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Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), especially resulting from placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), has become a worldwide concern in maternity care. We describe a novel method of uterine compression sutures (the 'Nausicaa' technique) as an alternative to hysterectomy for patients who have suffered from major PPH. We applied this technique in 68 patients with major PPH during caesarean section (including 43 patients with PAS, 20 patients with placenta praevia totalis, and five patients with uterine atony), and none of these patients required further hysterectomy...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the perinatal outcomes of normotensive women with those of women with a history of chronic hypertension with normal blood pressures before 20 weeks of gestation, stratifying the latter by whether they were receiving antihypertensive medication. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all singletons with a history of chronic hypertension from 2000 to 2014. Exclusions were blood pressure greater than 140/90 mm Hg before 20 weeks of gestation, fetal anomalies, major medical problems other than hypertension, and diabetes...

OBJECTIVE: Optimal management of pregnancies at 39 weeks gestational age is unknown. Therefore, we sought to perform a comparative effectiveness analysis of elective induction of labor (eIOL) at 39 weeks among nulliparous women with non-anomalous singleton, vertex fetuses as compared to expectant management (EM) which included IOL for medical or obstetric indications or at 41 weeks in undelivered mothers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Monte Carlo micro-simulation model was constructed modeling two mutually exclusive health states: eIOL at 39 weeks, or EM with IOL for standard medical or obstetrical indications or at 41 weeks if undelivered...

OBJECTIVE: To compare fetal/infant mortality risk associated with each additional week of expectant management with the infant mortality risk of immediate delivery in growth-restricted pregnancies. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of singleton, nonanomalous pregnancies from the 2005-2008 California Birth Registry comparing pregnancies affected and unaffected by growth restriction, defined using birth weights as a proxy for fetal growth restriction (FGR)...

BACKGROUND: Intrapartum electronic fetal monitoring is the most commonly used tool in obstetrics in the United States; however, which electronic fetal monitoring patterns predict acidemia remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to describe the frequency of patterns seen in labor using modern nomenclature, and to test the hypothesis that visually interpreted patterns are associated with acidemia and morbidities in term infants. We further identified patterns prior to delivery, alone or in combination, predictive of acidemia and neonatal morbidity...

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BACKGROUND: Spontaneous abortions are the most common complication of pregnancy. Clotrimazole and miconazole are widely used vaginal-antimycotic agents used for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. A previous study has suggested an increased risk of miscarriage associated with these azoles, which may lead health professionals to refrain from their use even if clinically indicated. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to assess the risk for spontaneous abortions following first trimester exposure to vaginal antimycotics...

BACKGROUND: Cesarean delivery is being increasingly used by obstetricians for indicated deliveries in the second stage of labor. Unplanned extension of the uterine incision involving the cervix often occurs with these surgeries. Therefore, we hypothesized that cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor may increase the rate of subsequent spontaneous premature birth. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine if cesarean delivery in the late first stage of labor or in the second stage of labor increases the risk of a subsequent spontaneous preterm birth...

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of vaginal progesterone for preventing preterm birth and adverse perinatal outcomes in singleton gestations with a short cervix has been questioned after publication of the OPPTIMUM study. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether vaginal progesterone prevents preterm birth and improves perinatal outcomes in asymptomatic women with a singleton gestation and a midtrimester sonographic short cervix. STUDY DESIGN: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and CINAHL (from their inception to September 2017); Cochrane databases; bibliographies; and conference proceedings for randomized controlled trials comparing vaginal progesterone vs placebo/no treatment in women with a singleton gestation and a midtrimester sonographic cervical length ≤25 mm...

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes" includes ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee, are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations, please refer to the Standards of Care Introduction Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prophylactic antibiotics reduce the frequency of postpartum endometritis after manual removal of the placenta. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data for all women who underwent manual removal of the placenta after vaginal delivery at a tertiary medical center in Jerusalem, Israel, between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015. The study group comprised women who had not received prophylactic antibiotic treatment, whereas the control group comprised women who had received prophylactic antibiotic treatment...

