Racial disparities in peripartum cardiomyopathy: eighteen years of observations.

Background: Black women have greater than a three-fold risk of pregnancy-associated death compared to White women; cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of maternal mortality.

Objectives: This study examined racial disparities in health outcomes among women with peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort of women with peripartum cardiomyopathy per the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute definition from January 2000 to November 2017 from a single referral center.

Cervical pessary use and preterm birth.

Preterm birth remains a considerable public health concern and priority. Little headway has been made in the prevention of preterm birth despite considerable research in this area. New ideas and treatments are desperately needed.

Is midtrimester vitamin D status associated with spontaneous preterm birth and preeclampsia?

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate whether midtrimester maternal vitamin D is associated with preeclampsia < 37 weeks or spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) < 35 weeks.

Study Design: Nested case-control comprising two case subsets: (1) 100 women with preeclampsia < 37 weeks and (2) 100 women with SPB < 35 weeks. Controls consisted of 200 women delivered between 39 and 40 weeks.

Risk factors for uterine atony/postpartum hemorrhage requiring treatment after vaginal delivery.

Objective: We sought to identify risk factors for uterine atony or hemorrhage.

Study Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of a 3-arm double-blind randomized trial of different dose regimens of oxytocin to prevent uterine atony after vaginal delivery. The primary outcome was uterine atony or hemorrhage requiring treatment.

Antibiotic prophylaxis for cesarean delivery: survey of maternal-fetal medicine physicians in the U.S.

Objective: To describe practices concerning antibiotic prophylaxis for cesarean delivery among maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) physicians in the United States.

Methods: A 10-item self-administered survey about their routine use of antibiotics for cesarean delivery was mailed once only to a random sample of 1000 US-based fellows of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in November 2009.

Results: There were a total of 250 respondents from 40 US states between 10/09 and 4/2010, corresponding to a response rate of 25%.

Discussion: 'Infant death among Ohio residents' by Donovan et al.

In the roundtable that follows, clinicians discuss a study published in this issue of the Journal in light of its methodology, relevance to practice, and implications for future research.

Synthetic graft use in vaginal prolapse surgery: objective and subjective outcomes.

Introduction And Hypothesis: This study reports 1-year outcomes in women who underwent transvaginal pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery with Prolift transvaginal mesh.

Methods: Pre- and postoperative objective vaginal Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) and subjective symptom and impact assessments (Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI)-20 and Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ)-7, respectively) were performed. Postoperative vaginal tenderness, stricture, and patient satisfaction were also obtained.

The management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia during pregnancy: is colposcopy necessary?

Objective: The 2006 American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology Consensus guidelines state that it is acceptable to defer colposcopy until 6 weeks postpartum in pregnant patients with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) cytology. Therefore, we sought to determine the incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2,3 in pregnant patients referred to a university colposcopy clinic.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study identified all pregnant women with abnormal cytology referred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham colposcopy clinic between May 2005 and September 2007.