This systematic review focuses on outcomes of gestational weight gain, specifically birthweight, fetal growth, and postpartum weight retention, for singleton pregnancies with respect to the 1990 Institute of Medicine weight gain recommendations. A total of 35 studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. There was strong evidence to support associations between excessive gestational wei...

BACKGROUND Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in later life. Insulin resistance is a key finding in adult patients with cardiovascular diseases. The neonatal phenotype of an individual with insulin resistance might be low birth weight, as insulin influences fetal growth. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system has been associated with cardiovascular ...

During pregnancy, mother's well-being affects directly the newborn development. Some maternal and placental complications, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia (PE), preterm delivery and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), may contribute to fetal growth deviations or fetal development modifications. Usually the newborn weight correlates positively with placenta weight, showing the int...

BACKGROUND Sonographic fetal weight estimation is an important component of antenatal care. AIM To sonographically estimate fetal weight at term and to compare estimated with actual birth weights to determine the validity of estimated fetal weights. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In the prospective study, a convenience sample of 282 women was recruited. Ethical approval and informed consent of patien...

OBJECTIVE To examine the possible effects of maternal and fetal characteristics on the fetal fraction in maternal plasma cell-free (cf) DNA at 11-13 weeks' gestation and estimate the proportion of pregnancies at high risk of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) failure because the fetal fraction is less than 4%. METHODS In 1949 singleton pregnancies at 11-13 weeks' gestation cf-DNA was extrac...

Twenty-one pregnant ewe lambs (nine superovulated and 12 non-superovulated) were used to study the effects of superovulation (injecting 700 IU PMSG at the end of diestrus) on maternal serum progesterone concentrations, uterine and fetal weights at weeks 7 and 15 of pregnancy. In the ewes sacrificed at week 7 of pregnancy, superovulation increased the mean number of corpora lutea (P<0.01), fetus...