Risk factors and recurrence of hyperemesis gravidarum: A population-based record linkage cohort study.

Introduction: There are limited contemporary population-based studies on the risk factors for hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a severe type of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and trend of HG over time, identify risk factors for any and multiple HG health service visits during pregnancy, and investigate HG recurrence across pregnancies.

Material And Methods: This population-based record linkage cohort study featured births in New South Wales, Australia from 2010 to 2019.

Opioid analgesic exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of major congenital malformations in infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Prescribed opioid analgesics are frequently used to manage pain in pregnancy. However, the available literature regarding the teratogenic potential of opioid use during pregnancy has not been systematically summarised. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the quality of the evidence on these potential risks and calculate a pooled estimate of risk for any opioid analgesic and individual opioids.

Association between cumulative maternal exposures related to inflammation and child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A cohort study.

Background: Preclinical studies suggest synergistic effects of maternal inflammatory exposures on offspring neurodevelopment, but human studies have been limited.

Objectives: To examine the cumulative association and potential interactions between seven maternal exposures related to inflammation and child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of children born from July 2001 to December 2011 in New South Wales, Australia, and followed up until December 2014.

The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce: pregnancy and perinatal guidelines.

Introduction: Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than non-pregnant women of a similar age. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that evidenced-based guidance was needed, and that it would need to be updated rapidly. The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce provided a resource to guide care for people with COVID-19, including during pregnancy.

Cross-sectional survey of antenatal education attendance among nulliparous pregnant women in Sydney, Australia.

Background: Antenatal education aims to provide expectant parents with strategies for dealing with pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood and may have the potential to reduce obstetric intervention and fear of childbirth. We aimed to investigate antenatal education attendance, reasons for and barriers to attending, and techniques taught and used to manage labour.

Methods: Antenatal and postnatal surveys were conducted among nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy at two maternity hospitals in Sydney, Australia in 2018.

Birth outcomes by type of attendance at antenatal education: An observational study.

Background: Antenatal education aims to prepare expectant parents for pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. Studies have reported antenatal education teaching breathing and relaxation methods for pain relief, termed psychoprophylaxis, is associated with reduction in caesarean section rates compared with general birth and parenting classes. Given the rising rates of caesarean section, we aimed to determine whether there was a difference in mode of birth in women based on the type of antenatal education attended.

Clinician views and experiences of non-invasive prenatal genetic screening tests in Australia.

Background: Non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) is being increasingly used by expectant parents. Much provision of this test in Australia is occurring in clinical settings where specialised genetic counselling is unavailable, such as general practice. Potential psychosocial consequences from this kind of prenatal genetic screening remain largely unexplored.

Assessing the relationship between psychosocial risk and pregnancy outcomes using the perinatal integrated psychosocial assessment (PIPA) tool.

Background: The Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment (PIPA) tool screens for anxiety, depression, and psychosocial factors in pregnancy. We aimed to assess the association between PIPA-determined psychosocial risk and obstetric and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: Cohort study of all pregnant women who gave birth at ≥20 weeks of gestation in 2017-2019 at a tertiary maternity hospital in, Sydney, Australia.

Short-Term Effects of Dexamethasone versus Betamethasone on Ultrasonic Measures of Fetal Well-Being: Cohort from a Blinded, Randomized Trial.

Introduction: Maternal corticosteroid administration for anticipated preterm birth is common; however, the corticosteroid effect on fetal ultrasound and cardiotocograph (CTG) remains contested. This study aimed to evaluate short-term ultrasound and CTG impact of (a) dexamethasone versus betamethasone (b) pooled corticosteroid effect.

Methods: Substudy of blinded randomized trial of dexamethasone versus betamethasone (given <34 weeks).

Prospective cohort study: Causes of stillbirth in Australia 2013-2018.

Background: Stillbirth is a major public health problem that is slow to improve in Australia. Understanding the causes of stillbirth through appropriate investigation is the cornerstone of prevention and important for parents to understand why their baby died.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess compliance with the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) Perinatal Mortality Clinical Practice Guidelines (2009) for stillbirths.

