Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) may be an ideal candidate disease for in utero gene therapy as disrupted fetal lung growth plays a significant role in disease outcome. We previously demonstrated that transient in utero over expression of CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) during fetal development resulted in lung epithelial proliferation and differentiation. We hyp...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of maternal hypothyroxinaemia during early gestation (fT4 below the lowest tenth percentile and TSH within the reference range: 0.15-2.0 mIU/l) on infant development, together with any subsequent changes in fT4 during gestation. DESIGN A prospective 3-year follow-up study of pregnant women and their children up to the age of 2 years. MEASUREMENTS Child devel...

BACKGROUND Although respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is considered a disease of prematurity, there is evidence to suggest heterogeneity between early and late gestation RDS. We examined the epidemiologic features of RDS occurring at early and late gestation. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study including live births in the United States in 2005-06, with information obtained fr...

The effects of four levels of crude protein (CP) and stage of gestation on the growth, reproductive performance and N balance of 64 crossbred gilts were examined in two trials. Gilts were fed 147, 256, 309 or 369 g of CP daily in trial 1 and 119 ,227 ,275 or 326 g/d in trial 2. Total body weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) were not significantly affected by protein intake, although the qu...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the usefulness of transvaginal ultrasound measurements of cervical length before and after elective prophylactic cervical cerclage in predicting preterm delivery before 32 weeks of gestation. METHODS Women who underwent an elective cerclage operation at 14 to 19 weeks of gestation and who delivered between January 2004 and December 2009 were enrolled in this study (n=52)...

background and objective: preterm birth is a public health problem and late preterm birth (deliveries between 34-36 weeks of gestation) accounts for 75% of all preterm births. antenatal betamethasone can reduce the severity of respiratory distress in preterm infants and its effect is accepted in 24-34 weeks of gestation. our goal was to determine the neonatal outcomes of betamethasone prescript...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate gestation-specific risks of stillbirth, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of 171,527 notified births (1989-1991) and subsequent infant survival at one year, from community child health records. SETTING Notifications from maternity units in the North East Thames Region, London. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The incidence of births, stillbirth...

High gestational loads result in fetuses that occupy a large proportion of the body cavity and may compress maternal organs. Compression of the lungs results in alterations in breathing patterns during gestation, which may affect the energetic cost of breathing. In this study, the energetic cost of breathing during gestation was determined in the viviparous skink Tiliqua rugosa. Radiographic im...