Does social need fulfillment moderate the association between socioeconomic status and health risk behaviours during pregnancy?

Socioeconomic differences in health risk behaviours during pregnancy may be influenced by social relations. In this study, we aimed to investigate if social need fulfillment moderates the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health risk behaviours (smoking and/or alcohol consumption) during pregnancy. We used baseline data from the Lifelines Cohort Study merged with data from the Lifelines Reproductive Origin of Adult Health and Disease (ROAHD) cohort.

Adverse Maternal and Infant Outcomes of Women Who Differ in Smoking Status: E-Cigarette and Tobacco Cigarette Users.

The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) became commercially available around 2004, yet the characteristics of pregnant women who use these devices and their effects on maternal and infant health remain largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes according to maternal smoking status. We conducted a cross-sectional study of Dutch women with reported pregnancies between February 2019 and May 2022, using an online questionnaire to collect data on smoking status and demographic, lifestyle, pregnancy, and infant characteristics.

Differences in Immune phenotype in decidual tissue from multigravid women compared to primigravid women.

Problem: Women with a previous uncomplicated pregnancy have lower risks of immune-associated pregnancy disorders in a subsequent pregnancy. This could indicate a different maternal immune response in multigravid women compared to primigravid women. In a previous study, we showed persistent higher memory T cell proportions with higher CD69 expression after uncomplicated pregnancies.

Distribution of decidual mast cells in fetal growth restriction and stillbirth at (near) term.

Introduction: Placental pathology and pregnancy complications are associated with unfavorable regulation of the maternal immune system. Although much research has been performed towards the role of immune cells like macrophages and T cells in this context, little is known about the presence and function of mast cells (MC). MC can be sub classified in tryptase-positive (MC) and tryptase- and chymase-positive (MC).

What Can We Learn From In-Depth Analysis of Human Errors Resulting in Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: An Analysis of Serious Adverse Event Reports.

Introduction: Human error plays a vital role in diagnostic errors in the emergency department. A thorough analysis of these human errors, using information-rich reports of serious adverse events (SAEs), could help to better study and understand the causes of these errors and formulate more specific recommendations.

Methods: We studied 23 SAE reports of diagnostic events in emergency departments of Dutch general hospitals and identified human errors.

Pregnancy Outcomes: Effects of Metformin (POEM) study: a protocol for a long-term, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial in gestational diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common disorder of pregnancy with health risks for mother and child during pregnancy, delivery and further lifetime, possibly leading to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Current treatment is focused on reducing hyperglycaemia, by dietary and lifestyle intervention and, if glycaemic targets are not reached, insulin. Metformin is an oral blood glucose lowering drug and considered safe during pregnancy.

Interprofessional Consensus Regarding Design Requirements for Liquid-Based Perinatal Life Support (PLS) Technology.

Liquid-based perinatal life support (PLS) technology will probably be applied in a first-in-human study within the next decade. Research and development of PLS technology should not only address technical issues, but also consider socio-ethical and legal aspects, its application area, and the corresponding design implications. This paper represents the consensus opinion of a group of healthcare professionals, designers, ethicists, researchers and patient representatives, who have expertise in tertiary obstetric and neonatal care, bio-ethics, experimental perinatal animal models for physiologic research, biomedical modeling, monitoring, and design.

Stillbirth and neonatal mortality in a subsequent pregnancy following stillbirth: a population-based cohort study.

Background: A history of stillbirth is a risk factor for recurrent fetal death in a subsequent pregnancy. Reported risks of recurrent fetal death are often not stratified by gestational age. In subsequent pregnancies increased rates of medical interventions are reported without evidence of perinatal benefit.

Stillbirths preceded by reduced fetal movements are more frequently associated with placental insufficiency: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Maternal report of reduced fetal movements (RFM) is a means of identifying fetal compromise in pregnancy. In live births RFM is associated with altered placental structure and function. Here, we explored associations between RFM, pregnancy characteristics, and the presence of placental abnormalities and fetal growth restriction (FGR) in cases of stillbirth.

Parents' experiences of care offered after stillbirth: An international online survey of high and middle-income countries.

Background: Stillbirth, the death of a baby before birth, is associated with significant psychological and social consequences that can be mitigated by respectful and supportive bereavement care. The absence of high-level evidence to support the broad scope of perinatal bereavement practices means that offering a range of options identified as valued by parents has become an important indicator of care quality. This study aimed to describe bereavement care practices offered to parents across different high-income and middle-income countries.

Associations between preconception macronutrient intake and birth weight across strata of maternal BMI.

Introduction: Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is linked with birth outcomes including fetal growth, birth weight, congenital anomalies and long-term health through intra-uterine programming. However, a woman's nutritional status before pregnancy is a strong determinant in early embryo-placental development, and subsequently outcomes for both mother and child. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary macronutrient intake in the preconception period with birth weight.

Offspring Birth Weight Is Associated with Specific Preconception Maternal Food Group Intake: Data from a Linked Population-Based Birth Cohort.

The preconception period has been recognized as one of the earliest sensitive windows for human development. Maternal dietary intake during this period may influence the oocyte quality, as well as placenta and early embryonic development during the first trimester of pregnancy. Previous studies have found associations between macronutrient intake during preconception and pregnancy outcomes.

