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Obstetrics
'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...
Feeding standardisation boosts weight in micro preemies
A quality-improvement project to standardise feeding practices for micro preemies helped to boost weight and nearly quadrupled the frequency of lactation consultations ordered in...
Induction at 39 weeks lessens likelihood of C-section
Healthy first-time mothers whose labour was induced in the 39th week of pregnancy were less likely to deliver by Caesarean section, compared to those...
Violence during pregnancy a way of life for many SA women
Many South African women‚ already in difficult situations‚ are experiencing violence during pregnancy at the hands of their intimate partners‚ The Times reports a...
No vitamin D protection against gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia
There is no strong evidence that vitamin D protects against pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia, conclude researchers at the University of Bristol, Bristol...
Recording of mother's voice may help neonates sleep in ICU
Hearing a recording of their mother's voice may help neonates maintain sleep while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), according to preliminary data...
Blood test successfully predicts premature birth
A blood test for pregnant women detects with 75%-80% accuracy whether their pregnancies will end in premature birth, found a pilot study. The technique...
Acupuncture does not improve life birth rates in IVF patients
A study of over 800 Australian and New Zealand women undergoing acupuncture treatment during their IVF (in vitro fertilisation) cycle has confirmed no significant...
Cochrane Review identifies alternative drugs better to prevent PPH
New evidence from a Cochrane Review, led by a University of Birmingham scientist, suggests that alternative drugs may be more effective than the standard drug...
Painkillers during pregnancy could affect fertility of the unborn child
Taking painkillers during pregnancy could affect the fertility of the unborn child in later life, University of Edinburgh research suggests. These drugs may also affect...
Women at highest risk of heart failure within 6 weeks of delivery
Heart failure is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and death in the United States – with the rate of pregnancy-related deaths more than...
Anaemia raises mortality risk in pregnant women
Pregnant women with anaemia are twice as likely to die during or shortly after pregnancy compared to those without the condition, according to a...
Policy of nil per mouth for women in labour questioned
At most US maternity units, women in labour are put on nil per os (NPO) status – they are not allowed to eat or...
Maternal age and risk of preterm birth
Pregnant mothers aged 40 and over may have an increased risk for preterm birth, regardless of confounding factors, according to a study by Florent...
Apgar scores can predict risk of cerebral palsy and epilepsy
An infant's scores on the so-called Apgar scale can predict the risk of a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy or epilepsy. The risk rises...
ATDs in 1st trimester link to higher birth defect risk
Taking anti-thyroid drugs (ATDs) during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for birth defects, particularly for women receiving prescriptions...
C-section literature review on long-term risks and benefits
Compared to vaginal deliveries, caesarean deliveries are associated with a decreased risk of urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse, but an increased risk of miscarriage...
Labour induction at 40 weeks reduces risk of perinatal death
Induction of labour at 40 weeks in nulliparous women aged 35 and older is associated with reduced risk of in-hospital perinatal death, according to...
Groundbreaking operation on spina bifida foetus
Doctors in the US have pioneered an anew treatment for spina bifida in which the baby is operated on before birth.
Spina bifida occurs when...
Postpartum depression influenced by birthing season
Women who give birth in winter or spring are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression (PPD than women who deliver in autumn or summer,...
Women in late pregnancy urged to sleep on their sides
A pregnant mother sleeping on her back during late pregnancy may cause problems for the foetus, according to research. This is the first study...
No adverse effects from light drinking in pregnancy but abstention still advised
A research review suggests that consuming even small amounts of alcohol in pregnancy may be linked with higher chances of having a small baby...
Safe to use mobile phones during pregnancy
Mobile phone use during pregnancy is unlikely to have any adverse effects on child neuro-development, according to Norwegian research. These findings provide further evidence...
New method provides clues to pre-eclampsia diagnosis
A small Mayo Clinic study has developed a method to rapidly detect fragments of podocytes in the urine of women with pre-eclampsia, following on...
Neurocognitive problems for extreme preemies born to obese women
Children born extremely premature to women who are overweight or obese before the pregnancy are at an increased risk for low scores on tests...
Tranexamic acid decreasing death risk from post-partum blood loss
Tranexamic acid has gone largely unused in maternity wards since its development in Japan in the 1960s. Now a massive international trial has shown...
More well-trained midwives could alleviate SA obstetric crisis
With the crisis in obstetrics in South Africa there is no doubt that there should and now will be more focus on midwife deliveries...
Taking some antibiotics may raise miscarriage risk
A large Canadian study found that taking several classes of antibiotic – including macrolides, quinolones, tetracyclines, sulphonamides and metronidazolethe – raised the chances of having...