Vitamin D and LC-PUFA and the Presence of Fetal Heart Defects-A Further Part of a Case-Control Study.

Introduction: The relationship between diet of mothers, including supplementation of vitamin D and Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LC-PUFA), and the prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHD) in the fetus has not been sufficiently studied. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the intake of vitamin D and LC-PUFA by mother (from diet and with supplementation, including its time of implementation and applied dose), and the risk of CHD in the fetus.

Methods: This was a case-control study with the participation of a total of 79 women with prenatally diagnosed CHD in the fetus and 121 women without CHD in the fetus.

The Nuchal Cord Conundrum: Understanding and Addressing Umbilical Entanglement in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy.

Better understanding of and addressing umbilical entanglement in the third trimester of pregnancy is necessary to estimate its impact on fetal circulation. An analysis of single physiological pregnancies wrapped with one or two coils of the umbilical cord around the neck makes it possible to understand the severity of the problem and distinguish it from perinatal umbilical strangulation. In an echocardiographic study performed at 32.

Folic Acid and Selected Risk Factors for Fetal Heart Defects-Preliminary Study Results.

Background: The available data on the relationship between diet/folic acid and congenital heart disease (CHD) are not consistent. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the intake and supplementation of folic acid and other selected factors in mothers and the risk of congenital heart defects in fetuses.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted.

Cardiac Adaptation and Preferential Streaming in Fetuses with Multiple Nuchal Cords.

The echocardiographic monitoring of a fetus with multiple nuchal cords around the fetal neck is important as it may result in cardiac remodeling and preferential streaming, thus affecting the condition of the fetus. The main aim of our study was to assess whether the collision of the umbilical cord around the fetal neck can lead to discrepancies in the size of the pulmonary artery and the aorta in the three-vessel view and to an increase in the size of the heart, which may result from the compression of the carotid arteries caused by the umbilical cord wrapping around the fetal neck. A total number of 854 patients were included in this study and divided into three groups.

Diagnostic accuracy of prenatal ultrasound in coarctation of aorta: systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of prenatal ultrasound in detecting coarctation of the aorta (CoA).

Methods: An individual participant data meta-analysis was performed to report on the strength of association and diagnostic accuracy of different ultrasound signs in detecting CoA prenatally. MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL were searched for studies published between January 2000 and November 2021.

Prenatal Echo-Sonographic Parameters in Fetuses Wrapped with the Umbilical Cord in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy.

This study constitutes a description of prenatal echo-sonographic parameters in fetuses wrapped with the umbilical cord in the third trimester of pregnancy and demonstrates the practical importance of the umbilical cord collision. Echocardiographic examinations were performed within 6 months, and a group of patients in the third trimester with a mean age of 28.1 ± 0.

Fetal Third-Trimester Functional Cardiovascular Abnormalities and Neonatal Elevated Bilirubin Level.

Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the neonatal outcomes of fetuses with diagnosed functional cardiovascular abnormalities, also considering the connection with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Materials And Methods: It was an observational study of 100 neonates who had fetal echocardiography examinations in the third trimester (mean gestational age during the last echocardiography was 34 ± 3 weeks and mean birth weight was 3550 g). There were two groups: A: normal heart anatomy + no functional anomalies; group B: normal heart anatomy + functional abnormalities.

Fetal Cardiac Hemodynamic and Sonographic Anomalies in Maternal COVID-19 Infection Depending on Vaccination Status-Polish Multicenter Cohort Study.

Most obstetrical studies have focused on maternal response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus but much less is known about the effect of COVID-19 on fetal physiology. We aimed to evaluate the effect of the maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the fetal homeostasis with the use of detailed ultrasonography and echocardiography and consideration of the effect of vaccination. This was a multi-center study of fetuses who had prenatal detailed ultrasound and echocardiographic examinations performed by fetal cardiology specialists.

Measurement of the Fetal Ear Length Has No Clinical Value.

The long-term monitoring of a fetus with genetic and non-genetic anomalies is still a challenge for prenatal medicine. Ultrasound screening must be based on some measurement ranges, which show the trend of development of fetal body parts in a given period of time. One of them is the fetal ear auricle.

Ectopia cordis: prenatal diagnosis, perinatal outcomes, and postnatal follow-up of an international multicenter cohort case series.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze prenatal diagnosis, perinatal outcomes, and postnatal follow-up in fetuses with ectopia cordis (EC).

Methods: This retrospective analysis accessed 31 patients with EC who were either diagnosed or referred to a tertiary Fetal Medicine centers for EC diagnosis in Brazil, Germany, Italy, and Poland. We analyzed prenatal diagnosis, perinatal outcomes, and follow-up in these patients.

