Aims: Maternal red blood cell alloimmunization is an important cause of fetal morbidity and mortality in the perinatal period, despite well-organized prophylaxis programs. The objective of the study was to evaluate placental elasticity by using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) in Rhesus (Rh) alloimmunized pregnant women with hydropic and nonhydropic fetuses and to compare those with healthy pregnant women.
Material And Methods: This case-control and descriptive study comprised twenty-eight healthy pregnant women, 14 Rh alloimmunized pregnant women with nonhydropic fetuses, and 16 Rh alloimmunized pregnant women with hydropic fetuses in the third trimester of pregnancy. Placental elasticity measurements were performed by ARFI elastosonography at the day of delivery. The maternal characteristics and neonatal outcomes of the patients were also noted.
Results: The highest mean placental ARFI scores were observed in Rh alloimmunized pregnant women with hydropic fetuses (1.13 m/s) (p=0.001). Healthy controls and Rh alloimmunized pregnant women with nonhydropic fetuses had similar mean placenta ARFI scores (0.84 m/s, 0.88 m/s, respectively) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Based on the present findings, the placenta becomes stiffer in Rh alloimmunized pregnancies complicated with hydrops fetalis. The increased placental ARFI scores may be a supplemental marker for adverse pregnancy outcomes, additional to Doppler evaluation of middle cerebral artery. This data should be confirmed with a large sample size and prospective studies by using serial measurements of ARFI elastosonography in maternal red blood cell alloimmunization.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.11152/mu-924 | DOI Listing |
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
January 2025
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Reina Sofía Hospital, Tudela, Spain.
Background: There is evidence that exercise may reduce the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and improve other obstetric outcomes in overweight or obese pregnant women. However, the available evidence is of low quality and inconclusive. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of exercise, compared with usual care, in reducing GDM and other obstetric risks, in overweight and obese pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
January 2025
Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Introduction: Optimising the micronutrient status of women before and during reproduction confers benefits to them and their offspring. Antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), given as a daily tablet with nutrients at ~1 recommended dietary allowance (RDA) or adequate intake (AI) reduces adverse birth outcomes. However, at this dosage, MMS may not fully address micronutrient deficiencies in settings with chronically inadequate diets and infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZ Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundhwes
January 2025
Department Digital Health Sciences and Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
Background: Pregnant women and their families, especially those navigating chronic illness or challenging life situations, often seek information and counseling. The pregnancy period and the transition to parenthood can exacerbate these circumstances, leaving families particularly vulnerable. Addressing stressful situations becomes a hurdle in this context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Obstet Anesth
December 2024
Department of Anesthesiology, 8700 Beverly Blvd #4209, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States. Electronic address:
Introduction: Over 90% of pregnant women and 76% expectant fathers search for pregnancy health information. We examined readability, accuracy and quality of answers to common obstetric anesthesia questions from the popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots ChatGPT and Bard.
Methods: Twenty questions for generative AI chatbots were derived from frequently asked questions based on professional society, hospital and consumer websites.
Vaccine
January 2025
Maternité Port-Royal, Groupe hospitalier Paris Centre, AP-HP, FHU Prema, 75014 Paris, France; Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; INSERM UMR 1153, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (Epopé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics, Université de Paris-Cité, Paris, France.
Background: Despite French national recommendations since 2012 that all pregnant women be vaccinated against influenza, in 2021 this vaccine coverage is low - around 30 % - in France.
Objectives: To identify barriers to influenza vaccination during pregnancy by assessing how often women were offered this vaccination and how often they accepted it.
Study Design: We used data from the French national perinatal survey (ENP), which covered all births during one week in March 2021 (N = 12,614).
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