OBJECTIVE To describe early and late fetal growth in pregnancies conceived after gastric bypass surgery in relation to time from surgery to conception of pregnancy. METHODS National cohort study on 387 Danish women, who had laparoscopic or open gastric bypass surgery prior to a singleton pregnancy in which first trimester screening was performed between January 2008 and June 2011. Data were d...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of Shirodkar to McDonald cerclage in patients with singleton pregnancies undergoing an ultrasound-indicated cerclage. METHODS Historical cohort of all patients with singleton pregnancies undergoing cerclage for the indication of a short cervix on ultrasound (ultrasound indicated) at one institution in 2005-2010. We compared outcomes based on cerclage type, Sh...

BACKGROUND The present study was designed to compare the serum leptin levels in normal pregnancies with those pregnancies which are complicated by pre-eclampsia and to investigate the possibility of leptin being a marker of severity of pre-eclampsia. METHODS This was a comparative cross-sectional study, conducted at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetric, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Cent...

After nearly 20 years of consecutive increases, induction of labor for singleton births reached a high of 23.8% in 2010, then declined in 2011 (23.7%) and 2012 (23.3%). Trends in induction rates vary by gestational age, with rates for most gestational age groups declining since 2010. Induction rates for births at 36, 37, and 38 weeks have declined since 2006, with the largest decrease at 38 wee...

Pregnancy in teenagers seems to be a challenge that might contribute to a struggle to fulfil the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals directly related to women's reproductive health and neonatal care. The challenge becomes worse as midwives and nurses find it difficult to fully supervise all these pregnancies, because teenagers stay away or default from clinic attendance. The purpose ...

CONTEXT The age difference between a female and her partner may influence relationship dynamics in ways that put the female at increased risk of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Very little is known, however, about how romantic involvement progresses to intercourse, particularly among adolescent females with older male partners. METHODS Data from 1,975 female particip...

This paper explores how young people in Malawi conceptualize sex and sexual relations through an analysis of their personal narratives about these phenomena. Eleven focus group discussions were conducted with 114 youth aged 14-19 years. Participants were asked to describe behaviors, attitudes, and motivations to reduce unplanned pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS, with appropriate probes to...

In the USA, as many as 1 in 6 women nationwide become adolescent mothers, making adolescent pregnancy and childbearing issues a frequently encountered occurrence by pediatricians and adolescent medicine health care providers. Both social and medical programs focus on prevention and management of adolescent pregnancies; however, caring for the adolescent-headed family is less well understood. Fo...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether maternal serum levels of adiponectin in the first trimester are altered in pregnancies that subsequently deliver small for gestational age (SGA) neonates. METHODS Maternal serum adiponectin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were measured at 11-13 weeks' gestation in 50 singleton normotensive pregnancies that delivered SGA neonates and 300 non-...

To test the effectiveness of a special health care program for adolescent mothers (17 years old or younger) and their infants, 243 mother-infant pairs were randomly assigned to one of two groups. All of the mothers were unwed, on Medicaid, and black. The control group received routine well-baby care. The experimental group received routine care and services that included rigorous follow-up, dis...