A family is described in which four generations were affected by benign familial joint hyperlaxity and, in the two generations for which obstetric data were available, pregnancies were complicated by unexplained mid-trimester vaginal bleeding. This prompted a study to determine whether unexplained antepartum haemorrhage (APH) and premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) both of which might ref...

The 'big five' causes of maternal death in South Africa in the 3 years 1999-2001 were non-pregnancy-related infection (mainly AIDS), complications of hypertension in pregnancy, obstetric haemorrhage, pregnancy-related sepsis and pre-existing medical conditions. Women 35 years and older were at greater risk of dying than younger women, and women in their first pregnancy or who had had 5 or more ...

ObjectiveTo assess major obstetric haemorrhage incidence, management and quality of care in Irish maternity units.DesignIn collaboration with units the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (Leitao et al., 2020) carried out a national clinical audit surveillance (MOH).MethodsMOH was defined as blood loss at least 2500 ml, transfusion five or more documented treatment for coagulopathy. Co-ordin...

Sheehan's syndrome (SS) refers to the occurrence of varying degree of hypopituitarism after parturition (1). It is a rare cause of hypopituitarism in developed countries owing to advances in obstetric care and its frequency is decreasing worldwide. However, it is still frequent in underdeveloped and developing countries. Sheehan's syndrome is often diagnosed late as it evolves slowly (2,3). Rep...

In a prospective study, 167 vacuum extractions (VE) performed at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, formed 6.3% of the total deliveries. Most patients were young and of low parity. There were no maternal deaths. The overall maternal morbidity rate was 22% and were mostly minor. Post partum haemorrhage was the most common maternal complication. There were 5 failed VEs. Perinatal morbidity ...

BACKGROUND Reliable evidence about the effect of female genital mutilation (FGM) on obstetric outcome is scarce. This study examines the effect of different types of FGM on obstetric outcome. METHODS 28 393 women attending for singleton delivery between November, 2001, and March, 2003, at 28 obstetric centres in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan were examined before deli...

BACKGROUND Maternal near misses occur more often than maternal deaths and could enable more comprehensive analysis of risk factors, short-term outcomes and prognostic factors of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The study determined the incidence, determinants and prognostic factors of severe maternal outcomes (near miss or maternal death) in two referral hospitals in Uganda. MET...

Introduction: Low birth weight and prematurity are risk factors for perinatal morbidity and mortality, which is high in Sub Saharan African countries. We determined the frequency of and maternal and obstetric risk factors for low birth weight and preterm birth among hospital births in rural Gambia. Method: We performed a hospital-based retrospective analysis of deliveries from July to December ...