The fetal hemoglobin in the affected members of three Greek families with the hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin has only gamma-chains of the type with alanine in position 136. Although certain Negro families had been considered to have only this type of gamma-chains in their fetal hemoglobin, further studies required that they be reclassified. Consequently, the Greek cases are the sole...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether fetal blood circulation is influenced by the maternal supine position. METHODS The inclusion criteria were good health, a singleton pregnancy, maternal age between 18 and 40 years, gestational age between 36 and 40 weeks, and an agreement to participate in the study. Each participant (n=20) was initially asked to adopt the left lateral position for 5 min, whil...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to explore factors influencing the accuracy of transvaginal digital examination for determining fetal head position during the first stage of labor. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fetal head position was assessed in 87 women in the first stage of labor at term with normal singleton cephalic presentation. Transvaginal digital examinations were performed by atte...

OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were, first, to establish the agreement between digital and ultrasound assessment of occipital position and, second, to evaluate the repeatability of the measurements of head direction, angle of the middle line, progression distance and angle of progression in women in the second stage of labor. METHODS Digital examination and then transabdominal ultrasound e...

In normal labour, the fetal head presents with the occiput in lateral position in early stages of labour followed by anterior rotation in advanced labour. Malpositions of fetal head result when the occiput persists in a lateral or posterior position while malpresentations occur due to extension of the fetal head causing brow or face to present. Malpresentations of fetal head are usually diagnos...

BACKGROUND Maternal counting of fetal movement is a popular and valuable screening tool of fetal wellbeing, however it is still not known what percentage of healthy pregnant women who gave birth to healthy term newborns had experienced decreased fetal movements during gestation and what maternal and fetal factors are associated with this maternal perception of decreased fetal movements. The aim...