The Presence of a Single Nuchal Cord in the Third Trimester May Not Affect Tei Index in LGA Fetuses.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the RV (right ventricle) and LV (left ventricle) Tei index in large for gestational age (LGA) fetuses with a single 360-degree umbilical coil of the umbilical cord around the fetal neck identified by ultrasound in the third trimester of gestation. (2) Methods: The RV and LV Tei index for the cardiac function were measured in 297 singleton pregnancies, and we identified 25 LGA fetuses. There were 48% of LGA fetuses with a nuchal umbilical cord-LGA/NC-larger for gestational age fetuses with a nuchal cord.

Fetal heart biventricular diameter/foot length index as a diagnostic marker of fetal macrosomia in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Purpose: Fetal macrosomia may have serious effects on both mother and newborn, so it is important to correctly evaluate the fetal weight before delivery. Fetal routine biometry, height of the fundus of uterus, interventricular septal thickness seems to be very good but still not perfect. In our study the relation between fetal biventricular (AP) diameter and fetal foot length was elaborated in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Maternal hyperoxygenation during pregnancy as a tool in fetal disease diagnosis and treatment.

Maternal hyperoxygenation (MHO) consists of giving pregnant women (60% to 100%) oxygen through a facemask and using ultrasound assess or monitor the influence on fetal cardiovascular circulation. This review discusses the findings and the utility of acute and chronic MHO in various fetal diseases.

Longitudinal Surveillance of Fetal Heart Failure Using Speckle Tracking Analysis.

Long-term monitoring of a fetus with heart failure is an undeniable challenge for prenatal cardiology. Echocardiography is constrained by many fetal and maternal factors, and it is difficult to maintain the reproducibility of the measured and analyzed parameters. In our study, we presented the possibilities of using modern speckle tracking technology in combination with standard echocardiography parameters that may be insufficient or less sensitive in the context of monitoring life-threatening fetal conditions.

Normograms in Prenatal Life of Stomach and Urinary Bladder in the Second and Third Trimesters of Pregnancy.

Aim: The aim of this study was to prepare normograms for the fetal stomach, urinary bladder, and stomach to urinary bladder index in healthy fetuses.

Material And Methods: The study was conducted based on the data extracted from the database of our tertiary center in the years 2016-2019. The study group, comprising 867 fetuses, demonstrated normal biometry and normal heart structure, normal heart function, no extracardiac malformations, and no extracardiac anomalies.

Functional assessment of atrial wall excursion and foramen ovale flap tracings in 3rd trimester as predictor of short-term hemodynamic stability in congenital heart defects fetuses.

Objectives: Right atrium and left atrium of the fetal heart play a fundamental role in fetal heart circulatory physiology.

Methods: Excursion of fetal atria walls and tracings of foramen ovale (FO) flap movement were analyzed by M-mode echocardiography by new FO index to determine fetal and neonatal outcome in the first week and month of life in various congenital heart defects. The study group was divided into 3 subgroups: group A: neonates stable after birth (all on I.

The Causes and Role of Antinatalism in Poland in the Context of Climate Change, Obstetric Care, and Mental Health.

Antinatalism is an umbrella term for numerous moral dilemmas associated with procreation. In the past few years, the deterioration of environmental conditions, social difficulties, global worsening of people's mental health, and pandemics have induced discussion about antinatalism. Therefore, we aimed to characterize antinatalists in the Polish population in terms of the frequency and description of the main reasons behind this phenomenon.

Fetal echocardiography and early neonatal balloon valvuloplasty improved overall survival in prenatally detected aortic stenosis over 25 years of tertiary center experience.

Purpose: This article aimed to present the factors determining survival and prognosis in fetuses and newborns with critical prenatal aortic stenosis (AS) and to present 26 years of tertiary center experience.

Methods: Study included 87 fetuses with critical AS requiring surgical intervention during neonatal period. All results were expressed as means ± SD, in numbers and percentages.

Maternal urogenital infection and fetal heart functional assessment - what is the missing link?

Objectives: Maternal urogenital infections during pregnancy are worldwide frequent problem. The aim was to analyze influence of maternal genitourinary infection on fetal cardiac function, pregnancy development and obstetrical outcomes.

Methods: This was a single-center cohort study on fetuses (average at 28th week) in two groups: with maternal urogenital infections (study group n=49) and control group with no infections (n=59).

Longitudinal functional assessment of atrial M-mode in dextro- transposition of the great arteries fetus may help to predict the necessity for urgent neonatal Rashkind procedure.

Six fetal echocardiographic examinations were analyzed and presented with special emphasis on atrial M-mode in one case of fetal isolated dextro- transposition of the great arteries. The only significant changes were seen based on analysis of the new index of foramen ovale (FO) flap movement. Emergency Rashkind procedure on the first day of postnatal life was predicted based on fetal atrial M-mode.