A simulation study to assess the potential benefits of MRI-based fetal weight estimation as a second-line test for suspected macrosomia.

Objective: To simulate the outcomes of Boulvain's trial by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for estimated fetal weight (EFW) as a second-line confirmatory imaging.

Study Design: Data derived from the Boulvain's trial and the study PREMACRO (PREdict MACROsomia) were used to simulate a 1000-patient trial. Boulvain's trial compared induction of labor (IOL) to expectant management in suspected macrosomia, whereas PREMACRO study compared the performance of ultrasound-EFW (US-EFW) and MRI-EFW in the prediction of birthweight.

Maternal satisfaction with reduced postnatal length of stay in Brussels: evidence from the KOZI&Home program.

Background: Reducing the length of stay (LOS) after childbirth is a trend, including cost savings, a more family-centered approach and lower risk for nosocomial infection. Evaluating the impact of reduced LOS is important to improve the outcomes of care, which include maternal satisfaction. The aim of this study was to compare the maternal satisfaction, before and after the reduced LOS.

Implications of a Reduced Length of Postpartum Hospital Stay on Maternal and Neonatal Readmissions, an Observational Study.

Introduction: Reducing the Length Of postpartum Stay (LOS) is associated with lower hospital costs, a major reason for initiating federal projects in Belgium. Disadvantages following the reduction of LOS are the risks of maternal and neonatal readmissions. This study compares readmissions with or without reduced LOS, by introducing the KOZI&Home program in the university hospital Brussels.

Dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behavior and association with BMI during the transition to parenthood: a prospective dyadic study.

Introduction: Little is known on how diet, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) changes during pregnancy and after childbirth in primiparous couples. Moreover, it is unclear how potential behavioral changes are associated with changes in BMI. This study examined changes in diet, PA and SB, and their association with changes in BMI in couples transitioning to parenthood.

Usability, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of a medical software for early pregnancies: a retrospective study.

Study Question: Can early pregnancies be accurately and cost-effectively diagnosed and managed using a new medical computerized tool?

Summary Answer: Compared to the standard clinical approach, retrospective implementation of the new medical software in a gynaecological emergency unit was correlated with more accurate diagnosis and more cost-effective management.

What Is Known Already: Early pregnancy complications are responsible for a large percentage of consultations, mostly in emergency units, with guidelines becoming complex and poorly known/misunderstood by practitioners.

Study Design, Size, Duration: A total of 780 gynaecological emergency consultations (446 patients), recorded between November 2018 and June 2019 in a tertiary university hospital, were retrospectively encoded in a new medical computerized tool.

Changes in maternal and paternal body composition during the transition to parenthood (TRANSPARENTS).

Objective: The transition to parenthood might negatively influence health-related behavior and can result in increased adiposity. The aim of this study was to investigate how body composition in mother-father dyads changes from pregnancy up to 6 months post partum.

Methods: Anthropometrics were collected from 144 nulliparous couples at 12 weeks of gestation (PG12) and 6 weeks (PP6WK) and 6 months (PP6M) post partum.

Association between perceived partner support and lifestyle in mother-father dyads expecting a first child.

Background: A healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is important for the health of mother and child. However, unfavorable physical activity (PA) and dietary changes are observed in pregnant women and their partner. Partner's influence on lifestyle has been reported by expectant women and men.

Women's experiences with being pregnant and becoming a new mother during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic a national quarantine was imposed in Belgium, which led to changes in the maternity care provision. Despite emerging literature, it remains unclear how pregnant women and women who have recently given birth experienced this period. With this study we aim to explore these women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artificially prepared vitrified-warmed embryo transfer cycles are associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia.

Research Question: What is the association between the development of pre-eclampsia and endometrial preparation prior to vitrified-warmed embryo transfer (frozen embryo transfer, FET)?

Design: A retrospective cohort study at a tertiary university-based hospital, including a total of 536 pregnant patients who underwent a FET between 2010 and 2019 and delivered in the same institution; 325 patients underwent natural cycle FET (NC-FET) and 211 artificial cycle FET (AC-FET).

Results: Unadjusted, the incidence of pre-eclampsia was significantly higher in AC-FET cycles than in NC-FET cycles (3.7% versus 11.

Enhancing the value of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for the prediction of preeclampsia: Cost analysis from the Belgian healthcare payers' perspective.

Objective: To evaluate the economic impact of introducing the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt-1) to placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio test into clinical practice in Belgium for the prediction of preeclampsia (PE).

Study Design: We developed a one-year time-horizon decision tree model to evaluate the short-term costs associated with the introduction of the sFlt-1/PlGF test for guiding the management of women with suspected PE from the Belgian public healthcare payers' perspective. The model estimated the costs associated with the diagnosis and management of PE in pregnant women managed in either a test scenario, in which the sFlt-1/PlGF test is used in addition to current clinical practice, or a no test scenario, in which clinical decisions are based on current practice alone.

