OBJECTIVE The obstetric and neonatal exploratory focus group of the Vermont Oxford Network Neonatal Intensive Care Quality Improvement Collaborative 2002 set out to improve collaboration, communication, and coordination between maternal and neonatal caregivers in 3 areas: the pregnancy at 22 to 26 weeks, measurement of maternal outcomes that are linked with neonatal outcomes, and team performan...

BACKGROUND Pregnancy after hysterectomy is very rare, with fewer than 40 cases reported in the English-language literature. The majority of cases are diagnosed in the early posthysterectomy, postoperative period, indicating that the pregnancy was present at the time of hysterectomy. Cases diagnosed remotely from the time of hysterectomy result from a fistulous tract allowing sperm access to the...

Complications of pregnancy represent a significant disease burden, with both immediate and lasting consequences for mother and baby. Two key pregnancy complications, fetal growth restriction (FGR) and preeclampsia (PE), together affect around 10%-15% of all pregnancies worldwide. Despite this high incidence, there are currently no therapies available to treat these pregnancy disorders. Early de...

Spontaneous uterine rupture in early pregnancy is a very rare complication and it occurs usually in scarred uteri. Here we present a case of spontaneous uterine rupture at 13 weeks of gestation in a 32-year-old woman. Our preoperative diagnosis was also uterine rupture. Emergency laparotomy confirmed our initial diagnosis. Clinical signs of uterine rupture in early pregnancy are nonspecific and...

Pregnancy implantation within the scar of a previous cesarean delivery is one of the rarest locations for an ectopic pregnancy. Early diagnosis of this condition with the use of ultrasound imaging allows for preserving the uterus and subsequent fertility. However, a delay in either diagnosis or treatment can lead to uterine rupture, hysterectomy and significant maternal morbidity. With increasi...

Maternal nutritional deficiencies and excesses during pregnancy, and faster infant weight gain in the first 2 years of life are associated with increased risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in adulthood. The first 1,000 days of life (from conception until the child reaches age 2 years) represent a vulnerable period for programming of NCD risk, and are an important target for prevention of a...

CONTEXT Although thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy may have adverse effects on pregnancy outcome and offspring, few prospective studies have evaluated these effects. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to evaluate the correlations between different thyroid hormone levels in early pregnancy and the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS The study comprised 27 513 m...

Fe deficiency anaemia during early pregnancy has been linked with low birth weight and preterm birth. However, this evidence comes mostly from studies measuring Hb levels rather than specific measures of Fe deficiency. The present study aimed to examine the association between maternal Fe status during the first trimester of pregnancy, as assessed by serum ferritin, transferrin receptor and the...

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common liver disease during pregnancy, characterized by otherwise unexplained pruritus in late second and third trimester of pregnancy and elevated bile acids and/or transaminases. ICP is associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes for the fetus and the later development of hepatobiliary disease for the mother. Bile aci...

OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to investigate a possible link between first-trimester diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis and cessation of pregnancy at < or =20 weeks' gestation. STUDY DESIGN Women (n = 228) who received routine prenatal care in Flanders, Belgium, during the first trimester (14 weeks' gestation) and had a living singleton fetus were examined for microbiologic flora of the v...