OBJECTIVES To establish the relationship of cervical length at 23 weeks of gestation to the risk of spontaneous delivery before 33 weeks and to determine the possible additional risk if funneling is present. METHODS During a 36-month period, 6819 women with singleton pregnancies underwent transvaginal sonographic cervical assessment at 22-24 weeks as a screening test for preterm delivery. The...

Objective: There are certain situations in obstetric ultrasound such as hydrocephalus, anencephaly, short limb dysplasia, where traditional biometric values cannot be used to assess gestational age. In these situations, we have to use other parameters for the accurate assessment of gestational age. One of the useful parameters is foetal foot length because it is easily accessed and measured eas...

BACKGROUND Although future climate is predicted to have more extreme heat conditions, the available evidence on the impact of these conditions on pregnancy length is very scarce and inconclusive. OBJECTIVES We investigated the impact of maternal short-term exposure to extreme ambient heat on the length of pregnancy. METHODS This study was based on a cohort of births that occurred in a major...

BACKGROUND Preterm birth is an enormous public health problem, affecting over 12% of live births and costing over $26 billion in the United States alone. The causes are complex, but twin studies support the role of genetics in determining gestation length. Despite widespread use of the mouse in studies of the genetics of preterm birth, there have been few studies that actually address the preci...

Gregarious mammals generally synchronize birthing by adjusting the time of estrus. Berger (Ecology 73: 323-329, 1992) proposed that American bison (Bison bison) females in good condition are capable of adjusting gestation length, as well. He hypothesized that females in good condition that breed late in the season can shorten their gestation length so as to give birth during the birthing peak. ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the effect of reducing caffeine intake during pregnancy on birth weight and length of gestation. DESIGN Randomised double blind controlled trial. SETTING Denmark. PARTICIPANTS 1207 pregnant women drinking at least three cups of coffee a day, recruited before 20 weeks' gestation. INTERVENTIONS Caffeinated instant coffee (568 women) or decaffeinated instant coffee (6...