Of the 65 328 pregnancies of South Australian mothers screened by the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening (SAMSAS) Programme between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1997, 3431 (5.25%) were declared at increased risk of fetal Down syndrome. Fetal or neonatal karyotype was determined in 2737/3431 (79.8%) of these pregnancies, including 16 with early fetal loss. Interrogation of the...

CONTEXT It has recently emerged that carrying a male fetus is associated with poorer maternal β-cell function in pregnancy and an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). β-cell dysfunction is the central pathophysiologic defect underlying both GDM and subsequent postpartum progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). OBJECTIVE This was a retrospective cohort study that aimed...

Elevated maternal testosterone levels are shown to cause fetal growth restriction, eventually culminating in sex-specific adult-onset hypertension that is more pronounced in males than in females. In this study, we tested whether uteroplacental and fetoplacental disturbances underlie fetal growth restriction and if these changes vary in male and female placentas. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats we...

BACKGROUND Maternal smoking is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for low birthweight, which is strongly associated with increased cardiometabolic disease risk in adulthood. Maternal smoking reduces the levels of the methyl donor vitamin B12 and is associated with altered DNA methylation at birth. Altered DNA methylation may be an important mechanism underlying increased disease ...

OBJECTIVE Increased care of fetal and neonatal airways has led to advances in neonatal medicine. The early diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases require a detailed knowledge of fetal airway anatomy and development. The aim of this study was to determine the anatomical development of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages and their structural variability during fetal life. MATERIAL AND M...

Nitric oxide is involved in development and postnatal adaptation of the pulmonary circulation. This study aimed to determine whether genetic deletion of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) would lead to maldevelopment of the pulmonary arteries in fetal life, compromise adaptation to extrauterine life, and be associated with a pulmonary hypertensive phenotype in adult life and if any abnormalities were ...

This study documents the development of fetal heart rate (FHR) change in response to fetal movement (FM) in healthy fetuses from 20 weeks' gestational age through term. Thirty-one fetuses received 50 min of Doppler-based monitoring at 20, 24, 28, 32, 36 and 38-39 weeks. FHR and FM were continuously digitized. A coupling index was computed as the percentage of FMs associated with increases in FH...