The home as an appropriate setting for women undertaking cervical ripening before the induction of labour.

Objectives: to explore women's experiences of cervical ripening using isosorbide mononitrate (IMN) in the home as part of the main randomised controlled trial.

Design: qualitative study with semi-structured interviews carried out at three weeks post partum. Interview transcripts were analysed to identify recurrent themes, focusing on why women became involved in the study, their views about both the self-medication and the home setting, and whether they would repeat the experience.

The role of toll-like receptors (TLR-2 and -4) and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1) in human term and preterm labor.

Objective: To define the role of Toll-like receptors (TLR-2, TLR-4) and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) in pregnant human myometrium.

Study Design: Expression of TLR-2 and -4 mRNA and protein and TREM-1 mRNA was quantified in human myometrial samples. Subsequently, we investigated the effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) as a functional inhibitor of the TLR agonist lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Term labor is associated with a core inflammatory response in human fetal membranes, myometrium, and cervix.

Objective: Identify overlap of the transcriptome of myometrium and cervix in association with human labor.

Study Design: The transcriptional profile of myometrial and cervical biopsies obtained from women in spontaneous labor at term (n = 9) and not in labor (n = 9) were characterized by Affymetrix v2 U133 plus 2 arrays. Common canonical pathways and functional groups were identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.

Inflammatory pathways in the mechanism of parturition.

Increasing evidence suggests that parturition is an inflammatory process. In this brief overview, inflammatory events occurring in association with parturition, and the mechanism by which they may contribute to labour and delivery will be discussed. Mention will be made of how this information may be of use in regulating the timing and the onset of parturition.

Spontaneous pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy.

Objective: To report a rare case of spontaneous pregnancy following bilateral salpingectomy.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Maternity unit at a district general hospital in the United Kingdom.

Postmenopausal bleeding due to chronic DIC.

'Bleeding disorders' are listed as a cause of postmenopausal bleeding even though there appear to be no reported cases. We present a case of postmenopausal bleeding, because of chronic DIC, which resulted from aortic aneurysm and was managed with replacement blood products and tranexamic acid.