BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
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To assess the implications of a change in prenatal diagnosis policy from full karyotype analysis to rapid trisomy testing for women referred primarily for increased risk of Down's Syndrome. ⋯ For pregnant women with a raised risk of Down's Syndrome, a change of policy from full karyotype analysis to rapid trisomy testing would result in the failure to detect chromosome abnormalities likely to have serious clinical significance in approximately 0.06% (1 in 1659) cases. However, it should be noted that this figure may be higher (up to 0.12%; 1 in 833) if there were fetal abnormalities in some of the pregnancies in the uncertain prognosis group for which outcome information was not available.
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To audit trends in maternal mortality in the Peninsula Maternal and Neonatal Service (PMNS) over a 50-year period, with respect to rates and patterns of causation. ⋯ The MMR for all causes of maternal death declined significantly from 1953 to 1981 as a result of several interventions. From 1999, there has been a non-significant increase in MMR, predominantly due to the burden of HIV/AIDS-related mortality.
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Multicenter Study
Faecal incontinence and mode of first and subsequent delivery: a six-year longitudinal study.
To investigate the prevalence of persistent and long term postpartum faecal incontinence and associations with mode of first and subsequent deliveries. ⋯ The risk of persistent faecal incontinence is significantly higher after a first delivery by forceps. We found no evidence of a lower risk of subsequent faecal incontinence for exclusive caesarean section deliveries.
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PGF(2alpha) acts through its receptor, FP, as an important smooth muscle contractile agent. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of specific FP antagonism, using the novel-specific FP non-competitive antagonist THG113.31, on spontaneous and agonist-elicited contractions in pregnant and non-pregnant human myometrium in vitro. ⋯ THG113.31 exerted a significant relaxant effect on human spontaneous and oxytocin-induced contractility but did not alter PGF(2alpha)-elicited contractility. These data raise questions about the exact mechanism of effect of THG113.31 and its interaction with FP. The uterorelaxant potency of THG113.31 in human myometrium in vitro indicates that it may be of limited use as a tocolytic compound.