the level of fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis activity is determined by gestation length, which can be influenced by an adverse intrauterine and/or maternal environment and also by litter size. this study was designed to determine whether steroid hormone secretion by ewe placenta is related to single or twin pregnancy. placentas expelled from twelve postpartum polish longwool she...

OBJECTIVE To describe fetal growth centiles in relation to maternal malaria and HIV status, using cross sectional measurements at birth. DESIGN A cross sectional study of pregnant women and their babies. Data on maternal socioeconomic status and current pregnancy, including HIV status and newborn anthropometry, were collected. Malaria parasitaemia was assessed in maternal peripheral and place...

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to estimate the effect of the policy on neonatal outcomes using a before and after design. All term singleton deliveries 2 years before and 2 years after policy enforcement were included. Clinical data from the electronic hospital obstetric records were used to identify outcomes and relevant covariates. Multivariable logistic regression was us...

Mechanistic pathways linking maternal polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status with gestational length are poorly delineated. This study examined whether inflammation and sleep quality serve as mediators, focusing on the antiinflammatory ω-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n3) and proinflammatory ω-6 arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4n6). Pregnant women (n = 135) provided a blood sample and completed th...

OBJECTIVE The present growth chart used in the Sultanate of Oman does not contain centile measurements for infants born at 26-weeks of gestation. With the increased survival of these premature infants, there is a growing need to develop such a chart. The present study was conducted with the aim to look at the anthropometric measurements (weight, length and head circumference) of Omani premature...

BACKGROUND Many studies have emphasized on fetal pinna measurements and morphologic features to use this structure as an additional marker for fetal chromosomal anomaly. OBJECTIVES To assess relationship between fetal pinna length and gestation age and develop a nomogram. To assess relationship between fetal pinna length and head circumference and biparietal diameter. METHODS Fetal pinna me...

A smaller length ratio for the second relative to the fourth finger (2D:4D) is repeatedly associated with fetal male-typical testosterone (T) and is implicated as a biomarker for a variety of traits and susceptibility to a number of diseases, but no experimental human studies have been performed. The present study utilizes the rhesus monkey, a close relative of humans, and employs discrete gest...

BACKGROUND Observational studies associate higher intakes of n-3 (omega-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) during pregnancy with higher gestation duration and birth size. The results of randomized supplementation trials using various n-3 LCPUFA sources and amounts are mixed. OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that 600 mg/d of the n-3 LCPUFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can incr...

This case report presents the prenatal diagnosis of conjoined twins at 7 weeks and 6 days' gestation according to the last menstrual period and 6 weeks and 4 days' gestation according to crown-rump length in a 32-year-old Turkish woman, using two-dimensional Doppler ultrasound. The twins were fused to each other at the thoracic region (thoracopagus). In the light of previous reports of conjoine...

A combination of mouse inbred strains was studied, in which foetal but not placental weight is greater in the F1 hybrid than in the inbred litters. Gestation period was found to be shorter for the F1 hybrid than for the inbred litters. It is concluded that, insofar as the length of gestation is inversely related to the mass of the conceptuses, it is the foetus rather than the placenta which mat...