Body mass index and labor outcome associated with the level of amniotic fluid lactate. .

Introduction: Obesity is a globally growing problem. Labor dystocia is associated with obstetric complications, especially among obese pregnant women. Previous studies have shown an association between the level of lactate produced by uterine myocytes during contractions and the level of lactate in the amniotic fluid (AFL).

Relationship between various maternal conditions and lactic acid dehydrogenase activity in umbilical cord blood at birth.

Background: Lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) is a valuable marker for some of the most important diseases in newborns and the plasma LDH activity in newborns correlates well with conditions such as asphyxia. If LDH should be considered as a useful tool also in obstetric care, key factors associated with maternal health before and during pregnancy which could affect umbilical cord LDH activity need to be known. The aims of this study were to explore relationships between selected maternal conditions and arterial lactic acid dehydrogenase activity (aLDH) in umbilical cord blood at delivery.

Publication bias in reproductive medicine: from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting to publication.

Background: Treatment decisions should ideally be based on well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Here we determine the rate of full publication of RCTs presented at annual meetings of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), identify potential bias against publishing non-significant results and results not favoring the experimental arm, quantify this bias in case it exists, and identify factors associated with time to publication.

Methods: RCTs presented at ESHRE meetings 2003 and 2004 were recorded.