OBJECTIVES We investigated the relationship between selected maternal erythrocyte omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and plasma lipids in early pregnancy and reported habitual fish consumption during the periconceptional period. DESIGN AND METHODS This cohort study included 923 pregnant women who reported periconceptional dietary habits and provided a blood sample before 2...

This review article discusses the epidemiology, risk factors, prenatal screening, diagnosis, prevention potentials, and epidemiologic impact of neural tube defects (NTDs). The average incidence of NTDs is 1/1000 births, with a marked geographic variation. In the developed countries, the incidence of NTDs has fallen over recent decades. However, it still remains high in the less-developed countr...

BACKGROUNDS The etiology of congenital heart defect (CHD) is commonly believed to involve the interaction of multiple environmental and genetic factors. This study aimed to explore the joint effects of the ABCB1 gene C3435T polymorphism and maternal periconceptional toxicants exposure on the CHD risk in a Han Chinese population. METHODS An age and gender matched case-control study with standa...

It has been proposed that fetal adaptations to intrauterine nutrient deprivation permanently reprogram the cardiovascular system. We investigated the impact of restricted periconceptional nutrition and/or restricted gestational nutrition on fetal arterial blood pressure (BP), heart rate, rate pressure product, and the fetal BP responses to ANG II and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ...

BACKGROUND Countries worldwide recommend women planning pregnancy to use daily 400 microg of synthetic folic acid in the periconceptional period to prevent birth defects in children. The underlying mechanisms of this preventive effect are not clear, however, epigenetic modulation of growth processes by folic acid is hypothesized. Here, we investigated whether periconceptional maternal folic aci...

Periconceptional supplementation could extend the period over which maternal and fetal nutrition is improved, but there are many challenges facing early-life intervention studies. Periconceptional trials differ from pregnancy supplementation trials, not only because of the very early or pre-gestational timing of nutrient exposure but also because they generate subsidiary information on particip...

Context During drought, it is currently recommended to feed complete rations sheep every second or third day, rather than daily, reduce labour costs and the incidence of shy feeders. However, frequency feeding ewes in periconceptual period may influence fertility fecundity therefore profitability. Aims The study was designed determine whether maintenance energy levels during joining affects rep...

Periconceptional folic acid supplementation reduces the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs). To determine whether periconceptional exposure to folic acid antagonists (FAAs) might therefore increase the risk of NTDs, the authors examined data from an ongoing case-control study of birth defects (1979-1998) in the United States and Canada. They compared data on 1,242 infants with NTDs (spina bifida...