BACKGROUND: Current management of preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes (PPROM) involves either initiating birth soon after PPROM or, alternatively, adopting a 'wait and see' approach (expectant management). It is unclear which strategy is most beneficial for mothers and their babies. This is an update of a Cochrane review published in 2010 (Buchanan 2010). OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of planned early birth versus expectant management for women with preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes between 24 and 37 weeks' gestation for fetal, infant and maternal well being...

BACKGROUND: About half of twin pregnancies deliver preterm, and it is unclear whether any intervention reduces this risk. OBJECTIVES: To assess the evidence for the effectiveness of progesterone, cerclage, and pessary in twin pregnancies. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ISI Web of Science, without language restrictions, up to 25 January 2016. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials of progesterone, cerclage, or pessary for preventing preterm birth in women with twin pregnancies, without symptoms of threatened preterm labour...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate caesarean section and adverse neonatal outcome rates after induction of labour or expectant management in women with an unripe cervix at or near term. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from two randomised clinical trials. SETTING: Data were collected in two nationwide Dutch trials. POPULATION: Women with hypertensive disease (HYPITAT trial) or suspected fetal growth restriction (DIGITAT trial) and a Bishop score ≤6...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of vaginal progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth and neonatal morbidity and mortality in asymptomatic women with a twin gestation and a sonographic short cervix (cervical length ≤ 25 mm) in the mid-trimester. METHODS: This was an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data (IPD) from randomized controlled trials comparing vaginal progesterone with placebo/no treatment in women with a twin gestation and a mid-trimester sonographic cervical length ≤ 25 mm...

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is associated with adverse neonatal survival and is estimated to impact between 0.4 and 5% of pregnancies worldwide. Here we show that maternal cholestasis (due to Abcb11 deficiency) produces neonatal death among all offspring within 24 h of birth due to atelectasis-producing pulmonary hypoxia, which recapitulates the neonatal respiratory distress of human ICP. Neonates of Abcb11-deficient mothers have elevated pulmonary bile acids and altered pulmonary surfactant structure...

Imaging studies are important adjuncts in the diagnostic evaluation of acute and chronic conditions. However, confusion about the safety of these modalities for pregnant and lactating women and their infants often results in unnecessary avoidance of useful diagnostic tests or the unnecessary interruption of breastfeeding. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging are not associated with risk and are the imaging techniques of choice for the pregnant patient, but they should be used prudently and only when use is expected to answer a relevant clinical question or otherwise provide medical benefit to the patient...

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous preterm birth (SPB) is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. In twins, the rate of preterm birth is higher than in singletons; interventions to prevent preterm birth are needed in this high-risk population. OBJECTIVE: We sought to test whether a cervical pessary reduces the preterm birth rate in twin pregnancies with sonographic short cervix. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, open-label, multicenter, randomized clinical trial was conducted in 5 hospitals in Spain...

Between 800,000-1.4 million people in the United States and more than 240 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Specific to pregnancy, an estimated prevalence of 0.7-0.9% for chronic hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in the United States has been reported, with >25,000 infants at risk for chronic infection born annually to these women. Vertical transmission of HBV from infected mothers to their fetuses or newborns, either in utero or peripartum, remains a major source of perpetuating the reservoir of chronically infected individuals globally...

BACKGROUND: Coexisting medical complications in pregnancy can present in a fashion similar to preeclampsia and can be challenging to differentiate. CASE: We present a patient who, at 27 3/7 weeks of gestation, fulfilled diagnostic criteria for severe preeclampsia, including hypertension, proteinuria, headache, abnormal serum creatinine levels, thrombocytopenia, and liver function abnormalities, but who nevertheless did not have preeclampsia. Instead, she was diagnosed with alcoholic pancreatitis based on a history of heavy alcohol use and elevated amylase and lipase...