Immersion in water during the second stage of labor: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Current obstetrical guidelines in the United States caution firmly against birth in water, but patients remain interested in this intervention. Limited data are available to evaluate the safety and efficacy of water immersion in the second stage of labor for patients and neonates.

Objective: This study aimed to ascertain the effects of water use during the second stage of labor on maternal outcomes.

Calcium supplementation during pregnancy for preventing hypertensive disorders is not associated with changes in platelet count, urate, and urinary protein: a randomized control trial.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that calcium supplementation inhibits the underlying pathological processes in women with preeclampsia.

Methods: Seven hundred and eight nulliparous women were enrolled in a WHO randomized double-blind trial, who received 1.5 g of calcium or placebo from 20 weeks of pregnancy or earlier.

Promoting childbirth companions in South Africa: a randomised pilot study.

Background: Most women delivering in South African State Maternity Hospitals do not have a childbirth companion; in addition, the quality of care could be better, and at times women are treated inhumanely. We piloted a multi-faceted intervention to encourage uptake of childbirth companions in state hospitals, and hypothesised that lay carers would improve the behaviour of health professionals.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomised controlled trial of an intervention to promote childbirth companions in hospital deliveries.

Regulation of GTP cyclohydrolase I expression by orphan receptor Nurr1 in cell culture and in vivo.

Nurr1 is an orphan nuclear transcription factor essential for the terminal differentiation of dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral midbrain (VM). To identify the Nurr1-target genes, we carried out microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analyses of Nurr1 null and wild-type mice in VM at embryonic day (E) 12.5 and shortly after birth (P0).

Reduced tyrosine hydroxylase and GTP cyclohydrolase mRNA expression, tyrosine hydroxylase activity, and associated neurochemical alterations in Nurr1-null heterozygous mice.

The nuclear receptor Nurr1 is essential for the development of midbrain dopamine neurons and appears to be an important regulator of dopamine levels as adult Nurr1-null heterozygous (+/-) mice have reduced mesolimbic/mesocortical dopamine levels. The mechanism(s) through which reduced Nurr1 expression affects dopamine levels has not been determined. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed a significant reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and GTP cyclohydrolase (GTPCH) mRNA in ventral midbrain of +/- mice as compared to wild-type mice (+/+).