Pregnant women are often threatened by hypertension, symptoms of preterm labour, hepatopathy, and other. These complications might be the consequence of genetic factors together with involvement of environmental factors. We were searching for three polymorphisms Arg654Lys, Ala678Pro and Thr686Ala in exon 5, and two polymorphisms Phe802Leu, Ser827Ser/Leu in exon 7, and for the new mutations in e...

Currently, there is considerable variation in the way spontaneous preterm labour is diagnosed and managed internationally. As a result, 12 international leading experts from 10 countries met to establish consensus on clinical recommendations and guidelines regarding the diagnosis, management and treatment of spontaneous preterm labour. The consensus was supported by evidence from quality litera...

BACKGROUND The aetiology of preterm birth is complex and there is evidence that subclinical genital tract infection influences preterm labour in some women but the role of prophylactic antibiotic treatment in the management of preterm labour is controversial. Since rupture of the membranes is an important factor in the progression of preterm labour, it is important to see if the routine adminis...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether twins born second are at increased risk of perinatal death because of complications during labour and delivery. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Scotland, 1992 and 1997. PARTICIPANTS All twin births at or after 24 weeks' gestation, excluding twin pairs in which either twin died before labour or delivery or died during or after labour and delivery b...

Globally, the rate of preterm births is increasing and this is resulting in significant health, development and economic problems. Current methods for the early detection of such births are inadequate. However, there has been some evidence to suggest that the analysis of uterine electrical signals, collected from the abdominal surface, could provide an independent and easier way to diagnose tru...

AIMS To determine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) concentration in fetal and maternal plasma and amniotic fluid from pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabour amniorrhexis and to define the relation of this cytokine to intrauterine infection and the onset of labour. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 23 pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabour amniorrhexis. Enzyme linked immunoassay was u...

BACKGROUND Preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes (PPROM) is an important clinical problem and a dilemma for the gynaecologist. On the one hand, awaiting spontaneous labour increases the probability of infectious disease for both mother and child, whereas on the other hand induction of labour leads to preterm birth with an increase in neonatal morbidity (e.g., respiratory distress syndrome ...

BACKGROUND Antibiotics used for women in spontaneous preterm labour without overt infection, in contrast to those with preterm rupture of membranes, are associated with altered functional outcomes in their children. METHODS From the National Pupil Database, we used Key Stage 2 scores, national test scores in school year 6 at 11 years of age, to explore the hypothesis that erythromycin and co-...