Altered Levels of Decidual Immune Cell Subsets in Fetal Growth Restriction, Stillbirth, and Placental Pathology.

Immune cells are critically involved in placental development and functioning, and inadequate regulation of the maternal immune system is associated with placental pathology and pregnancy complications. This study aimed to explore numbers of decidual immune cells in pregnancies complicated with fetal growth restriction (FGR) and stillbirth (SB), and in placentas with histopathological lesions: maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM), fetal vascular malperfusion (FVM), delayed villous maturation (DVM), chorioamnionitis (CA), and villitis of unknown etiology (VUE). Placental tissue from FGR ( = 250), SB ( = 64), and healthy pregnancies ( = 42) was included.

[Peer support. Essential for quality improvement following a patient safety incident].

Patient safety incidents have strong personal and professional impact on the health care professionals involved. Following such an incident, many of them experience long-term negative emotions and impaired professional functioning. For this reason, in 2016 Shapiro argued for the provision of peer support directly after an incident.

Cohort Profile: The Dutch Perined-Lifelines birth cohort.

Background: Maternal nutrition status (e.g. dietary/nutrient intake) during pregnancy has been associated with pregnancy outcomes including birth weight, infant survival and metabolic health of the offspring during later life.

Placental creatine metabolism in cases of placental insufficiency and reduced fetal growth.

Creatine is a metabolite involved in cellular energy homeostasis. In this study, we examined placental creatine content, and expression of the enzymes required for creatine synthesis, transport and the creatine kinase reaction, in pregnancies complicated by low birthweight. We studied first trimester chorionic villus biopsies (CVBs) of small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriately grown infants (AGA), along with third trimester placental samples from fetal growth restricted (FGR) and healthy gestation-matched controls.

Peripheral maternal haemodynamics across pregnancy in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Objectives: Evaluating maternal haemodynamics across pregnancy in uncomplicated pregnancies and those complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study from 2015 to 2018 of healthy, nulliparous, singleton-bearing women. Maternal haemodynamics assessed by Uscom BP+ at 9-16 and 32-36 weeks' gestation in pregnancies complicated by HDP [preeclampsia with severe (sPE n = 12) and without severe clinical features (nsPE n = 49), gestational hypertension (GH n = 25), transient gestational hypertension (TGH n = 33)] were compared to uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 286) using mixed-effects linear modelling.

Lower mRNA Expression in First-Trimester Decidual Tissue from Uncomplicated Term Pregnancies with a Male Fetus.

Pregnancies with a male fetus are associated with higher risks of pregnancy complications through maladaptation of the maternal immune system. The pathophysiology of this phenomenon is unknown. A possible pathway could be a fetal sex-dependent maternal immune response, since males have a Y chromosome encoding specific allogenic proteins, possibly contributing to a different response and higher complication risks.

Seasonality of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy - A South Australian population study.

Objectives: To investigate the seasonal variation of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in South Australia.

Study Design: Retrospective population study including all 107,846 liveborn singletons during 2007-2014 in South Australia. Seasonality in incidence of HDP in relation to estimated date of conception (eDoC) and date of birth (DoB) were examined using Fourier series analysis.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria and urinary tract infection in pregnant women with and without diabetes: Cohort study.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) in pregnant women with and without diabetes mellitus (DM) or gestational DM (GDM).

Study Design: We performed a cohort study in five hospitals and two midwifery clinics in the Netherlands. Pregnant women with and without DM or GDM were screened for the presence of ASB around 12 and 32 weeks' gestation.

Long-term Trends in Singleton Preterm Birth in South Australia From 1986 to 2014.

Objective: To describe long-term trends in the prevalence of preterm birth and rates of preterm birth in singleton pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, small for gestational age (SGA), and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) in South Australia.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population study including all singleton live births in the state of South Australia from 1986 to 2014. Long-term trends for preterm birth, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, SGA, preterm PROM as well as stillbirth were assessed using joinpoint regression analyses.

Stillbirth and neonatal mortality in pregnancies complicated by major congenital anomalies: Findings from a large European cohort.

Objective: To provide prognostic information to help parents to reach an informed decision about termination or continuation of the pregnancy and to shape peripartum policy based on a large European cohort.

Method: Thirteen registries from the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) network contributed data from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2011. Terminations for fetal anomalies were excluded.

Classification of causes and associated conditions for stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

Accurate and consistent classification of causes and associated conditions for perinatal deaths is essential to inform strategies to reduce the five million which occur globally each year. With the majority of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), their needs must be prioritised. The aim of this paper is to review the classification of perinatal death, the contemporary classification systems including the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases - Perinatal Mortality (ICD-PM), and next steps.

Client-Related Factors Associated with a "Less than Good" Experience of Midwifery Care during Childbirth in the Netherlands.

Background: A "less than good" experience during childbirth can affect a mother's early interaction with her child and may significantly influence a woman's emotional well-being. In this study, we focus on clients who experienced midwifery care provided during childbirth as "less than good" care. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between client-related factors and the experience of midwifery care during childbirth to improve this care.