OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of an algorithm for diagnosis of active labour in primiparous women with standard care in terms of maternal and neonatal outcomes. DESIGN Cluster randomised trial. SETTING Maternity units in Scotland with at least 800 annual births. PARTICIPANTS 4503 women giving birth for the first time, in 14 maternity units. Seven experimental clusters collected d...

Although severe gynaecological pathology during delivery and negative outcome have been shown to be related with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) little is known about traumatic experiences following regular delivery, at the expected time and with a healthy child. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD during postpartum period after vaginal delivery and its risk ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate changes in serum lipoproteins in primiparous women with eclampsia and compare it with pregnant women having normal blood pressure. METHODS This cross sectional study was conducted on 65 primiparous eclamptic patients and 21 normotensive pregnant women in the tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar. History of each woman was recorded on a questionnaire. Blood pressure was mea...

BACKGROUND Demoralisation is a psychological state occurring in stressful life situations where a person feels unable to respond effectively to their circumstances, characterised by feelings of distress, subjective incompetence, helplessness and hopelessness. The period after the birth of a first baby is a time of great changes and disruptions to many aspects of the mother's physical, psycholog...

A comparative study on the nutritional status of primiparous and multiparous women in the first trimester of pregnancy was conducted in the northeastern province of Thailand, Khon Kaen, to investigate differences in protein-energy-malnutrition, iron deficiency anaemia, vitamin A deficiency and carotenoid status between both parity groups. 94 subjects were recruited at first attendance of antena...

Over recent decades there has been a considerable increase in the mean age at which mothers in the industrialized world give birth to their first child. For example, since 1990 in the USA, the number of pregnant women aged 45–49 years has increased 190% w2x. Similarly, there is intense debate on the increasing proportion of cesarean deliveries; however, there is little recognition of the connec...

OBJECTIVE The long-term prevalence of anal incontinence after vaginal delivery is unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of anal incontinence in primiparous women 5 years after their first delivery and to evaluate the influence of subsequent childbirth. METHODS A total of 349 nulliparous women were prospectively followed up with questionnaires before pregnancy, a...