Efficacy of 4.0 mg versus 0.4 mg Folic Acid Supplementation on the Reproductive Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Folic acid (FA) supplementation prevents neural tube defects (NTDs), but the effects on other reproductive outcomes are unclear. While common recommendation is 0.4 mg/day in addition to regular nutrition, the most appropriate dose of FA is still under debate.

Inequalities in maternal health and pregnancy outcome among Nigerian women migrated to Italy.

Among migrant women, unfavourable health conditions and adverse obstetric events are observed more often than in native-born parturients. This observational retrospective study evaluated selected pregnancy outcomes in a Nigerian population giving birth at the University Hospital of Verona. Compared to national controls, being Nigerian was associated with preterm birth (aOR 1.

Anything New about Paternal Contribution to Reproductive Outcomes? A Review of the Evidence.

Paternal health and behavioral lifestyles affect reproductive and neonatal outcomes and yet the magnitude of these effects remain underestimated. Even though these impacts have been formally recognized as a central aspect of reproductive health, health care services in Europe often neglect the involvement of fathers in their reproductive programs. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for systematic reviews, a literature search was carried out to assess the possible impact of paternal health on reproductive outcomes.

Restructuring maternal services during the covid-19 pandemic: Early results of a scoping review for non-infected women.

Introduction And Objective: The novel coronavirus outbreak has caused substantial changes in societal norms as well as adjustments in health systems worldwide. To date the impact of these pandemic-related variations has yet to be fully understood also in the field of maternal health for which continuity of care is a proven life-saving preventive measure.

Design: Following the PRISMA guidelines for reviews, a literature search was carried out to assess different approaches that combine quality of maternal care with the imposed social-distancing rules.

Vaginal birth after caesarean section: a multicentre study on prognostic factors and feasibility.

Purpose: Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) is an option to avoid major abdominal surgery and many consequences related to repeated caesarean delivery. In the last years, many efforts have been made to increase the number of patients attempting trial of labour after caesarean (TOLAC). The aim of our study was to identify the most important factors associated with the success of VBAC.

Perinatal outcome of severe obstetric complications: findings of a 10-year hospital-based surveillance study in Italy.

Objective: To assess incidence and clinical patterns of severe maternal morbidities related to pregnancy. To determine associated feto-maternal outcomes and economic costs for the institution.

Methods: Observational study in a tertiary care Italian public hospital during a 10-year period.

Unintentional transvesical caesarean section: incidence, risk factors, surgical technique and post-operative management.

Objective(s): To assess incidence, risk factors, management, and short and long-term outcomes of unintentional transvesical caesarean section (UTV-CS) defined as any extraction of the fetus through a double full thickness bladder wall cystotomy.

Study Design: Data about all UTV-CS between January 2013 and December 2017 were retrieved searching the diagnosis of bladder injury and bladder repair during caesarean section (CS) in our comprehensive computerized labor and delivery database and register. CS with bladder wall injury not classified as UTV-CS were excluded.

Improvement of maternal and fetal outcomes in women with sickle cell disease treated with early prophylactic erythrocytapheresis.

Background: The desire for pregnancy in sickle cell disease (SCD) women has become a true challenge for hematologists, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Erythrocytapheresis (ECP) is an important therapeutic tool in SCD, but only limited data on starting time and the effects of ECP during pregnancy are available.

Study Design And Methods: This is a double-center retrospective cross-sectional study on a total of 46 single pregnancies in SCD women from January 2008 to June 2017.

Intramural Hematoma of the Esophagus Complicating Severe Preeclampsia.

Intramural hematoma of the esophagus is a rare injury causing esophageal mucosal dissection. Forceful vomiting and coagulopathy are common underlying causes in the elderly population taking antiplatelets or anticoagulation agents. Acute retrosternal pain followed by hematemesis and dysphagia differentiates the hematoma from other cardiac or thoracic emergencies, including acute myocardial infarction or aortic dissection.

The Role of Computed Tomography Colonography in Detecting Bowel Involvement in Women With Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis: Comparison With Clinical History, Serum Ca125, and Transvaginal Sonography.

Objective: We wanted to assess the diagnostic value of computed tomographic colonography (CTC) in recognizing bowel endometriosis in comparison with serum Ca125, transvaginal sonography (TVS), and presence of intestinal symptoms.

Methods: We included in this study 92 women undergoing surgery for symptomatic DIE. Preoperative evaluation included clinical history, Ca125 serum value, and TVS.

Increased epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and reduced soluble epoxide hydrolase expression in the preeclamptic placenta.

Background: Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) derived from cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent metabolism of arachidonic acid are increased in the plasma of women with preeclampsia as compared with normal pregnancy and are significantly higher in fetal than in maternal plasma and erythrocytes. We hypothesized that differences in EET synthesis or metabolism in the feto-placental unit contributed to the observed differences in circulating EETs.

