Introduction: Breastfeeding has an essential role in providing maternal and infant health and as a result the society health. Breastfeeding self-efficacy is a powerful predictor of the duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral counseling during pregnancy on breastfeeding self-efficacy of pregnant women referring to compre...

QUESTION In light of recent negative media attention to antidepressant use during late pregnancy, several of my patients have either discontinued or are considering discontinuing their antidepressant medications. How can I best counsel these patients on taking antidepressants during late pregnancy? ANSWER Antidepressant use during the third trimester has been associated occasionally with a tr...

In response to the World Health Organization (WHO) statements and international concerns regarding the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak, ISUOG is publishing the following guidance for ultrasound during pregnancy. With the current uncertainty regarding many aspects of the diagnosis and clinical course of ZIKV infection in pregnancy, potentially valuable information may be obtained by ultrasound practi...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation services reduces maternal smoking and improves birth outcomes. METHODS Pooled, cross-sectional data for 178,937 women with live births from 1996 to 2008, who were insured by Medicaid in 34 states plus New York City, were used to analyze self-reported smoking before pregnancy (3 months), smoking during the last 3 months of preg...

BACKGROUND Fish and meat intake may affect gestational weight gain, body composition and serum fatty acids. We aimed to determine whether a longitudinal dietary intervention during pregnancy could increase fish intake, affect serum phospholipid fatty acids, gestational weight gain and body composition changes during pregnancy in women of normal weight participating in the Pregnancy Obesity Nutr...

Many women have been diagnosed with hypertension (blood pressure 140/ 90 mm Hg) when they were in their childbearing years. Because the hypertension predates the pregnancy, it is called chronic hypertension. This type of hypertension complicates at least 5% of all pregnancies. When managed appropriately, most women with chronic hypertension can experience healthy pregnancies and give birth to h...

Due to its rarity, experience with pregnancy in Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is limited. With the advent of new treatment modalities, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in particular, numbers of affected women seeking pregnancy with BCS are expected to rise. Here, we use a case that ended lethal within 2 years after delivery to discuss the effect of pregnancy on BCS and vice versa, and...

An unplanned pregnancy is a crisis in a woman's life. She may request assistance from the health care provider in reviewing her options of becoming a parent, continuing the pregnancy and placing her baby for adoption, or terminating the pregnancy. To facilitate the decision-making process for women facing these choices, the clinician must first examine her own values and biases. To aid the clin...