OBJECTIVES To assess the diagnostic value of prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in addition to prenatal ultrasound in a case of fetal varicella syndrome. METHODS Comparison of prenatal ultrasound and MRI features obtained at 26 and 32 weeks, respectively, with neonatal imaging (ultrasound, MRI and CT) and macroscopic and microscopic pathology findings in a fatal case of varicella embry...

BACKGROUND Usage rates for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in healthcare have been increasing in recent years, but often lag behind general usage rates for populations as a whole. Research into such differential rates of ICT use across different segments of the population has identified a number of possible causal factors that limit usage. AIM The research investigated midwi...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of prenatal care offered in 12 Basic Health Units (BHU) in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, through a review of medical and nurse charts, before and after the municipalization of the public health system. The indicator used considered excellence in care as: starting prenatal care in the first quarter of pregnancy; at least six medical visits; at l...

Recent scientific advances mean the widespread introduction of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for chromosomal aneuploidies may be close at hand, raising the question of how NIPD should be introduced as part of antenatal care pathways for pregnant women. In this paper, the authors examine the ethical implications of three hypothetical models for using NIPD for aneuploidy in state-funded ...

The objective of this review is to assess the evidence which supports the use of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) in twin pregnancies. Through the years, we have witnessed the technological developments in non-invasive prenatal diagnosis attained new heights, but those studies were usually limited in singleton pregnancies. As we known, twin pregnancies are at higher risk in both aneuploid...

Since the ratio of the second-to-fourth finger length was first proposed as a marker for prenatal androgen action in 1998, over 100 studies have been published that have either further tested the association between the digit ratio and prenatal androgens, or employed digit ratios as a marker to investigate the association between prenatal androgens and a variety of outcomes, including behavior,...

OBJECTIVE Despite dramatic reductions in perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in the United States, obstacles to perinatal HIV prevention that include lack of prenatal care; failure to test pregnant women for HIV before delivery; and lack of prenatal, intrapartum, or neonatal antiretroviral (ARV) use remain. The objective of this study was to describe trends in perinatal HI...

Prenatal ultrasound showing a double bubble is considered to be pathognomonic of duodenal atresia. We recently encountered an infant with prenatal findings suggestive of duodenal atresia with a normal karyotype who actually had a jejunal duplication cyst on exploration. A finding of an antenatal double bubble should lead to a thorough evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract and appropriate pre...

OBJECTIVES We examined trends and racial disparities (White, African American) in trimester of prenatal care initiation and adequacy of prenatal care utilization for US women and specific high-risk subgroups, e.g., unmarried, young, or less-educated mothers. METHODS Data from 1981-1998 US natality files on singleton live births to US resident mothers were examined. RESULTS Overall, early an...

This study examined the relationship between moderate-level prenatal alcohol exposure, prenatal stress, and postnatal response to a challenging event in 6-month-old rhesus monkeys. Forty-one rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) infants were exposed prenatally to moderate level alcohol, maternal stress, or both. Offspring plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) were determined from blo...