Effect of air temperature on human births, preterm births and births associated with maternal hypertension.

Objective: We studied potential effects of outdoor air temperatures or barometric pressure on births, preterm births and births associated with maternal hypertension.

Methods: 12,269 births were retrospectively reviewed in Brussel and 25,880 in South Reunion Island. National Belgium and French weather reference centers provided outdoor air temperatures and barometric pressures from the nearest weather stations on the corresponding birthdays.

Optimal timing to screen for asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy: first vs. second trimester.

Objectives: Although current guidelines advice to screen for asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy, little is known about the best moment of testing. The goal of this study is to analyze the optimal timing (first vs. second trimester) to screen for asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy.

Midwifery students' satisfaction with perinatal simulation-based training.

Background: Simulation-based training has proved to be an effective teaching and learning approach in healthcare. Nevertheless, any assessment of its effectiveness should also take the students' perspective into account.

Aim: To validate the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale (SSES) for use with midwifery students and evaluate midwifery students' satisfaction with perinatal simulation-based training.

Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens.

Serum progesterone levels could predict diagnosis, completion and complications of miscarriage.

Background: Low serum progesterone levels were strongly correlated with miscarriages in several publications and with completion of miscarriage in one paper. This study evaluated several parameters, predominantly serum progesterone, as predictors for miscarriages, their swift non-surgical completion and their complications.

Basic Procedures: Suspected or confirmed non-viable pregnancies with available concomitant serum progesterone measurements were retrospectively reviewed.

Learning experiences of final-year student midwives in labor wards: A qualitative exploratory study.

Introduction: Clinical placements are an integral part of midwifery education and are crucial for achieving professional competencies. Although students' experiences on placements have been shown to play a meaningful role in their learning, they have received scant attention in the literature. The aim of this paper is to describe the learning experiences of final-year student midwives in labor wards within the Brussels metropolitan region, Belgium.

Hearing Loss With Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection.

Objective: In this study, we determined the prevalence of hearing loss in 157 children with proven congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection. We looked at possible risk determinants for developing hearing loss and proposed recommendations for screening and follow-up in the newborn.

Methods: In a prospective 22-year study, 157 children with proven cCMV infection were evaluated for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Body weight, body composition and energy balance related behaviour during the transition to parenthood: study protocol of a multi-centre observational follow-up study (TRANSPARENTS).

Background: The transition to parenthood is a cornerstone event for both parents, potentially leading to relevant changes in lifestyle and behaviour. In women, the metabolic changes during and after pregnancy and the deleterious effects of excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention have been extensively described. However, there is no full understanding about which specific energy balance related behaviours (EBRB) contribute to unfavourable weight gain and weight retention.

Influence of cervical cerclage interventions upon the incidence of neonatal death: a retrospective study comparing prophylactic versus rescue cerclages.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of prophylactic and rescue cervical cerclages for pregnant patients with an incompetent cervix, and to assess the neonatal outcomes of both clinical conditions.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of all women who had an elective or rescue cerclage between January 2008 and December 2016 in our institution. Prophylactic cerclage was defined as a cerclage before 16 weeks of gestation, while rescue cerclages were performed between 16 and 23 weeks of gestation.

Perception and knowledge of early pregnancy assessment units among perinatal practitioners in Europe.

Objective: To investigate perceptions of early pregnancy assessment units (EPAUs) among perinatal practitioners working in Belgium, France, and Switzerland.

Methods: A prospective multinational survey was conducted between September 1, 2015, and May 21, 2016. Obstetricians, gynecologists, medical doctors, radiologists, and midwives were recruited during meetings, via e-mail invitations, or through the websites of regional obstetrics and gynecology scientific societies.

The fetal fibronectin test: 25 years after its development, what is the evidence regarding its clinical utility? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The identification of women at risk for preterm birth should allow interventions which could improve neonatal outcome. Fetal fibronectin, a glycoprotein which acts normally as glue between decidua and amniotic membranes could be a good marker of impending labour when its concentration in cervicovaginal secretions between 22 and 36 weeks of gestation is ≥50 ng/mL. Many authors worldwide have tested this marker with many different methodologies and clinical settings, but conclusions about its clinical use are mixed.

Clinically relevant discordances identified after tertiary reassessment of fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Objective: Fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) may improve outcome of severe isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (iCDH). We aimed to identify any discrepancy between initial assessment at the referring hospital and the evaluation at the fetal surgery center, and to document parental decisions following counseling for fetal surgery.

Design: Single center retrospective study on patients with presumed iCDH either referred for assessment and counseling or referred for fetal surgery.