OBJECTIVE To describe the lived experience of pregnant women who used donor oocytes for conception. DESIGN Qualitative, using a descriptive phenomenologic approach. SETTING Interviews were completed at a location and setting selected by the participant. Of the 16 interviews, 13 were conducted at the participant's home, 1 was conducted at a private office, and 2 were conducted by telephone. ...

Epidemiologic studies have been unable to conclusively evaluate whether caffeine intake during pregnancy is associated with reduced birth weight and/or fetal growth restriction. The authors conducted a prospective, population-based cohort study to investigate the effect of caffeine on birth weight, gestational age, and birth weight standardized for gestational age (birth weight ratio). Of 953 w...

We aimed in this study to determine the cardiac reserve in preterm infants with phonocardiogram. One hundred and fifty-four preterm infants participated in this study. The ratio of the first heart sound to the second heart sound (S1/S2), the ratio of diastolic to systolic duration (D/S) and the cardiac contractility change trend after stimulation (CCCTS) were measured in all infants. The preter...

OBJECTIVE The accuracy of a population-based sex ratio at birth (SRB) in China has long been questioned. To depict a more accurate profile, the present study used data from a national surveillance system for health facility births to explore the characteristics of SRB in China. METHODS Data from China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System between 2012 and 2015 were used. We restri...

OBJECTIVE To establish reference intervals for the fetal cisterna magna volume by means of two-dimensional (2D) method using the multiplanar mode of three-dimensional ultrasonography. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross-sectional study with 224 healthy pregnant women between the 17th and 29th gestational weeks. The volume was automatically obtained by multiplying the three major axes in axial and sag...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risk of communication impairments at age 18 and 36 months in children born early term (gestational weeks 37-38) and late preterm (gestational weeks 34-36). STUDY DESIGN A total of 39 423 children and their mothers participated in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The sample included 7109 children (18%) born early term and 1673 (4.2%) born late preterm. ...

OBJECTIVE Recent studies have shown that from the postconceptional age of 33 weeks, preterm infants are able to memorize tactile information about the shape of an object by using their hands, and can detect differences with another shape. This study aimed to investigate tactile abilities earlier on in development, in very preterm and mildly preterm human infants. METHODS Infants were assigned...

BACKGROUND Birth weight and length have seasonal fluctuations. However, it is uncertain which meteorological element has an effect on birth outcomes and which timing of pregnancy would explain such effect. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine temperature effects during pregnancy and which timing of pregnancy has effects on size at birth. METHODS A large, randomized, controlled ...

OBJECTIVE To assess cognitive and behavioral outcome in treated maternal phenylketonuria (PKU) offspring. METHODS In this prospective, longitudinal study, 228 children who were born to mothers with treated PKU or untreated mild hyperphenylalaninemia were compared with 70 control subjects at 7 years of age. RESULTS Offspring cognitive outcome negatively correlated with the number of gestatio...