Anxiety and depression in pregnant women who have experienced a previous perinatal loss: a case-cohort study from Scandinavia.

Background: Perinatal loss can have long-lasting adverse effects on a woman's psychosocial health, including during subsequent pregnancies. However, maternal mental health status after perinatal loss during subsequent pregnancy is understudied with very little data available for Scandinavian populations.

Aims: The primary aim of the study was to explore the association between previous perinatal loss and anxiety/depression symptoms of expectant mothers during the subsequent pregnancy.

A national intercalated medical student research program - student perceptions, satisfaction, and factors associated with pursuing a PhD.

Background: To counteract a decreasing number of physician-scientists, a national intercalated Medical Student Research Programme (MSRP) was launched in Norway in 2002. We aimed to assess whether the students' favourable perceptions and satisfaction with the program had prevailed since the inception in 2002 and until 2015, and to identify factors associated with pursuing a PhD.

Methods: The study was an incorporation of data from two previous national evaluations of the MSRP performed in 2007 and 2015.

exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, micro-RNA profiles, and fetal growth: a pilot study protocol.

The developing fetus is particularly vulnerable to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Molecular fingerprints of EDCs can be identified via microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles and may be etiologically implicated in the developmental origin of disease (DOHaD). This pilot study includes pregnant women at high risk (smoking at conception), and low risk (non-smoking at conception) for SGA birth (birthweight<10 percentile for gestational age).

Maternal serum retinol, 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D concentrations during pregnancy and peak bone mass and trabecular bone score in adult offspring at 26-year follow-up.

Background: Vitamin A and D deficiency is prevalent in pregnant women worldwide. Both vitamins are involved in fetal skeletal development. A positive association between maternal vitamin D levels and offspring bone mineral density (BMD) at adulthood has been observed.

Short interpregnancy interval and poor fetal growth: Evaluating the role of pregnancy intention.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that short interpregnancy interval (the interval between delivery and estimated last menstrual period of a subsequent pregnancy) is associated with small for gestational age birth. It is controversial if this association is causal, as few studies have accounted for likely confounding factors such as unintended pregnancy. We examined the association between interpregnancy interval and infant birthweight, adjusting for pregnancy intention and other socio-economic and obstetrical risk factors.

Effects of refresher training on the use of manual vacuum aspiration in the treatment of incomplete abortions: a quasi-experimental study in Malawi.

Introduction: The maternal mortality ratio is decreasing globally, although it remains high in Malawi. Unsafe abortion is a major cause and treatment of complications after abortion is a big burden on the health system. Even though manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is the recommended surgical treatment of incomplete abortions in the first trimester, many hospitals in Malawi continue to use sharp curettage.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring overweight: is there a dose-response relationship? An individual patient data meta-analysis.

Background/objectives: A number of meta-analyses suggest an association between any maternal smoking in pregnancy and offspring overweight obesity. Whether there is a dose-response relationship across number of cigarettes and whether this differs by sex remains unclear.

Subject/methods: Studies reporting number of cigarettes smoked during pregnancy and offspring BMI published up to May 2015 were searched.

Springboard to an academic career-A national medical student research program.

Over the last decades there has been a decline in the recruitment of medical students into academia in all medical fields. Concurrently, medical research has increasingly included other disciplines in multidisciplinary convergence, introducing an unmet recruitment gap and requirement for medical researchers. To counteract the trend and recruit students to academic medicine, a national intercalated Medical Student Research Program (MSRP) was established in Norway in 2002.

The Use of Manual Vacuum Aspiration in the Treatment of Incomplete Abortions: A Descriptive Study from Three Public Hospitals in Malawi.

Malawi has a high maternal mortality rate, of which unsafe abortion is a major cause. About 140,000 induced abortions are estimated every year, despite there being a restrictive abortion law in place. This leads to complications, such as incomplete abortions, which need to be treated to avoid further harm.

Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and child overweight/obesity at 5-year follow-up: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), may influence offspring weight gain. More prospective epidemiological studies are needed to compliment the growing body of evidence from animal studies.

Methods: Serum from 412 pregnant Norwegian and Swedish women participating in a Scandinavian prospective cohort study were collected in 1986-88, and analyses of two perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and five organochlorines (OCs) were conducted.

Peak Bone Mass and Bone Microarchitecture in Adults Born With Low Birth Weight Preterm or at Term: A Cohort Study.

Context And Objectives: Peak bone mass (PBM) is regarded as the most important determinant of osteoporosis. Growing evidence suggests a role of intrauterine programming in skeletal development. We examined PBM and trabecular bone score (TBS) in adults born preterm with very low birth weight (VLBW) or small for gestational age (SGA) at term compared with term-born controls.

A systematic review of maternal smoking during pregnancy and fetal measurements with meta-analysis.

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to reduced birth weight but the gestation at onset of this relationship is not certain. We present a systematic review of the literature describing associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ultrasound measurements of fetal size, together with an accompanying meta-analysis.

Methods: Studies were selected from electronic databases (OVID, EMBASE and Google Scholar) that examined associations between maternal smoking or smoke exposure and antenatal fetal ultrasound measurements.

Associations of Maternal Vitamin B12 Concentration in Pregnancy With the Risks of Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data.

Vitamin B12 (hereafter referred to as B12) deficiency in pregnancy is prevalent and has been associated with both lower birth weight (birth weight <2,500 g) and preterm birth (length of gestation <37 weeks). Nevertheless, current evidence is contradictory. We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis of individual participant data to evaluate the associations of maternal serum or plasma B12 concentrations in pregnancy with offspring birth weight and length of gestation.