[The Role of Oxytocin in the Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage in Low-Resource Settings].

Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage remains one of the leading causes of maternal death globally. Oxytocin is the uterotonic agent of choice for the prophylaxis of this complication. However, its use in low-resource settings is associated with clinical, political, economic and cultural constraints.

Building a Maternal and Newborn Care Training Programme for Health-Care Professionals in Guinea-Bissau.

Introduction: The Integrated Programme of Maternal and Child Health aims to reduce maternal and child mortality in Guinea-Bissau. The purpose of this article is to share our experience in building a training programme on maternal and newborn care for health-care professionals in Guinea-Bissau.

Material And Methods: Regional directors of the four target areas chose a group of staff who provide prenatal and childbirth care to attend the course (12 to 15 trainees per region).

Uterine artery Doppler in the management of early pregnancy loss: a prospective, longitudinal study.

Background: The pharmacological management of early pregnancy loss reduced substantially the need for dilation and curettage. However, prognostic markers of successful outcome were not established. Thus the major purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the uterine artery pulsatility (PI) and resistance (RI) indices to detect early pregnancy loss patients requiring dilation and curettage after unsuccessful management.

[Shoulder dystocia: an obstetrical emergency].

Shoulder dystocia is one of the most feared obstetric emergencies due to related maternal and neonatal complications and therefore, the growing of medico-legal litigation that it entails. Although associated with risk factors such as fetal macrossomia, gestacional diabetes and instrumented delivery, the majority of cases are unpredictable. The lack of a consensus on shoulder dystocia diagnosis causes variations on its incidence and hampers a more comprehensive analysis.

[Use of simulation-based methodologies for teaching and learning in Portuguese medical schools].

The main purpose of medical simulation is for students and healthcare professionals to learn, individually or as team members. A questionnaire was developed on the use of medical simulators or simulation-based techniques applied to Medicine, and sent to the directors of all medical schools in Portugal (n = 7). The aim was to contribute to a better understanding of teaching through the use of simulation applied to Medicine.

Self-perceived impact of simulation-based training on the management of real-life obstetrical emergencies.

Objective: To evaluate the self-perceived impact of attending a simulation-based training course on the management of real-life obstetrical emergencies.

Study Design: A prospective follow-up study was conducted. Obstetric nurses and obstetricians (n=54) from a tertiary care university hospital participated in a simulation-based training course for the management of four obstetric emergencies.

The modified Misgav-Ladach versus the Pfannenstiel-Kerr technique for cesarean section: a randomized trial.

Background: Modifications to the classic cesarean section technique described by Pfannenstiel and Kerr have been proposed in the last few years. The objective of this trial was to compare intraoperative and short-term postoperative outcomes between the Pfannenstiel-Kerr and the modified Misgav-Ladach (MML) techniques for cesarean section.

Methods: This prospective randomized trial involved 162 patients undergoing transverse lower uterine segment cesarean section.

[Influence of three organisational measures on the cesarean section rate in a tertiary care University Hospital].

Objective: To evaluate the influence of three organizational measures on the cesarean section rate over two consecutive years, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of a tertiary care University Hospital.

Material And Methods: Clinical records of births occurring in the years 2001 and 2002 were retrospectively evaluated, in order to identify the annual rate of emergency and elective cesarean sections. Other data recorded were the type of deliveries in each on-call team, newborn 1-min and 5-min Apgar scores, neonatal intensive care unit admissions, principal motive for emergency cesareans, time of day and week-day of emergency cesareans.