The early and accurate antenatal diagnosis of fetal musculoskeletal malfomations with a poor outcome has important implications for the management of a pregnancy. Careful ultrasonographic examination of a fetus helps detect such anomalies, and a number of characteristic features may suggest possible differential diagnoses. During the last five years, we have encountered 39 cases of such anomali...

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of the rapid biophysical profile (rBPP), which includes sound-provoked fetal movement detected by ultrasonography, and amniotic fluid index for antepartum fetal well-being assessment in suspected intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) fetuses. MATERIAL AND METHOD One hundred seven tests of rBPP were antenatally performed in 30 IUGR fetuses who attended the ...

To increase our understanding of the consequences of dengue virus infection during pregnancy, a retrospective analysis was performed on the medical records of all completed pregnancies (live births and pregnancy losses) at nine public hospitals in the Gulf of Mexico from January to October 2013. Eighty-two patients developed clinical, laboratory-confirmed dengue virus infections while pregnant....

BACKGROUND With advances of research on fetal behavioural development, the question of whether we can identify fetal facial expressions and determine their developmental progression, takes on greater importance. In this study we investigate longitudinally the increasing complexity of combinations of facial movements from 24 to 36 weeks gestation in a sample of healthy fetuses using frame-by-fra...

Gross fetal movement was detected using a lower frequency ultrasonic Doppler shift than that used in the study of fetal heart action. The movement signal was changed into deflection which was recorded on CTG chart simultaneously with the fetal heart rate (FHR), and was called the fetal actocardiogram. Visual analysis of the actocardiogram showed bursts of active fetal movements in the active fe...

We would like to submit a paper, entitled ‘Prediction of fetal acidemia in placental abruption’, which stresses the importance of nonreassuring fetal status, especially the presence of bradycardia in placental abruption and proposes the predictive score for fetal acidemia in placental abruption. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe the possibilities for fetal acidemia in placen...

Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium involving both ventricles is a rare entity. Here we report a rare case of biventricular noncompaction presenting with features of fetal distress and moderate tricuspid regurgitation. Noncompaction of both ventricles was diagnosed at birth.

A parturient with severe mitral valve disease and pulmonary oedema was admitted to the labour ward. Fetal distress was also present. An emergency Caesarean section was undertaken under spinal blockade. The reasons for the choice of this technique are discussed.

Insufficient fetal surfactant production leads to respiratory distress syndrome among preterm infants. Neuregulin signals the onset of fetal surfactant phospholipid synthesis through formation of erbB receptor dimers. We hypothesized that erbB4 downregulation in fetal type II epithelial cells will downregulate not only fetal surfactant phospholipid synthesis, but also affect proliferation and e...