Owing to the frequent use of bedside ultrasound, much is known about the regulation of and normative values for amniotic fluid volume and the mechanisms by which this fluid is regulated. The management protocols for conditions with extremes of amniotic fluid volume have become more exact, resulting in interventions more likely to improve outcome. Much is still unclear; there are no tools to mea...

Human amniotic fluid has been used in prenatal diagnosis for more than 70 years. It has proven to be a safe, reliable, and simple screening tool for a wide variety of developmental and genetic diseases. However, there is now evidence that amniotic fluid may have more use than only as a diagnostic tool and may be the source of a powerful therapy for a multitude of congenital and adult disorders....

OBJECTIVE The association between increased amniotic fluid interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations and preterm labor has received increasing attention. Several research groups have evaluated this association using commercial IL-6 kits, which principally use the sandwich-enzyme-immunoassay method, and were originally created to measure IL-6 in plasma, serum, or culture media. We evaluated commercial...

BACKGROUND Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in 3-5% of all pregnancies. GDM increases both maternal and fetal risks, causes fetal macrosomia, and hence increases the rates of caesarean sections and delivery complications such as shoulder dystocia. An early predictive marker and consequent early treatment could be beneficial, so amniotic fluid insulin and C-peptide have been examined i...

Passage of meconium in utero is a dangerous sign for fetal outcome which influence the decision as well as the mode of delivery.Amnio infusion to dilute this meconium and prevent decelerations and hasten the progress of labour is a procedure which can be tried for improving maternal and fetal outcome. The aim of this study is to study the maternal and fetal outcome in parturients with MSAF and ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and their inhibitors (TIMP) in second trimester amniotic fluid of women with hypertensive disorders compared to normotensive women. STUDY DESIGN Amniotic fluid was obtained from 133 women undergoing genetic second trimester amniocentesis. Zymography was performed for MMP characterization and an MMP-2 ELISA kit was used to determi...

BACKGROUND Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) may potentially disturb fetal Leydig cell hormone production and male genital development. OBJECTIVES We aimed to study the associations between levels of amniotic fluid PFOS, fetal steroid hormone, and insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) and the prevalence of cryptorchidism and hypospadias. METHODS Using the Danish National Patient Registry...

OBJECTIVE To identify perinatal outcomes associated with low birth weight (LBW). METHODS A retrospective cohort study in a tertiary maternity hospital. Analysis of the database on 43,499 liveborn infants delivered between 1986 and 2004 with low (n = 6,477) and normal (n = 37,467) birth weight. Outcomes associated with LBW were identified through crude and adjusted risk ratio (RR) and 95%CI wi...