BACKGROUND Placental transport of iodide is required for fetal thyroid hormone production. The sodium iodide symporter (NIS) mediates active iodide transport into the thyroid and the lactating mammary gland and is also present in placenta. NIS is competitively inhibited by thiocyanate from maternal smoking, but compensatory autoregulation of iodide transport differs between organs. The extent o...

BACKGROUND Hypertensive disorders are the most common in pregnancy. Several studies showed a positive correlation between elevated maternal serum uric acid (UA), serum creatinine and adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, but only a few studies are available on serum cystatin C and maternal and fetal outcomes. The present study was undertaken to study the association of serum UA, creatinine and c...

BACKGROUND Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) reduce blood concentrations of thyroid hormones in laboratory animals, but it is unclear whether PBDEs disrupt thyroid hormones in pregnant women or newborn infants. OBJECTIVES We investigated the relationship between maternal PBDE levels and thyroid hormone concentrations in maternal and cord sera. METHODS We used data from the Health Outco...

Background: Maternal relatives in neural tube defect (NTD) families have elevated rates of NTDs and of other birth defects. Folic acid supplementation raises blood folate levels and prevents most new cases of NTDs. There is little information on blood folate levels among distant relatives, and on the potential relationship of serum folate to maternal transmission. Methods: A cross-sectional stu...

OBJECTIVES To measure the cord blood and maternal serum levels of folic acid, vitamin B12, zinc, copper, selenium and lead in infants born with neural tube defect (NTD), and to examine a possible relationship between the nutriture of these micronutrients and occurrence of neural tube defect. DESIGN Case-control study. METHODS Maternal serum and cord blood samples were obtained at delivery f...

BACKGROUND The presence of the adipokines adiponectin and leptin in cord blood and placental and fetal tissues suggests a possible role in fetal development. METHODS We measured concentrations of adiponectin and leptin in maternal serum, cord blood, and breast milk and examined their correlations within a large, population-based study. Between November 2000 and November 2001, we recruited all...

OBJECTIVE To define the contribution of maternal variables which influence the measured level of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in screening for pregnancy complications. METHODS Maternal characteristics and medical history were recorded and serum AFP was measured in women with a singleton pregnancy attending for three routine hospital visits at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6, 19 + 0 to 24 + 6 and 3...

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was evaluating the relationship between maternal serum lipid measured at 13-23 weeks of pregnancy and subsequent glucose intolerance. Materials and Methods: In a prospective study, 624 pregnant women prior to 23 weeks were eligible for the study. Primarily, serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride were ...

Background: The maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein test (MSAFP) was developed to screen for neural tube defects. Little is known about the adoption of the MSAFP test. This study examines the effect of provider specialty and geographic location and patient insurance status on MSAFP test use in Washington State. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of MSAFP use in low-risk obstetric p...

Protein status of 194 pregnant women and their newborn at a public and a private maternity hospital in Tehran was studied. Blood samples were taken from all women before delivery and from cords at delivery of the placenta. The following determinations were made: total serum protein, protein fractions, creatinine and urea. In the private group, significantly higher maternal mean values were...