Background: The use of tocolytic hospitalization in antenatal care is controversial and worthy of more research. We investigated individual, institutional, and area factors that affect the use of tocolytic hospitalizations in Taiwan where fertility has rapidly declined. Methods: Longitudinal data from the 1996 to 2004 National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan were used to identify t...

Preterm birth, defined as birth before 37 weeks gestation, is a major contributor to perinatal morbidity and mortality. It occurs in 12,000 pregnancies in the Netherlands per year. Of all perinatal mortality, 50-70% can be attributed to preterm birth. Preterm birth can be iatrogenic due to the condition of the mother or the child, but the majority occurs spontaneously, either starting with pret...

Preterm delivery remains the most important complication of multiple pregnancies. We describe six cases of successful delay of the subsequent child(ren) after very preterm birth of the first-born, with intervals ranging between 14 and 117 days. Based on our findings and on the available literature, we propose a set of guidelines for the management of early preterm multiple birth deliveries, inc...

BACKGROUND To investigate perinatal decision-making and the use of obstetric interventions, we examined the effects of antenatal steroids, tocolysis, and delivery mode on birth in a good condition (defined as presence of an infant heart rate >100 at five minutes of age) and delivery-room (DR) death in extremely preterm deliveries. METHODS Prospective cohort of all singleton births in England ...

Objective. Drip infusion during long-term tocolysis causes mechanical and infectious vasculitis and increases the frequency of peripheral venous catheter exchange (PVC), thereby placing a burden on patients. Our study aim is to confirm whether heparin ameliorates pain due to vasculitis during long-term tocolysis and reduces the frequency of peripheral venous catheter exchange. Design. Prospecti...

Creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and amylase levels of preterm infants following long-term tocolysis in pregnant women are limited. The objective of this study was to determine if the tocolytic therapy affects CK, LDH, and amylase levels in the umbilical blood. This study included 215 preterm infants born to women treated with and without ritodrine hydrochloride. CK, LDH, and ...