Monitoring medicine prescriptions before, during and after pregnancy in Italy.

Background: The use of medications during pregnancy is a common event worldwide. Monitoring medicine prescriptions in clinical practice is a necessary step in assessing the impact of therapeutic choices in pregnant women as well as the adherence to clinical guidelines. The aim of this study was to provide prevalence data on medication use before, during and after pregnancy in the Italian population.

Lifestyle and dietary factors, iron status and one-carbon metabolism polymorphisms in a sample of Italian women and men attending a Transfusion Medicine Unit: a cross-sectional study.

Iron (Fe) status among healthy male and female blood donors, aged 18-65 years, is estimated. General characteristics and lifestyle factors, dietary habits and major one-carbon metabolism-related polymorphisms were also investigated. An explorative cross-sectional study design was used to examine a sample of blood donors attending the Transfusion Medicine Unit of the Verona University Hospital, Italy.

Efficacy of 4.0 mg versus 0.4 mg Folic Acid Supplementation on the Reproductive Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Folic acid (FA) supplementation prevents neural tube defects (NTDs), but the effects on other reproductive outcomes are unclear. While common recommendation is 0.4 mg/day in addition to regular nutrition, the most appropriate dose of FA is still under debate.

[Analysis of the activities of the network of the Family Care Centres to relaunch their role: main results of the 2017 CCM Project].

Introduction: in 2017, the Italian Ministry of Health funded the project "Analysis of the activities of the network of the Family Care Centers (FCCs) to relaunch their role" aimed at updating the state of the art of the national FCCs. The project was coordinated by the Italian National Institute of Health (INIH). The present paper focuses on a selection of the project's results.

Medication prescriptions before, during and after pregnancy in Italy: a population-based study.

Background: Monitoring medicine prescriptions in pregnancy is an aspect of extreme interest in term of public health.

Methods: A retrospective prevalence study using administrative healthcare databases was performed in order to evaluate medication prescriptions in Italy. A cohort of 274,938 pregnant women (15-49 years) residing in three Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Puglia), who delivered in 2014-2017, were enrolled.

Maternal periconceptional nutrition matters. A scoping review of the current literature.

Background: The importance of nutrition in reproductive health is widely acknowledged with special emphasis given to periconceptional maternal diet and its implications on embryo-fetal development, pregnancy complications, and the health of the offspring.

Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched for literature in PubMed, CINAHL, and WoS to gather newer information on how diet composition influences the concepts from the very early stages of pregnancy and how maternal health may be affected as well. Fifty-six studies published up to June 2020 met the inclusion criteria.

The Italian Network for Monitoring Medication Use During Pregnancy (MoM-Net): Experience and Perspectives.

There is an acute need for research to acquire high-quality information on the use of medicines in pregnancy, both in terms of appropriateness and safety. For this purpose, the Italian Medicines Agency established a Network for Monitoring Medication use in pregnancy (MoM-Net) through the conduction of population-based studies using administrative data available at regional level. This paper aimed to describe the experiences and challenges within the network.

Anything New about Paternal Contribution to Reproductive Outcomes? A Review of the Evidence.

Paternal health and behavioral lifestyles affect reproductive and neonatal outcomes and yet the magnitude of these effects remain underestimated. Even though these impacts have been formally recognized as a central aspect of reproductive health, health care services in Europe often neglect the involvement of fathers in their reproductive programs. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for systematic reviews, a literature search was carried out to assess the possible impact of paternal health on reproductive outcomes.

B vitamin blood concentrations and one-carbon metabolism polymorphisms in a sample of Italian women and men attending a unit of transfusion medicine: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To define blood status of folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, homocysteine, and major one-carbon metabolism-related polymorphisms in healthy, males and females blood donors, aged 18-65 years were evaluated. General characteristics and lifestyle factors were also investigated.

Methods: An explorative cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate a sample of blood donors attending the Unit of Transfusion Medicine of the Verona University Hospital, Italy.

