Best practice & research. Clinical obstetrics & gynaecology
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Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol · Jan 2016
ReviewCombined cardiotocographic and ST event analysis: A review.
ST-analysis of the fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) (STAN(®)) combined with cardiotocography (CTG) for intrapartum fetal monitoring has been developed following many years of animal research. Changes in the ST-segment of the fetal ECG correlated with fetal hypoxia occurring during labor. In 1993 the first randomized controlled trial (RCT), comparing CTG with CTG + ST-analysis was published. ⋯ In this review, we discuss not only the scientific evidence from the RCTs and meta-analyses, but also the limitations of these studies. In conclusion, ST-analysis is effective in reducing operative vaginal deliveries and fetal blood sampling but the effect on neonatal metabolic acidosis is still under debate. Further research is needed to determine the place of ST-analysis in the labor ward for daily practice.
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Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol · Jul 2015
ReviewThe hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (29.3).
Hypertensive disorders are the most common medical complication of pregnancy. As such, a large part of antenatal care is dedicated to the detection of pre-eclampsia, the most dangerous of the hypertensive disorders. The highlights of this chapter include progress in the use of out-of-office blood pressure measurement as an adjunct to office blood pressure measurement, pre-eclampsia defined as proteinuria or relevant end-organ dysfunction, antihypertensive therapy for severe and non-severe hypertension and post-partum follow-up to mitigate the increased cardiovascular risk associated with any of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
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Recent years have witnessed a rise in maternal obesity, which is independently associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. The pathophysiology is unclear, but it is likely related to abnormal placental function, and inflammatory, metabolic and hormonal imbalances in the mother. ⋯ Obese and extremely obese women should be treated as high-risk obstetric patients, with increased antenatal surveillance and specialist input. The postnatal period may be a useful time to provide weight management advice to women to prevent interpregnancy weight gain and reduce the risk of stillbirth in subsequent pregnancies.
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Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol · Jan 2015
ReviewPregnancy and neonatal outcome after bariatric surgery.
The global obesity epidemic is changing the face of maternal-fetal medicine. One in five women is obese at time of conception, and increasing numbers of parturients have undergone bariatric surgery. ⋯ Pregnancy after bariatric surgery appears to effectively reduce the risk of complications such as fetal macrosomia, gestational diabetes mellitus, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; however, women who become pregnant after bariatric surgery may constitute a unique obstetric population with an increased risk for preterm and small-for-gestational-age infants. In this article, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of the impact of maternal bariatric surgery on neonatal and pregnancy outcomes.
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Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol · Nov 2014
ReviewPregnancies in liver and kidney transplant recipients: a review of the current literature and recommendation.
In this article, we focus on the biggest groups of organ transplant recipients, patients with a kidney or liver graft. Among these patients, about one sixth included women of childbearing potential. Therefore, the wish of getting pregnant is frequent in these peculiar patients, and careful planning and management of the pregnancies requires the expertise of obstetricians, midwives and transplant experts. ⋯ Finally, supplementation of vitamin D and iron is much more important in these transplanted women than in healthy pregnant women as vitamin D deficiency and anaemia are discussed to have an impact on pre-eclampsia and preterm delivery. These claims are widely discussed. Furthermore, the current literature is systematically reviewed by Scopus analysis.