INTRODUCTION The aim of this report is to present descriptive data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR) reflecting trends in obstetric and neonatal practices over three decades. MATERIAL Since 1973 the MBR at the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare receives information on all pregnancies in Sweden--around 95,000 annually--that have lead to delivery regarding the pregnancy, d...

Heavy maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy can cause permanent birth defects, including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Although these alcohol-related defects are entirely preventable, the factors associated with maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy are complex and often resistant to change. In addition, not all women who drink heavily will produce children with FAS. Although targeting pr...

Maternal subclinical hypothyroidism may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, although not consistently across regions. Here, we sought to determine the effect of elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) on pregnancy outcomes in Japanese women without known medical complications. TSH was determined by dried blood spots at 8-20 weeks of gestation, and 3.0-10.0 μU/mL of TSH was conside...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To compare recall of smoking habits during pregnancy 0.5-3 years after delivery across groups defined by recall time (5 six month periods) and pregnancy outcome (pre-eclampsia, pregnancy induced hypertension, intrauterine growth retardation, preterm or post-term delivery compared with controls). DESIGN Case-control nested in cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A subsample...

In their review, Esteban-Vasallo et al. (2012) discussed the use of human placenta to evaluate bio markers of exposure to heavy metals. They correctly concluded that the use of placental tissue specimens to assess heavy metal exposure is actually under used. Surprisingly, they did not mention the well-documented relationship between mercury released from mercury-containing dental amalgam fillin...

Cigarette smoking in pregnancy was the single most important preventable factor identified when determinants of birth weight were studied in 375 pregnancies. Current professional intervention was not effective in reducing cigarette consumption in pregnancy in these mothers in Londonderry, of whom only 19 (5%) became ex-smokers. Present health education, which emphasises impaired fetal growth an...

Smoking is associated with multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes, including fetal growth restriction. The objective of this study was to determine whether cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy in a mouse model affects the functional properties of maternal uterine, mesenteric, and renal arteries as a possible mechanism for growth restriction. C57Bl/CJ mice were exposed to whole body sidestream...

A spontaneous decrease in maternal drinking and smoking often occurs during pregnancy. The present study was conducted to determine if these lower levels of maternal drinking and smoking during pregnancy persist into the postpartum period, and if so, to determine if they are related to breastfeeding. Drinking and smoking were estimated in three cohorts of postpartum women who had been followed ...

The relationship between nutrient intake and pregnancy outcome (adjusted birth weight and gestational age) was investigated in randomly selected non-smokers (n97) and in heavy smokers (15 + cigarettes/d) (n72) booking for ante-natal care at a hospital in South London. Weighted dietary intakes (7d) were obtained at 28 and 36 weeks gestation. Birth weight was adjusted for gestational age, materna...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate menstrual cycle histories among women with type 1 diabetes, their sisters, and unrelated control subjects without diabetes across all reproductive ages. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Menstrual and reproductive histories were obtained by questionnaire from 143 women with type 1 diabetes, 186 sisters without diabetes, and 158 unrelated control subjects without diabetes parti...