Recent guidelines issued jointly by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine for assessing labor differ substantially from those described initially by Friedman, who led obstetric practice for decades. The new recommendations are based on results achieved by the analysis of patterns of cervical dilation and fetal descent. They argue...

I argue that certain species of belief, such as mathematical, logical, and normative beliefs, are insulated from a form of Harmanstyle debunking argument whereas moral beliefs, the primary target of such arguments, are not. Harman-style arguments have been misunderstood as attempts to directly undermine our moral beliefs. They are rather best given as burden-shifting arguments, concluding that ...

The case presentation of a transvaginal cervical cerclage performed at a 7 cm dilation in a patient in the 22nd week of pregnancy, followed by a prolongation of the pregnancy until the gestational age of 38 weeks, was reported in the context of many similar cases managed by the authors of the article during a program of screening and prevention of preterm birth. The particularity of the case wa...

In the last decade, advancements have been made in hysteroscopic techniques, instrumentation and indications. Vaginoscopic hysteroscopy is performed without medication, cervical dilation and use of vaginal speculum or cervical tenaculum. To prevent complications during uterine access, both misoprostol and laminaria are equally effective for cervical priming. The use of normal saline to distend ...

A fetus with a very rare five-fold combination of uteroplacental anomalies, bicornuate uterus, short cervix with cervical incompetence, multilobed placenta succenturiata, accessory cotyledon within the cervical funneling, and umbilical cord insertion into the anomalous cervical cotyledon, presented an early and marked decrease at the vertebral and middle cerebral arteries Doppler resistances. T...

BACKGROUND Patient characteristics may contribute to the progress and pain of labor. Quantitative evaluation of the effects of patient characteristics requires robust mathematical models of labor progress and labor pain. METHODS The authors retrospectively studied 100 sequential deliveries from each of five self-reported ethnic groups (Asian, Black, Hispanic, Other, and White). Demographic va...

BACKGROUND Esophageal strictures are a common sequela of chemoradiation and/or surgery to the head and neck cancers and can lead to stenosis and significant dysphagia. Endoscopic dilation endoscopic and placement of self-expanding stents are often to used relieve dysphagia symptoms. However, these stents are not without risks and complications. METHODS We present a case of a 58-year-old man w...

We previously investigated the progesterone metabolite 5β-dihydroprogesterone (5βDHP) in relation to human parturition at term, demonstrating that peripheral venous concentrations decrease in association with the onset of spontaneous labour. In this study our aim was to determine if 5βDHP concentrations were lower in women presenting in spontaneous preterm labour than in controls matched for ge...

Tophaceous gout has classically been described as an affliction of the extremities. It has however been reported as early as 1947 to involve the spinal column. We report a 63-year-old male, previously scheduled for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion to correct an existing cervical myelopathy at the C3-C4 spinal level, who presented to the emergency room with progressive weakness of the low...