Method: To evaluate EETs, formation as well as the expression of relevant CYP isoforms and the metabolizing enzyme, soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), biopsies of placenta were collected from 19 normal pregnancy and 10 preeclampsia at the time of cesarean section delivery.

Successful Pregnancy Outcome after Laparoscopic Cerclage in a Patient with Cervicovaginal Fistula.

Obstetric fistula usually originates from obstructed labor or, less often, from invasive maneuvers on the genital tract or the pregnant uterus. Overall, it is a rare finding in the obstetric practice of high income countries. In this report we describe the case of a successful term pregnancy in a patient with a history of recurrent late miscarriage due to a large cervical fistula of traumatic origin, connecting the uterine cavity and the posterior vaginal fornix.

Maternal near miss and maternal deaths in Mozambique: a cross-sectional, region-wide study of 635 consecutive cases assisted in health facilities of Maputo province.

Background: Life-threatening events during pregnancy are currently used as a measure to assess quality of obstetric care. The aim of this study is to assess prevalence of near miss cases and maternal deaths, to elucidate the causes and to analyze avoidable factors based upon the three-delays approach in southern Mozambique.

Methods: Near miss cases comprised five categories: eclampsia, severe hemorrhage, severe sepsis, uterine rupture and severe malaria.

Differential regulation of TNF receptors in maternal leukocytes is associated with severe preterm preeclampsia.

We tested the hypothesis that maternal peripheral blood leukocytes contribute to elevated levels of soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR) in preeclampsia (PE) with concomitant intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). TNFR1 and TNFR2 were evaluated in a cross-sectional study comparing preeclamptic (n = 15) with or without IUGR versus normotensive pregnant women (PREG, n = 30), and non-pregnant controls (Con; n = 20). Plasma levels of sTNFR1 were higher in PE (1675.

Intracranial subdural hematoma after spinal anesthesia for cesarean section.

Intracranial subdural hematoma following spinal anesthesia is an infrequent occurrence in the obstetric population. Nevertheless, it is a potentially life-threatening complication. In the majority of the cases, the first clinical symptom associated with intracranial subdural bleeding is severe headache, but the clinical course may have different presentations.

Maternal and fetal epoxyeicosatrienoic acids in normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies.

Background: Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) are cytochrome P450 metabolites of arachidonic acid posited to act in the circulatory adaptation to pregnancy and the development of preeclampsia. Red blood cells (RBCs) may function as major contributors of cis- and trans-EETs.

Methods: We performed paired analyses of EETs, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs), and 20-HETE in RBCs, plasma, and urine from preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Severe maternal morbidity in a tertiary care centre of northern Italy: a 5-year review.

Objective: To assess prevalence and causes of severe acute maternal morbidity cases and evaluate their impact on feto-maternal wellbeing and on facility resources.

Study Design: Observational retrospective study adopting management-based criteria in a tertiary care public hospital during a 5-year period. Criteria adopted were: intensive care unit admission, blood transfusion ≥ 4 units, emergency peripartum hysterectomy and arterial embolization at any time during pregnancy.

Pregnancy outcome of migrant women delivering in a public institution in northern Italy.

Background/aim: European societies are facing a wave of incoming immigrants and the needs of a new multiethnic obstetrical population. It remains controversial whether native and immigrant women have equivalent pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: Perinatal indicators of the obstetric outcome were monitored in all delivering women during a 5-year period in a large academic public general hospital.

Induction of labor and pain: a randomized trial between two vaginal preparations of dinoprostone in nulliparous women with an unfavorable cervix.

Objective: To compare pain associated with vaginal dinoprostone pessary vs. gel for induction of labor in women with an unfavorable cervix.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial in a large academic public general hospital.

Risk factors for deep endometriosis: a comparison with pelvic and ovarian endometriosis.

Objective: To assess whether deep endometriosis has different risk factors compared with endometriosis at other sites. In epidemiological terms, this should be the case if deep endometriosis represents a different condition than ovarian and peritoneal endometriosis.

Design: Case-control study.

Radical excision of inguinal endometriosis.

Background: The diagnosis of inguinal endometriosis can be complex, and patients are often first operated by a general surgeon for a hernia. We present five cases of inguinal endometriosis in which primary surgery resulted in recurrence and a second correct procedure resulted in a cure.

Cases: Five patients with inguinal endometriosis, operated between 1996 and 2002, were seen for the recurrence of symptoms.

Clinicopathological evaluation of 59 cases of fetal death.

Objective: The purpose of this study has been assessing the determinants of stillbirth among the newborns of the Verona University Obstetrics Department.

Materials And Methods: A total of 59 stillbirth cases, observed between January 2000 and June 2006, were retrospectively studied. WHO definition for stillbirth was adopted as the inclusion criterion.