Applying Tension to the Transcervical Foley Balloon and Delivery Times in Term Nulliparous Women Undergoing Induction of Labor: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of applying tension to a transcervical Foley balloon on delivery time in term nulliparous patients undergoing labor induction.

Methods: This cluster randomized clinical trial included 279 term nulliparous women presenting for labor induction with a plan for cervical ripening through transcervical Foley balloon placement. Participants were assigned to either the tension group (n=138) or the no-tension group (n=141) on the basis of randomized, weekly clusters (26 total clusters).

Reproducibility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale during the Postpartum Period.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the immediate postpartum period, which we defined as between 3 and 24 hours postpartum for the purpose of this research. This is such that if it can predict scores obtained at the postpartum visit, it will be an opportunity to access psychiatric services for the patient that may otherwise be more difficult to access in the outpatient setting.

Study Design: Longitudinal observational study, which included an analysis of 848 consecutive participants screened with the EPDS in the hospital and at the 6-week postpartum visit.

Hemodynamic function during finger force production tasks in healthy adults.

Introduction: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technique used to measure muscle hemodynamics. The focus of this study was to evaluate changes in muscle oxygenation during sustained maximal force production in young, healthy control individuals to establish baseline function in an ideal population.

Methods: NIRS was used to monitor reduced hemoglobin (HbR) and oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in forearm muscles.