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Obstetrics
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...
'Practice-changing' study on antibiotics given after assisted birth
Thousands of women every year could be spared painful and occasionally life-threatening infections if doctors administered preventive antibiotics after every assisted childbirth, The Guardian...
Additional routine ultrasounds benefit mothers and babies — POP study
Offering universal late pregnancy ultrasounds at 36 weeks’ gestation eliminates undiagnosed breech presentation of babies, lowers the rate of emergency caesarean sections, and improves...
Pregnant women not sleeping on their backs lowers stillbirth risk — NHS
Pregnant women can lower the risk of stillbirth by sleeping on their side and NOT on their back, according to an international meta-analysis. The...
C-sections carry much higher mortality risk in Africa
The death rate among women undergoing a caesarean to deliver a baby is about 50 times higher in Africa than in most wealthy nations,...
50 is the new 40 for safe child-birth— large Israeli study
Thanks to medical and technological advancements, the age at which a woman can give birth has gradually increased and "50 is the new 40...
Prem babies can be as successfully breastfed
Researchers have determined that healthy premature babies can have as much success breastfeeding as full-term babies. The study, conducted by researchers at University of...
Home births 3x more dangerous than hospital deliveries
Women who give birth in non-hospital settings are three times more likely to encounter complications and perinatal mortality compared with hospital births, according to...
Delivery complications higher during weekends and holidays
As if expecting mothers didn't have enough to worry about, a study has now found that the quantity of delivery complications in hospitals are...
In-utero corticosteroids exposure linked to smaller birth size
Infants exposed to antenatal corticosteroid therapy (ACT) to accelerate lung maturation have a clinically significant reduction in birth size, according to a study of...
Omega-3 during pregnancy reduces risk of premature birth
A Cochrane Review has found that increasing the intake of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) during pregnancy reduces the risk of premature births.
Premature...
Pregnancy gap should be at least a year but need not be 18 months
Mothers should wait at least a year between giving birth and getting pregnancy again to reduce health risks to mother and baby, a large...
Surge in the number of C-sections around the world
Globally, the number of babies born through caesarean section (C-section) almost doubled between 2000 and 2015 – from 12% to 21% of all births...
Marijuana remains in breast milk for up to 6 days
With the legalisation of marijuana in several US states, increased use for both medicinal and recreational purposes has been documented in pregnant and breastfeeding...