BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
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Multicenter Study
Maternal depression from early pregnancy to 4 years postpartum in a prospective pregnancy cohort study: implications for primary health care.
To describe the prevalence of maternal depression from pregnancy to 4 years postpartum, and the risk factors for depressive symptoms at 4 years postpartum. ⋯ Maternal depression is more common at 4 years postpartum than at any time in the first 12 months postpartum, and women with one child at 4 years postpartum report significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than women with subsequent children. There is a need for scaling up of current services to extend surveillance of maternal mental health to cover the early years of parenting.
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Review Meta Analysis
The effectiveness of exercise for the prevention and treatment of antenatal depression: systematic review with meta-analysis.
Antenatal depression can have harmful consequences for the mother and fetus. Exercise may be a useful intervention to prevent and treat antenatal depression. ⋯ We found some evidence that exercise may be effective in treating depression during pregnancy but this conclusion is based on a small number of low-moderate quality trials with significant heterogeneity and wide confidence intervals.
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Ascending bacterial infection is implicated in about 40-50% of preterm births. The human vaginal microbiota in most women is dominated by lactobacilli. ⋯ The enhanced proliferation of pathogenic bacteria plus degradation of the cervical barrier increase bacterial passage into the endometrium and amniotic cavity and trigger preterm myometrial contractions. Evaluation of protocols to detect the absence of lactobaciili dominance in pregnant women by self-measuring vaginal pH, coupled with measures to promote growth of lactobacilli are novel prevention strategies that may reduce the occurrence of preterm birth in low-resource areas.