Postpartum Hemorrhage after Vaginal Delivery Is Associated with a Decrease in Immediate Breastfeeding Success.

Objective:  This study aimed to identify the impact of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) after vaginal delivery on immediate breastfeeding success.

Study Design:  This is a retrospective cohort study examining the impact of PPH on breastfeeding for nulliparous patients after term, singleton, vaginal deliveries at a large academic institution from 2017 to 2018. Indicators of successful breastfeeding in the immediate postpartum period were measured by the presence of breastfeeding, the need for formula supplementation, the average number of breastfeeding sessions per day, the average amount of time spent at each breastfeeding session, the average number of newborn stools and wet diapers produced daily, and the neonatal percentage in weight loss over the first 2 to 3 days of life.

Preoperative Application of Chlorhexidine to Reduce Infection with Cesarean Delivery after Labor (PRACTICAL): A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether use of both preoperative 2% chlorhexidine gluconate abdominal cloth and 4% chlorhexidine gluconate vaginal scrub is effective in reducing surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing cesarean delivery after labor.

Study Design: This is a single-center, randomized clinical trial in which patients were randomized 1:1 to receive 2% chlorhexidine gluconate cloth applied to the abdomen in addition to the application of 4% chlorhexidine gluconate vaginal scrub versus standard of care. The primary outcome was rate of SSIs, including endometritis, by 6 weeks postdelivery.

Comparison of Breastfeeding Success by Mode of Delivery.

Objective: This article identifies how mode of delivery and the presence of labor affect the initiation and effectiveness of breastfeeding.

Study Design: This is a retrospective cohort study of breastfeeding success after vaginal delivery, cesarean section after labor, and scheduled cesarean section in term, singleton deliveries in nulliparous patients at a large academic institution from 2017 to 2018. Exclusion criteria included major postpartum complications requiring admission to the surgical intensive care unit or neonatal intensive care unit, general anesthesia, and major fetal anomalies.

Antenatal Corticosteroids Decrease the Risk of Composite Neonatal Respiratory Morbidity in Planned Early Term Cesarean Deliveries.

Objective: While administration of antenatal corticosteroids prior to term elective cesarean deliveries has been shown in international randomized controlled trials to decrease the rates of respiratory distress syndrome and transient tachypnea of the newborn, this is not a standard practice in the United States. We aim to determine if the administration of antenatal corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation within 1 week of scheduled early term cesarean delivery resulted in decreased composite respiratory morbidity.

Study Design: Historical cohort study including women who underwent scheduled early term cesarean delivery of a singleton, non-anomalous neonate at Mount Sinai Hospital between May 2015 and August 2019, comparing those who completed a course of antenatal corticosteroids within 1 week of delivery to those who did not.

Characteristics and Outcomes of 241 Births to Women With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection at Five New York City Medical Centers.

Objective: To describe the characteristics and birth outcomes of women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection as community spread in New York City was detected in March 2020.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who gave birth from March 13 to April 12, 2020, identified at five New York City medical centers. Demographic and clinical data from delivery hospitalization records were collected, and follow-up was completed on April 20, 2020.

Study To Reduce Infection Prior to Elective Cesarean Deliveries (STRIPES): a randomized clinical trial of chlorhexidine.

Background: Surgical site infections after cesarean delivery are a cause of maternal morbidity and are typically caused by skin microbial flora. Preadmission application of chlorhexidine gluconate using impregnated cloths may decrease surgical site infections by decreasing the abundance of microbial flora.

Objective: To determine whether the application of chlorhexidine gluconate cloths the night before and the morning of scheduled cesarean delivery decreases the risk of surgical site infections by 6 weeks postoperatively compared with placebo.

The effects of epidermal fatty acid profiles, 1-oleoglycerol, and triacylglycerols on the susceptibility of hibernating bats to Pseudogymnoascus destructans.

White Nose Syndrome (WNS) greatly increases the over-winter mortality of little brown (Myotis lucifugus), Indiana (M. sodalis), northern (M. septentrionalis), and tricolored (Perimyotis subflavus) bats, and is caused by cutaneous infections with Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd).