CONTEXT Although the benefits of antenatal corticosteroids have been widely demonstrated in other countries, there are few studies among Brazilian newborn infants. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of antenatal corticosteroids on the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and intra-hospital mortality among neonates with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks. TYPE OF STUDY Cross-...

AIM This paper is a report of a systematic review to identify and analyse the main factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care in developing countries. BACKGROUND Antenatal care is a key strategy for reducing maternal mortality, but millions of women in developing countries do not receive it. DATA SOURCES A range of electronic databases was searched for studies conducted in developi...

OBJECTIVES To describe trends in the numbers of Down's syndrome live births and antenatal diagnoses in England and Wales from 1989 to 2008. Design and setting The National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register holds details of 26488 antenatal and postnatal diagnoses of Down's syndrome made by all cytogenetic laboratories in England and Wales since 1989. INTERVENTIONS Antenatal screening, diagnos...

Maternal mortality remains a challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa including Uganda. Antenatal Care (ANC) is one of the recommended measures to improve maternal and child health. However, the influence of pregnancy definition and perception on patterns of seeking regular and timely antenatal care among women in the reproductive age group (15-49 years) is not known. The objectives of this study were t...

BACKGROUND Although mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates are at an all-time low in Western Europe, potentially preventable transmissions continue to occur. Duration of antenatal combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is strongly associated with MTCT risk. METHODS Data on pregnant HIV-infected women enrolled in the Western and Central European sites of the European Collaborative Study b...

The practice and timing of routine antenatal visits for healthy pregnant women, introduced arbitrarily and without evidence of effectiveness, have become entrenched in obstetric practice over the last century. In 2001 the large, cluster randomized WHO Antenatal Care Trial concluded that a goal-orientated package of antenatal care with reduced visits seemed not to affect maternal and perinatal o...

Pregnant women were enrolled from two hospitals and a Traditional Birth Home (TBH) in Abeokuta, Nigeria and monitored monthly for malaria parasites from the first antenatal visit until delivery. A total of 466 pregnant women were recruited for the study. The prevalence of malaria was 57.4%, and was higher among women in the TBH. The prevalence of malaria in the first, second and third trimester...