, acuity levels, and modes of operative anesthesia. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study which was conducted at a single tertiary care center Labor and Delivery unit...

BACKGROUND: Dysregulation of inflammatory processes is linked to perinatal complications yet a comprehensive description of cytokine levels throughout the perinatal period is lacking. We report prospective, serial levels of 29 unique cytokines measured in maternal blood during pregnancy, in the cord blood at birth, and in the neonatal blood. METHODS: Pregnant women ( n  = 140) for recruited from a Midwest tertiary medical center. Blood was obtained at five timepoints: 12-20 weeks, 24-28 weeks, and at labor in the women, umbilical cord at birth, 24-72 h in the newborn...

BACKGROUND: COVID19 is caused by a newly identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) that affects pregnant women equally to the general population. How SARS-CoV2 affects the mothers, the neonates and the placental pathology remain controversial. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of maternal SARS-CoV2 infection on the neonates and placental pathology in comparison to those from the normal pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal, neonatal and placental pathology data were collected from medical records between March and August 2020 from New York Presbyterian- Brooklyn Methodist Hospital...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the severity of isolated oligohydramnios at term is associated with increased rates of adverse perinatal outcome. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study conducted in a single medical center from 2017 to 2019. All low-risk pregnancies with incidental isolated oligohydramnios at term were included. The degree of oligohydramnios was arbitrarily classified into mild (AFI = 41-50 mm), moderate (AFI = 21-40 mm) and severe (AFI = 0-20 mm)...

BACKGROUND: Compartmental models simplify the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases based on reported cases. In the absence of precautions, personal protective equipment, quarantine and social distancing, a Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SuEIR) model with Unscented Kalman Filter for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) Forecasts in Turkey has revealed 174 641 infected people on August 15, 2020, whilst the reported case was 12 216. Through numerical experiments, the effects of quarantine, social distancing, and COVID-19 testing on the dynamics of the outbreak varies...

OBJECTIVE: We set out to ascertain a possible association between mode of delivery (cesarean vs. vaginal delivery) and gastrointestinal hospitalization of the offspring. STUDY DESIGN: A population based cohort analysis including all uncomplicated singleton deliveries occurring between the years 1991-2014 at a tertiary medical center was performed, comparing long-term gastrointestinal hospitalization of offspring, according to mode of delivery. Multiple gestations, fetuses with congenital malformations and perinatal deaths were excluded, as were cases of urgent cesarean delivery and pregnancy complications...

Decidual CD4+ T (dCD4+ T) cells play pivotal roles in inducing and maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance. Dysfunctional dCD4+ T cells are associated with miscarriage. In the present study, we demonstrated that the T-box transcription factor protein eomesodermin (Eomes) was involved in the functional regulation of dCD4+ T cells during early pregnancy. We concluded the higher Eomes expression dCD4+ T cells during normal pregnancy, and the Eomes+ dCD4+ T cells displayed an active status and produced more Th2- and Treg type cytokines...

INTRODUCTION: Mediterranean diet might be a promising approach to prevent gestational diabetes mellitus. However, the results remained controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effect of Mediterranean diet on gestational diabetes mellitus. METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of Mediterranean diet on gestational diabetes mellitus were included...

BACKGROUND: Cardiac diseases complicate 4% of pregnancies, with a mortality rate between 0 and 15%. Early referral has shown to reduce the risk of maternal major cardiac events (MACEs). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of pregnant women with heart disease from two referral centers in Mexico City. We examined MACEs: maternal death, pulmonary edema, acute heart failure, endocarditis, stroke, myocardial infarction, acute aortic syndromes, arrhythmias requiring urgent treatment, and the need for an urgent intervention; preterm birth and obstetric events such as HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia, eclampsia, placental abruption, obstetric hemorrhage...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the birth injury outcomes and hospital length of stay and costs among newborns delivered at 34-42 weeks with neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP) versus those without. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study using data from the National Inpatient Sample to identify all newborns hospitalizations that occurred in the U.S. between 2016 and 2017. We included non-anomalous single liveborn delivered in-hospital at 34-42 weeks...