Breastfeeding patterns and effects of minimal supplementation on breastfeeding exclusivity and duration in term infants: A prospective sub-study of a randomised controlled trial.

Aim: Despite international recommendations, less than one-third of Australian women exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. The aims of this study were to prospectively determine rates and factors associated with the type and duration of breastfeeding in the first year and examine the effect of minimal supplementation.

Methods: We conducted a sub-study of a randomised controlled trial in Sydney, Australia, which included 635 women with uncomplicated term births who intended to breastfeed.

Receptors in host pathogen interactions between human cytomegalovirus and the placenta during congenital infection.

Cellular receptors in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) mother to child transmission play an important role in congenital infection. Placental trophoblast cells are a significant cell type in placental development, placental functional processes, and in HCMV transmission. Different cells within the placental floating and chorionic villi present alternate receptors for HCMV cell entry.

Association of Maternal Autoimmune Disease With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children.

Importance: Maternal autoimmune disease has been associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, but few studies have assessed the association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Objective: To examine the association between maternal autoimmune disease and ADHD within a population-based cohort and combine results in a subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cohort study was conducted of singleton children born at term gestation (37-41 weeks) in New South Wales, Australia, from July 1, 2000, to December 31, 2010, and followed up until the end of 2014; and a systematic review evaluated articles from the MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases to identify all studies published before November 20, 2019.

When should intensive care be provided for the extremely preterm infants born at the margin of viability? A survey of Australasian parents and clinicians.

Aim: This study aimed to explore clinician and parent opinions of risk limits on resuscitation and intensive care (IC) for extremely premature infants born at the margin of viability.

Methods: Two anonymous on-line surveys were conducted from August 2016 to January 2017. Survey participants were: (i) clinicians affiliated with neonatal intensive care units in Australia; and (ii) parents or individuals who expressed interest in premature babies through the Facebook page of Miracle Babies Foundation.

Comparing a Mobile Phone Automated System With a Paper and Email Data Collection System: Substudy Within a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Traditional data collection methods using paper and email are increasingly being replaced by data collection using mobile phones, although there is limited evidence evaluating the impact of mobile phone technology as part of an automated research management system on data collection and health outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare a web-based mobile phone automated system (MPAS) with a more traditional delivery and data collection system combining paper and email data collection (PEDC) in a cohort of breastfeeding women.

Methods: We conducted a substudy of a randomized controlled trial in Sydney, Australia, which included women with uncomplicated term births who intended to breastfeed.

Fetal therapies for cytomegalovirus: What we tell prospective parents.

Congenital CMV is the most common congenital infection in the developed world. Infection results in congenital disease ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe neurodevelopmental impairment, and occasionally fetal or neonatal death. Fetal infection can occur through maternal-fetal transmission during primary maternal infection or maternal reactivation or re-infection.

Stillbirth risk prediction using machine learning for a large cohort of births from Western Australia, 1980-2015.

Quantification of stillbirth risk has potential to support clinical decision-making. Studies that have attempted to quantify stillbirth risk have been hampered by small event rates, a limited range of predictors that typically exclude obstetric history, lack of validation, and restriction to a single classifier (logistic regression). Consequently, predictive performance remains low, and risk quantification has not been adopted into antenatal practice.

Early birth is a key factor in educational disadvantage of twins: A data linkage study.

Aim: To assess educational outcomes of twins and quantify the degree this is mediated by gestational age and other perinatal factors.

Methods: We conducted a population-based record-linkage cohort study of all live births ≥24 weeks gestation in New South Wales, Australia with a corresponding standardised school test result for grade 3 in 2008-2014. The primary outcome was whether a child met the National Minimum Standard (NMS) cut-off in literacy and numeracy domains.

A 9-year audit of fetal chest masses in an Australian maternal-fetal medicine cohort.

Introduction: To assess fetal vs. neonatal diagnoses, pregnancy outcomes and need for surgery in babies prenatally diagnosed with congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) or bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS).

Methods: Retrospective single-centre cohort study of fetuses with a prenatal diagnosis of CPAM or BPS between 2006 and 2014.