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Obstetrics
Pregnancy soon after miscarriage not any riskier – Norwegian study
Although the World Health Organisation recommends at least a six-month gap after a miscarriage/abortion before falling pregnant, researchers say there does not appear to...
MRI technique spots placental problems in foetuses in early weeks – US study
A new MRI imaging technique to assess placenta health in developing foetuses in early pregnancy has been developed that can reliably predict development complications...
Effect on infants from mothers' multiple substance use in pregnancy – SA study
Substance use during pregnancy is on the increase worldwide and is a significant public health concern, particularly in South Africa, where use of multiple...
Frozen eggs more efficient than IVF for older women – US study
The largest US report of elective fertility preservation outcomes to date found that 70% of women who froze eggs before they were 38 –...
Infertility treatments raise risk of vascular and pregnancy complications
Women opting for fertility treatment have a higher risk of vascular and pregnancy-related complications, especially if they are 35 or older, a UK study...
Prenatal DNA testing is booming. Many tests are wrong 90% of the time
Noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPTs) are being sold aggressively to would-be parents as an early warning of chromosomal abnormalities, permitting a choice between preparing to...
A 60 second delay in cord-clamping cuts relative mortality by 30%
Clamping the umbilical cord at least 60 seconds after birth reduced the risk of death or major disability at 2 years by 17%, reflecting...
Endometrial scratching treatment continues despite little proof of fertility benefit
Although there has been a substantial decline fertility experts offering the intrusive IVF treatment process of endometrial scratching, a third of them are still...
Canada’s benign experience with normally prescribed abortion pill mifepristone
In Canada, after abortion pill mifepristone became available as a normal prescription, the abortion rate remained relatively stable, the proportion of abortions provided by...
Complications in first pregnancy linked with increased risk of subsequent preterm birth
Complications in a first pregnancy, such a pre-eclampsia, were associated with an increased risk of a subsequent preterm birth and relative risks were significantly...
Moderate caffeine consumption in pregnancy may reduce gestational diabetes risk
Moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy may reduce gestational diabetes risk, according to researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania...
Heuristics may trump clinical evidence in the delivery room
Data from 86,000 US deliveries suggest that if the prior patient had complications in one delivery mode, the physician will be more likely to...
High iron deficiency prevalence yet 40% of pregnant women don’t get simple screening test
Half of pregnant women who had a simple blood test to check their iron stores had low iron levels, and one in four had...
Female surgeons face more major pregnancy complications
A US study in JAMA Surgery found that 48% of surveyed female surgeons experienced major pregnancy complications, with those who operated 12-or-more hours per week...
Pandemic linked to substantially worse pregnancy outcomes worldwide
Pregnancy outcomes for mothers and babies have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with stillbirth and maternal mortality rates increasing by approximately one-third during the...
Half-cup of daily coffee during pregnancy may lead to smaller birth size
Pregnant women who consumed the caffeine equivalent of as little as half a cup of coffee a day on average had slightly smaller babies...
30% increase in maternal deaths in SA during first wave of COVID-19
Presenting at a recent webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and reproductive health, Spotlight quotes Professor Priya Soma-Pillay as saying there was...
Increased first-trimester exercise may reduce gestational diabetes risk
Pregnant women who exercise more during the first trimester of pregnancy may have a lower risk of developing gestational diabetes, according to a study...
Support for induction at 41 weeks' pregnancy, especially for first-time mothers — meta-analysis
There is growing evidence that pregnant women who go beyond term, especially first time mothers and their infants, will benefit from induction of labour...
Pregnancy complications link to heightened risk of later CVD — Umbrella review
Pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes) and pre-term birth are linked to a heightened risk of heart disease in...
Pre-eclampsia: Vit D during pregnancy may minimise later child BP risk
Vitamin D levels in the womb may modify the association between maternal pre-eclampsia and hypertension in childhood, found a Johns Hopkins study.
Children appear to...
No safe level of caffeine use for pregnant women and would-be mums
Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should be advised to avoid caffeine because the evidence suggests that maternal caffeine consumption is associated...
Novel technique predicts preterm births with up to 73% accuracy
A new technique that can spot a potential preterm birth in asymptomatic high-risk women, with up to 73% accuracy months before delivery, has been...
Women who deliver by C-section are less likely to conceive again
Women who deliver their first child by caesarean section (C-section) are less likely to conceive a second child than those who deliver vaginally, despite...
Apgar effective to assess mortality in prems — large Swedish analysis
The vitality of preterm infants should be assessed with an Apgar score, a tool used to measure the health of newborns immediately after birth....
Boosting manganese levels in early pregnancy may reduce pre-eclampsia risk
An analysis of data from more than 1,300 women followed prospectively through pregnancy found that women with lower levels of the essential mineral manganese...
RNA molecules in maternal blood may predict pregnancies at risk for pre-eclampsia
Small non-coding RNA molecules, called microRNAs (miRNAs), found and measured in the blood plasma of asymptomatic pregnant women may predict development of pre-eclampsia, a...
Doubts cast over accuracy of many popular fertility and pregnancy planning apps
Many popular fertility and pregnancy planning apps may be inaccurate, suggest the results of a scoping review of the available evidence. Despite their growing...
Bonding effect of skin-to-skin contact in preterm infants
Skin-to-skin contact between parent and infant has positive effects for the infant's development, writes MedicalBrief. But for parents who children have had to...
Water births as safe as land births — US study
A study has found that water births are no more risky than land births, and that women in the water group sustain fewer first...
Induction at 41 weeks the safer option for women and their babies
Inducing labour at 41 weeks in low risk pregnancies is associated with a lower risk of new-born death compared with expectant management (a “wait...
Stress in pregnancy may affect baby's sex, risk of preterm birth
Stress during pregnancy may affect baby’s sex and increase the risk of a pre-term birth. "The womb is an influential first home, as important...
Impact of life-saving technology confirmed in Malawi study
Malawi's national adoption of affordable, rugged, neonatal CPAP technology as a part of routine hospital care resulted in sustained improvements in the survival of...
Babies' gut bacteria affected by birth delivery method
Babies born vaginally have different gut bacteria – their microbiome – than those delivered by caesarean, research has shown. Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger...
Home births as safe as hospital births — international study
A large international study led by McMaster University shows that low risk pregnant women who intend to give birth at home have no increased...
High levels of oestrogen in the womb linked to autism
Scientist have identified a link between exposure to high levels of oestrogen sex hormones in the womb and the likelihood of developing autism. The...
Higher risk of stillbirth in longer pregnancies — analysis of 15m women
With every week that a pregnancy continues past term (37 weeks), the risk of stillbirth increases, according to an analysis of more than 15m...
'I'm having a Caesarean and you're all invited'
For the women of Brazil's elite, Caesarean sections have long been a status symbol, reports The Washington Post. Now, the phenomenon has inspired an...
Music enhances high-level cognitive brain networks in premature infants
Considerably premature infants exposed to music in the neonatal intensive care units have significantly increased coupling between brain networks previously shown to be decreased...
Cape Town gynae invents device to staunch post-birth bleeding
A Cape Town gynaecologist has made giving birth a little safer by turning a cheap surgical glove into a device that stops excessive post-birth...