OBJECTIVE Elevated maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy and accompanying changes in stress hormones may contribute to risk of adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth. Relatedly, research on fetal programming demonstrates intriguing associations between maternal stress processes during pregnancy and outcomes in offspring that extend into adulthood. The purpose ...

BACKGROUND Sexual activity may be less likely to occur during periods of school enrolment because of the structured and supervised environment provided, the education obtained and the safer peer networks encountered while enrolled. We examined whether school enrolment was associated with teen pregnancy in South Africa. METHODS Using longitudinal demographic surveillance data from the rural Ag...

The impact of an ectopic pregnancy in the next generation is unknown. Our aim was to compare reproductive outcomes in daughters of women with and without ectopic pregnancy. Designed as a historical prospective controlled cohort study with data collected in four Danish registries from 1977-2009, women with ectopic pregnancy during 1977-1982 were age-matched to women without ectopic pregnancy. Da...

Potential variables for the reproductive success of beef cows were evaluated. Included in model age cow at calving; interval between Julian calving date and end breeding season; body weight conditions calving, 75 days post-partum mean daily variation these dates. Logistic regression was used analysis, with parameters evaluated using odds ratio statistic, estimating chance pregnancy. The rate pr...

BACKGROUND Sulfate is important for fetal growth and development. During pregnancy, the fetus relies on sulfate from the maternal circulation. We report reference intervals for maternal plasma sulfate levels and fractional excretion index (FEI) for sulfate in pregnancy, as well as sulfate levels in cord blood from term pregnancies. METHODS Plasma and urine were collected from 103 pregnant wom...

The implementation of assisted reproduction has increased the incidence of multiple pregnancies. Prenatal death of one fetus in the second trimester of twin pregnancy confronts the obstetrician with a difficult problem with regard to the management of pregnancy. The scarcity of the condition and the absence of the large-scale studies make it difficult to advise the parents on the prognosis and ...

BACKGROUND Normal pregnancy depends on pronounced adaptations in steroid hormone concentrations. Although in recent years, the understanding of these hormones in pregnancy has improved, the interpretation is hampered by insufficient reference values. Our aim was to establish gestation-specific reference intervals for spot urinary steroid hormone levels in normal singleton pregnancies and 6 week...