BACKGROUND Approximately 1.2 million stillbirths occur in the intrapartum period, and a further 717,000 annual neonatal deaths are caused by intrapartum events, most of which occur in resource poor settings. We aim to test the 'double-hit' hypothesis that maternal infection in the perinatal period predisposes to neurodevelopmental sequelae from an intrapartum asphyxia insult, increasing the lik...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between maternal intrapartum fever and ST-waveform changes of the fetal electrocardiogram. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Three academic and six non-academic teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. POPULATION Labouring women with a high-risk singleton pregnancy in cephalic position beyond 36 weeks of gestation. METHODS We studied 142 w...

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV guidelines in resource-limited settings focus on antenatal and postnatal management. In this review of the literature, we present findings from select studies, highlight best practices, and present evidence-based guidelines for intrapartum PMTCT management that are applicable to resource-limited settings. We discuss the roles of intrapar...

BACKGROUND Satisfaction during intrapartum care is the most influential attribute on maternal health service return behaviors and utilization. Measuring satisfaction of women with intrapartum care helps to address the problems and improves the quality of delivery services. The aim of this study is to assess women's level of satisfaction during intrapartum care. METHOD A hospital based, analyt...

BACKGROUND The burden of maternal complications during antepartum and intrapartum periods is high and care seeking from a trained provider is low, particularly in low middle income countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Identification of barriers to access to trained care and development of strategies to address them will contribute to improvements in maternal health. Using data from a...

BACKGROUND Each year, approximately 2 million babies die because of complications of childbirth, primarily in settings where effective care at birth, particularly prompt cesarean delivery, is unavailable. OBJECTIVE We reviewed the content, impact, risk-benefit, and feasibility of interventions for obstetric complications with high population attributable risk of intrapartum-related hypoxic in...