During the last five years the use of acupuncture in female infertility as an adjuvant to conventional treatment in assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased in popularity. The present paper briefly discusses clinical and experimental data on the effect of acupuncture on uterine and ovarian blood flow, as an analgesic method during ART, and on endocrine and metabolic disturbances suc...

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with a high risk of immediate and late adverse outcomes for mothers and their offspring (1–4). This risk correlates with the level ofmaternal hyperglycemia (5), and glucose-lowering interventions were reported to decrease the risk of some of these adverse outcomes (6). In many countries, including Israel, a two-step approach for GDM screening is...

Given the detrimental influence of maternal overweight and obesity on reproductive and pregnancy outcomes for the mother and child, it is the position of the American Dietetic Association and the American Society for Nutrition that all overweight and obese women of reproductive age should receive counseling on the roles of diet and physical activity in reproductive health prior to pregnancy,dur...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal serum estriol levels, which are routinely measured in the first trimester of pregnancy, and adverse pregnancy outcomes including gestational diabetes. We performed a retrospective chart analysis of women who delivered between July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2009, at Kangnam CHA Medical Center in Seoul, Korea. Only patients wi...

BACKGROUND Despite the widespread use of dexamethasone in veterinary and human medicine, it is reported to cause some severe pregnancy related side effects like abortion in some animals. The mechanism of the response is not clear but seems to be related to interspecies and/or breed difference in response which may involve alterations in the concentrations of some reproductive hormones. METHOD...

OBJECTIVE Small local hospitals with inexperiencedpersonnel often have adverse incidence that could be prevented. A good referral system could reduce this unnecessary death rate. The present study was conducted to determine the pregnancy outcomes of cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) cases that were referred for cesarean section at a tertiary center and presented the predictivefactorsfor adverse...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of intravenous iron to oral iron in the treatment of anemia in pregnancy. METHODS In this randomized open-label study, 90 women with hemoglobin levels between 8 and 10.5 g/dL and ferritin values less than 13 microg/L received either oral iron polymaltose complex (300 mg elemental iron per day) or intravenous iron sucrose. The iron su...

Aims To assess the effect of pregnancy planning on maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with Type 1 diabetes. Methods Pregnancy planning was assessed retrospectively in a cohort of women who participated in the Diabetes and Pre-eclampsia Intervention Trial (DAPIT). Pregnancy planning was determined based on self-report as to whether pregnancy was planned or unplanned. The effect of pregnancy...