OBJECTIVE In Sweden, a country with high standards of obstetric care, the high rate of perinatal mortality among children of immigrant women from the Horn of Africa raises the question of whether there is an association between female circumcision and perinatal death. METHOD To investigate this, we examined a cohort of 63 perinatal deaths of infants born in Sweden over the period 1990-96 to c...

The Amsterdam-Zaandam cohort has been studied intermittently since 1987. The cohort was selected for optimal pregnancy and birth, in whom prenatal, lactational and more recently current dioxin exposures were measured. In the perinatal period and during the years thereafter, effects on various organ systems have been documented: thyroid, metabolism, immunity, haematology, motor development, brai...

Mental disorders are among the most common morbidities of pregnancy and the postnatal period, and can have adverse effects on the mother, her child, and family. This Series paper summarises the evidence about epidemiology, risk factors, identification, and interventions for non-psychotic mental disorders. Although the phenomenology and risk factors for perinatal mental disorders are largely sim...

Successful transition to air breathing at birth depends on perinatal maturation of the gas exchange surface, resorption of fluid from the air spaces, and synthesis and secretion of pulmonary surfactant. Genetic mutations that alter lung development and/or cellular differentiation in the prenatal period, lung function in the perinatal period, or lung homeostasis in the postnatal period can lead ...

The aim of the study was to detect newborns at risk for developing renal impairment, and to point out the importance of significant asimptomatic bacteriuria in perinatal period and early infancy. Severe urinary tract anomalies are very often accompanied only by asimptomatic bacteriuria in perinatal period. Three urinalysis ware done after delivery. 212 newborns with significant asimptomatic bac...

BACKGROUND To determine how the tissues that surround the heart affect diastolic and systolic function during the perinatal period, we studied the pressure-diameter relation of the left ventricle in partially delivered fetal lambs. METHODS AND RESULTS We anesthetized (1.5-2.0% halothane, balance O2) and ventilated six pregnant ewes (142-144 days of gestation) and then partially delivered each...

Perinatal period may pose a great challenge for the clinical management and treatment of psychiatric disorders in women. In fact, several mental illnesses can arise during pregnancy and/or following childbirth. Suicide has been considered a relatively rare event during the perinatal period. However, in some mental disorders (i.e., postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis, e...

We present a case of a 30-year-old postpartum woman who delivered by caesarean section at 34 weeks. On postoperative day 9, she was admitted to our hospital in shock. Emergency abdominal surgery was performed. Massive purulent ascites collected in the abdominal cavity and was associated with intestinal necrosis, which extended from the ascending colon to one-third of the descending colon. The n...

Endophenotypes are disease-associated phenotypes that are thought to reflect the neurobiological or other mechanisms that underlie the more overt symptoms of a psychiatric illness. Endophenotypes have been critical in understanding the genetics, neurobiology, and treatment of schizophrenia. Because psychiatric illnesses have multiple causes, including both genetic and nongenetic risk factors, a...