In this review the need for early antenatal assessment of renal disease is stressed as is the need to follow-up all patients in the puerperium in whom renal dysfunction has been suspected during pregnancy. A variety of renal disorders and their effect on the outcome of pregnancy are discussed.

Puerperium is a period of great changes in women's lives, in physiological, psychological and socio-cultural terms. Female sexuality is a broad topic that should be explored vis-à-vis the singularity of woman's experiences which themselves vary at different moments in time. This article is part of the project: Sexuality in the Puerperium, the objective of which was to understand what women's ex...

To elucidate the changes in bone turnover during pregnancy and puerperium, we measured serially the levels of serum osteocalcin and urine deoxypyridinoline (Dpy) as markers of bone formation and bone resorption, respectively, in 22 healthy women with normal pregnancy. Nineteen non-pregnant women served as control. The Dpy levels increased significantly at 16 weeks of pregnancy and remained elev...

A detailed sequential study of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems in 15 healthy women during normal childbirth showed that striking changes in keeping with activation of the clotting mechanism take place during and after placental separation. Shortening of the clotting-test results, a sharp increase of factors VIII and V, and a decrease of the plasma fibrinogen were found as the placenta ...

The aim of the study was to explain whether or not the time of ovarian cyst (OC) formation had an influence on reproductive performance in dairy cows. Eighty cows with OC (group A first OC diagnosis < 42 d postpartum; group B first OC diagnosis > 42 d postpartum) were compared with 80 control cows without OC matching in lactation number and calving date. Milk yield was higher in OC cows compare...

Originally, the puerperium was defined as the period of confinement during and just after birth; it is now generally accepted to mean the 6 weeks after delivery. The puerperium has also been referred to as “the fourth trimester.” This period is marked by multiple physiologic changes (Table 123.1) as the woman returns to the prepregnant state, including healing physically from any trauma during ...

The effect of pregnancy on seizure frequency was monitored prospectively in 136 pregnancies of 122 epileptic women. Pregnancy did not influence the seizure frequency in 68 pregnancies (50%). In 50 pregnancies (37%) the number of seizures increased during pregnancy or puerperium. The seizure frequency decreased in 18 pregnancies (13%). In 34 out of 50 pregnancies (68%) the increase was associate...

A patient with viral hepatitis in the third trimester of pregnancy is described. She developed acute hepatic failure in the postpartum period which was associated with evidence of intravascular coagulation. Following therapy with heparin and fresh-frozen plasma, the patient made a dramatic recovery. Hepatitis developed during the puerperium may predispose to pathological intravascular coagulati...