Maternal and neonatal scalp hair concentrations of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead: relationship to some lifestyle factors.

Postpartum scalp hair samples from 82 term-pregnancy mother/ neonate pairs were analyzed for their concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb), using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Maternal and neonatal Zn concentrations had geometric means (and 99% confidence intervals) of 122.5 microg/g (117.

Is there a need for special antenatal clinic for women with a medical disorder?

A two year review of clinical practice in a medical antenatal clinic was performed. Forty-six per cent of the patients were diabetics and the other 54% were a mixture of endocrine, cardiac, vascular and other medical disorders. The referral rate was 1.

The outcome of pregnancy associated with amphetamine use.

Thirty cases of pregnancy associated with maternal amphetamine use were studied retrospectively fifteen out of the 30 women used amphetamines alone and the other 15 used other drugs in addition to amphetamines. Women who simultaneously used opiates were excluded from this analysis. Women were cared for in a multidisciplinary setting and all delivered in one hospital.

The incidence of maternal dental treatment during pregnancy.

A questionnaire was given to women who had delivered a live baby to assess their knowledge and uptake of dental treatment during their recent pregnancy of the 496 women surveyed, 95% knew that dental treatment was free on the National Health Service for 1 year after that pregnancy. Despite a high level of knowledge in this area, 64% underwent a dental check-up during pregnancy and of those women who had a check-up 27% had dental restorations placed in their teeth during that pregnancy. Only 26% of women were advised to see a dentist by a health professional.

Maternal and neonatal hair mercury concentrations: the effect of dental amalgam.

Objective: To evaluate maternal and fetal hair mercury levels in relation to the placement of dental amalgam tooth restorations.

Design: Cross sectional study involving women who never had dental amalgam restorations placed, women who had amalgam restorations placed before pregnancy and women who had restorations placed during the index pregnancy.

Setting: North of England Maternity Hospital.

The prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of domestic violence in a population of pregnant women.

Design: Questionnaire survey.

Setting: Antenatal booking clinic in a north of England hospital.

An analysis of maternal and fetal hair lead levels.

Lead contamination of the environment is an important public health consideration. There is evidence of declining blood lead levels in Britain, however, there is still concern about chronic exposure of the fetus and young children to low levels of lead and the effect that this has on neurodevelopment. Hair lead levels have been found to correlate well with body lead contamination.

Effect of intrathecal fentanyl on oxytocin secretion in pregnant women not in labour.

We studied the effects of spinal intrathecal fentanyl on oxytocin secretion in 20 healthy women prior to an elective caesarean delivery at term under spinal anaesthesia. The women were randomly allocated into two groups with respect to spinal anaesthesia. Group I (n=10) received intrathecal bupivacaine (15 mg) plus fentanyl (25 microgram), and Group II (n=10) received intrathecal bupivacaine (15 mg) alone, prior to caesarean section.

Neonatal outcome following maternal opiate use in late pregnancy.

Objective: To determine the neonatal outcome in the form of use of morphine and triclofos to treat the neonatal abstinence syndrome following maternal opiate use in late pregnancy.

Methods: Retrospective case study of 51 pregnancies associated with maternal opiate use between January 1992 and December 1997.

Results: There were 51 pregnancies which resulted in 51 live births.

Mercury and selenium concentrations in maternal and neonatal scalp hair: relationship to amalgam-based dental treatment received during pregnancy.

Mercury and selenium concentrations were determined in scalp hair samples collected postpartum from 82 term pregnancy mothers and their neonates. Maternal mercury and selenium had median concentrations of 0.39 microg/g (range 0.

Long-term sexual co-habitation offers no protection from hypertensive disease of pregnancy.

Long-term sexual co-habitation and previous pregnancies are thought to protect against the development of hypertensive disease of pregnancy. In order to test the hypothesis that pregnancies conceived after prolonged exposure to the partner's spermatozoa have reduced rates of hypertensive disease this study examined the outcomes of pregnancies of women who conceived by donor insemination as compared with women who conceived after IVF with partner's spermatozoa. This was a retrospective cohort study of 218 women attending an IVF clinic, 45 of whom conceived by donor insemination and 173 of whom conceived by partner's spermatozoa.

Reversal of asymptomatic cervical length shortening with cervical cerclage: a preliminary study.

This is a prospective observational study which highlights the value of serial transvaginal cervical length measurements to identify asymptomatic cervical length shortening and the effect on cervical length following insertion of a McDonald cerclage. Four out of 14 patients exhibited asymptomatic cervical length shortening. Only patients whose cervical length was <2 cm underwent cerclage.

Pregnancy outcome in a patient with chronic malnutrition: case report.

This case report describes the management of a chronically malnourished woman during her first and second pregnancies. The emphasis of the management is on the investigation of her dysphagia and subsequent bypassing of her colonic interposition by the formation of a percutaneous gastrostomy. The case highlights spontaneous conception with a body mass index of 14 and the safety of enteral feeding during pregnancy.

24 hour rhythm to the onset of preterm labour.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE To describe the time of onset of contractions which result in preterm delivery to investigate if there is a diurnal influence.

Design: The admission register for the neonatal unit was used to identify admissions for prematurity over a three-year period. Obstetric case records were then reviewed to obtain the recorded time of onset of contractions when delivery was preceded by spontaneous labour.

An in vivo comparative study of the pregnant and nonpregnant cervix using electrical impedance measurements.

Electrical impedance may be measured using electrodes on the surface of the cervix and recording the potential that results when an electrical current is passed. Increased hydration of the cervix has been described throughout pregnancy and occurs most dramatically before labour. This study compared tissue impedance measurements of the pregnant and non-pregnant cervix and found a statistically significant lower value (P < 0.