Drug discontinuation in pregnant women with psoriasis: The PSO-MOTHER cohort study.

Purpose: To analyse the drug use pattern in women with psoriasis before, during and after pregnancy.

Methods: All children born (2009-2016) in a central Italian region (Lazio) to mothers with a diagnosis of psoriasis were identified. Drug use patterns (biologicals, systemic, and topical), and discontinuation and switching of drug therapies before, during, and after pregnancy were studied.

Delivery in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2: A fast review.

Background: Few case reports and clinical series exist on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 who delivered.

Objective: To review the available information on mode of delivery, vertical/peripartum transmission, and neonatal outcome in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Search Strategy: Combination of the following key words: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and pregnancy in Embase and PubMed databases.

Folate, homocysteine and selected vitamins and minerals status in infertile women.

Objectives: Diet has been recognised as a crucial factor influencing fetal and maternal health. Adequate levels of substances such as homocysteine, folate and vitamin B have been associated with a higher rate of success in infertility treatments. Few data, however, are available on the average levels of micronutrients in the blood of reproductive-aged women, and specific values for adequate levels are not available.

Risk of Monozygotic Twins After Assisted Reproduction: A Population-Based Approach.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that ovarian stimulation and assisted reproductive techniques (ART) may increase the frequency of monozygotic twins. In this article, we present the analysis of the estimated frequency of twin deliveries following in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Lombardy during the period 2010-2014 for a total of 450,949 pregnancies.

Method: This is a population-based study using data from the regional data base of Lombardy, a northern Italian region with a population of about 10 million inhabitants.

Association of Rewarming Rate on Neonatal Outcomes in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants with Hypothermia.

Objective: To explore the possible association between rewarming rate and neonatal outcomes in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWIs) with hypothermia.

Study Design: All ELBWIs with hypothermia (temperature < 36.0°C) on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission were retrospectively evaluated.

Web-based surveillance of public information needs for informing preconception interventions.

Background: The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes can be minimized through the adoption of healthy lifestyles before pregnancy by women of childbearing age. Initiatives for promotion of preconception health may be difficult to implement. Internet can be used to build tailored health interventions through identification of the public's information needs.

Prevention of congenital malformations and other adverse pregnancy outcomes with 4.0 mg of folic acid: community-based randomized clinical trial in Italy and the Netherlands.

Background: In 2010 a Cochrane review confirmed that folic acid (FA) supplementation prevents the first- and second-time occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs). At present some evidence from observational studies supports the hypothesis that FA supplementation can reduce the risk of all congenital malformations (CMs) or the risk of a specific and selected group of them, namely cardiac defects and oral clefts. Furthermore, the effects on the prevention of prematurity, foetal growth retardation and pre-eclampsia are unclear.

Folic acid supplementation and preterm birth: results from observational studies.

Introduction: Folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended worldwide in the periconceptional period for the prevention of neural tube defects. Due to its involvement in a number of cellular processes, its role in other pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage, low birth weight, preterm birth (PTB), preeclampsia, abruptio placentae, and stillbirth has been investigated. PTB is a leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity; therefore its association with FA supplementation is of major interest.

Temporal trends and determinants of peripartum hysterectomy in Lombardy, Northern Italy, 1996-2010.

Purpose: To analyze the temporal trends of peripartum hysterectomy (PH) in the period 1996-2010 in Lombardy, Italy.

Methods: Using data from the Regional Database, PH ratios/1,000 deliveries were calculated from 1996 to 2010, in strata of age and mode of delivery among women resident in Lombardy, Italy. PH cases were identified searching the database for the ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes for subtotal and total hysterectomy.

Exposure to video display terminals and risk of small-for-gestational-age birth.

In this study, the authors analyzed the association between video display terminal (VDT) use before and during the three trimesters of pregnancy and risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth in a case-control study. The cases for this study were 555 women who delivered SGA births. The controls were 1966 women who gave birth at term to healthy infants of normal weight.