Men don't cry: The supporting role as necessary for women's well-being after termination of pregnancy.

Objectives: The present study investigated similarities and differences of grief between men and women as part of the parental couple 1 year after termination of pregnancy (TOP) following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly.

Methods: We applied a method triangulation approach. We assessed several aspects of perinatal grief, depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety as well as health-related quality of life.

Termination of pregnancy for fetal malformation: A traumatic event? A qualitative analysis of women's perception.

To investigate women's experience of termination of pregnancy (TOP) for severe fetal malformation.We focus on women's individual perception of psychological counselling on decision making, experiencing the birth process, seeing and holding the baby as well as emotional processing. An explorative study was conducted with 42 women (the age range was between 21 and 45 years [mean 36.

Comparison of a practice-based versus theory-based training program for conducting vacuum-assisted deliveries: a randomized-controlled trial.

Purpose: Vacuum-assisted deliveries (VAD) are complex procedures that require training and experience to be performed proficiently. We aimed to evaluate if a more resource intensive practice-based training program for conducting VAD is more efficient compared to a purely theory-based training program, with respect to immediate training effects and persistence of skills 4-8 weeks after the initial training.

Methods: In this randomized-controlled study conducted in maternity staff, participants performed a simulated low-cavity non-rotational vacuum delivery before (baseline test) and immediately after the training (first post-training test) as well as 4-8 weeks thereafter (second post-training test).

Notching and Pulsatility Index of the Uterine Arteries and Preeclampsia in Twin Pregnancies.

Increased uterine artery Doppler indices have been shown to be associated with preeclampsia and adverse pregnancy outcomes in singleton and twin pregnancies. At 20-22 weeks of gestation, we assessed the use of notching, the highest, lowest, and mean pulsatility index (PI), and the combination of notching and PI of the uterine arteries to screen for preeclampsia. This was done in a cohort of 380 twin pregnancies.

Three or less? Decision making for or against selective reduction and psychological outcome in forty women with a triplet pregnancy.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate decision making for or against multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) and psychological outcome in women with a triplet pregnancy.

Methods: We investigated medical and sociodemographic variables and characteristics of the decision process for or against MFPR in forty women with triplet pregnancies who had either undergone MFPR (MFPR-group:  = 10) or had delivered triplets (triplet-group:  = 30). Moreover, emotional experiences of the reduction procedure were assessed.

Psychological reactions related to fetal magnetic resonance imaging: a follow-up study.

Aims: To assess the women's retrospective perception of fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Thirty-six women were investigated 1 year after fetal MRI. Data was acquired by telephone interviews and standardised rating scales (i.

A qualitative approach to examine women's experience of planned cesarean.

Objective: To investigate women's expectations regarding cesarean and to assess the subjective experience of birth of these women. Because the birth experience is a multidimensional phenomenon, qualitative as well as quantitative approaches were used to investigate women's expectations and experiences with cesarean.

Design: Descriptive cohort study.

Does fetal sex influence the risk of preterm delivery in dichorionic twin pregnancies after spontaneous conception?

Objective: The incidence of preterm delivery has been increasing, and our aim was to estimate the influence of fetal sex on the risk of preterm delivery in dichorionic twins after spontaneous conception.

Methods: 125 spontaneously conceived dichorionic twin gestations, with viable fetuses, born after 24 weeks and delivered spontaneously before 37 weeks, were enrolled. The impact of fetal sex, previous preterm delivery, maternal age, body-mass-index, smoking, and parity on gestational age at birth were evaluated.

Sexual behaviour of women with twin pregnancies.

It has been assumed that sexual activity during pregnancy would lead to an increased risk for miscarriage and other complications of pregnancy. Various studies showed no association of sexual behavior and pregnancy complications in single pregnancies. The aim of our study was to evaluate changes in sexual activity in women with twin pregnancies and whether a higher frequency of sexual intercourse was associated with an increased risk for pregnancy complications.

The impact of fetal gender on prematurity in dichorionic twin gestations after in vitro fertilization.

Background: Impact of fetal gender on prematurity has been primarily investigated in singleton pregnancies. In an attempt to understand better how fetal gender may affect gestational length in twin gestations after in vitro fertilization, same-sex twins and opposite twins were compared for pregnancy duration.

Methods: This study evaluated 113 women at ages 20 to 39 years with consecutive dichorionic-diamniotic twin gestations after assisted reproduction.

Can prematurity risk in twin pregnancies after in vitro fertilization be predicted? A retrospective study.

Background: Assisted reproduction (ART) contributes to world-wide increases of twin pregnancies, in turn raising prematurity risks. Whether characteristics of ART cycles, resulting in twin gestations, can predict prematurity risks was the subject of this study.

Methods: One-hundred-and-six women, ages 20 to 39 years, with consecutive dichorionic-diamniotic (DC/DA) twin gestations were retrospectively investigated.

Severity of prematurity risk in spontaneous and in vitro fertilization twins: does conception mode serve as a risk factor?

Because assisted reproductive technology (ART) contributes to world-wide increases in twin pregnancies, we retrospectively evaluated whether preterm twin gestations after ART are at higher risk for delivery at earlier gestational ages compared with naturally conceived twins. The evaluation of 204 dichorial twin pregnancies, 102 after natural conception and 102 after ART, matched for maternal age, demonstrated comparable severity of prematurity risk in both groups.

Prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery in twin pregnancies by cervical length at mid-gestation.

The objective of our study was to evaluate the correlation of the cervical length at 20-25 weeks of gestation with the incidence of spontaneous preterm delivery in twins in a country with a high incidence of preterm delivery compared to other European countries. Cervical length was measured in 262 consecutive patients. Previous preterm delivery before 34 weeks of gestation, chorionicity, maternal age, body-mass-index, smoking habit and parity were recorded as risk factors for preterm delivery.