Compromised cobalamin status during pregnancy may put both mother and child at risk of deficiency during lactation and subsequent development. We investigated whether changes in cobalamin status during pregnancy are associated with impaired status in the mother and the cord. Plasma cobalamin, methylmalonic acid (MMA), and holotranscobalamin (holoTC) concentrations were determined in 92 women at...

Maternal preconception diet is proposed to affect fertility. Prior research assessing the effect of altering the fatty acid profile on female fertility is conflicting. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of preconception maternal diet, specifically fatty acid profile, on pregnancies and live births following in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Forty-six overweight and obese women undergoin...

Providing care to adolescent girls and women before and between pregnancies improves their own health and wellbeing, as well as pregnancy and newborn outcomes, and can also reduce the rates of preterm birth. This paper has reviewed the evidence-based interventions and services for preventing preterm births, reported the findings from research priority exercise, and prescribed actions for taking...

BACKGROUND The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes can be minimized through the adoption of healthy lifestyles before pregnancy by women of childbearing age. Initiatives for promotion of preconception health may be difficult to implement. Internet can be used to build tailored health interventions through identification of the public's information needs. To this aim, we developed a semi-automati...

BACKGROUND With regard to the importance of preconception conditions in maternal health and fertility, preconception risk assessment makes treatment trends and pregnancy outcome more successful among infertile couples. This study has tried to investigate preconception risk assessment in infertile couples. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a descriptive analytical survey conducted on 268 subjects,...

DIABETES AND CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS — Major congenital malformations remain the leading cause of mortality and serious morbidity in infants of mothers with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Several studies have established an association between elevated maternal glucose or glycohemoglobin levels during embryogenesis and high rates of spontaneous abortions and major malformations in newborns. Clinic...

Globally, lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) carry a disproportionately heavy burden of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity [1]. Too many women haemorrhage to death peripartum, develop acute stroke, renal failure, or pulmonary edema from uncontrolled hypertension, or are affected by severe sepsis, including after unsafe abortion [2]. And when bad things happen to a pregnant woman,...

CME This clinical content conforms to AAFP criteria for continuing medical education (CME). See CME Quiz Questions on page 438. Preconception care is defined as personalized care for men and women that is focused on reducing maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, increasing chances of conception, and preventing unintended pregnancies. Family physicians have the opportunity to discuss risk ...

ABSTRACT Introduction: Preconception care, provides intervention for women in reproductive age, regardless of status or pregnancy, to improve health of women, newborns and children. Compared to developed countries, the preconception care coverage is lower in the developing world, and usually the first referral of women to health cares is after pregnancy. The purpose of this study...