•Individual SNPs of the HLA-G 3′UTR were not associated with recurrent miscarriage.•Lower frequency of the HLA-G UTR-4 haplotype in women with recurrent miscarriage.•The HLA-G UTR-2 haplotype is ...associated with secondary recurrent miscarriage.
HLA-G expressed by trophoblasts at the fetal-maternal interface and its soluble form have immunomodulatory effects. HLA-G expression depends on the combination of DNA polymorphisms. We hypothesized that combinations of specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 3′untranslated region (3′UTR) of HLA-G play a role in unexplained recurrent miscarriage.
In a case control design, 100 cases with at least three unexplained consecutive miscarriages prior to the 20th week of gestation were included. Cases were at time of the third miscarriage younger than 36 years, and they conceived all their pregnancies from the same partner. The control group included 89 women with an uneventful pregnancy. The association of HLA-G 3′UTR SNPs and specific HLA-G haplotype with recurrent miscarriage was studied with logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported.
Individual SNPs were not significantly associated with recurrent miscarriage after correction for multiple comparisons. However, the presence of the UTR-4 haplotype, which included +3003C, was significantly lower in women with recurrent miscarriage (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.8, p = 0.015).
In conclusion, this is the first study to perform a comprehensive analysis of HLA-G SNPs and HLA-G haplotypes in a well-defined group of women with recurrent miscarriage and women with uneventful pregnancy. The UTR-4 haplotype was less frequently observed in women with recurrent miscarriage, suggesting an immunoregulatory role of this haplotype for continuation of the pregnancy without complications. Thus, association of HLA-G with recurrent miscarriage is not related to single polymorphisms in the 3′UTR, but is rather dependent on haplotypes.
To estimate the incidence of uterine rupture in the Netherlands and evaluate risk indicators prelabour and during labor of women with adverse maternal and/or perinatal outcome.
This is a ...population-based nationwide study using the Netherlands Obstetrics Surveillance System (NethOSS). We performed a two-year registration of pregnant women with uterine rupture. The first year of registration included both women with
uterine rupture and women with
(peritoneum intact) uterine rupture. The second year of registration included women with uterine rupture
adverse maternal and/or perinatal outcome. We collected maternal and obstetric characteristics, clinical signs, and symptoms during labor and CTG abnormalities. The main outcome measures were incidence of complete uterine rupture and uterine rupture
adverse outcome and adverse outcome defined as major obstetric hemorrhage, hysterectomy, embolization, perinatal asphyxia and/or (neonatal) intensive care unit admission.
We registered 41 women with a
uterine rupture (incidence: 2.5 per 10,000 births) and 35 women with uterine rupture
adverse outcome (incidence: 0.9 per 10,000 births). No adverse outcomes were found among women with
uterine rupture. Risk indicators for adverse outcome included previous cesarean section, higher maternal age, gestational age <37 weeks, augmentation of labor, migration background from Sub-Saharan Africa or Asia. Compared to women with uterine rupture
adverse outcomes, women
adverse outcome more often expressed warning symptoms during labor such as abdominal pain (OR 3.34, 95%CI 1.26-8.90) and CTG abnormalities (OR 9.94, 95%CI 2.17-45.65). These symptoms were present most often 20 to 60 min prior to birth.
Uterine rupture is a rare condition for which several risk indicators were identified. Maternal symptoms and CTG abnormalities are associated with adverse outcomes and time dependent. Further analysis could provide guidance to expedite delivery.
Background: As part of the REPROSTAT2 project, this systematic review aimed to identify factors associated with teenage pregnancy in 25 European Union countries. Methods: The search strategy included ...electronic bibliographic databases (1995 to May 2005), bibliographies of selected articles and requests to all country representatives of the research team for relevant reports and publications. Primary outcome measure was conception. Inclusion criteria were quantitative studies of individual-level factors associated with teenage (13–19 years) pregnancy in EU countries. Results: Of 4444 studies identified and screened, 20 met the inclusion criteria. Most of the included studies took place in UK and Nordic countries. The well-recognized factors of socioeconomic disadvantage, disrupted family structure and low educational level and aspiration appear consistently associated with teenage pregnancy. However, evidence that access to services in itself is a protective factor remains inconsistent. Although further associations with diverse risk-taking behaviours and lifestyle, sexual health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour are reported, the independent effects of these factors too remain unclear. Conclusions: Included studies varied widely in terms of methods and definitions used. This heterogeneity within the studies leaves two outstanding issues. First, we cannot synthesize or generalize key findings as to how all these factors interact with one another and which factors are the most significant. Second, it is not possible to examine potential variation between countries. Future research ensuring comparability and generalizability of results related to teenage sexual health outcomes will help gain insight into the international variation in observed pregnancy rates and better inform interventions.
In threatened preterm labor, maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine, after an initial course of tocolysis and corticosteroids for 48 hours, may improve perinatal outcome.
To determine whether ...maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine will reduce adverse perinatal outcomes due to premature birth.
APOSTEL-II (Assessment of Perinatal Outcome with Sustained Tocolysis in Early Labor) is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed in 11 perinatal units including all tertiary centers in The Netherlands. From June 2008 to February 2010, women with threatened preterm labor between 26 weeks (plus 0 days) and 32 weeks (plus 2 days) gestation, who had not delivered after 48 hours of tocolysis and a completed course of corticosteroids, were enrolled. Surviving infants were followed up until 6 months after birth (ended August 2010).
Randomization assigned 406 women to maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine orally (80 mg/d; n = 201) or placebo (n = 205) for 12 days. Assigned treatment was masked from investigators, participants, clinicians, and research nurses.
Primary outcome was a composite of adverse perinatal outcomes (perinatal death, chronic lung disease, neonatal sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage >grade 2, periventricular leukomalacia >grade 1, or necrotizing enterocolitis). Analyses were completed on an intention-to-treat basis.
Mean (SD) gestational age at randomization was 29.2 (1.7) weeks for both groups. Adverse perinatal outcome was not significantly different between groups: 11.9% (24/201; 95% CI, 7.5%-16.4%) for nifedipine vs 13.7% (28/205; 95% CI, 9.0%-18.4%) for placebo (relative risk, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.53-1.45).
In patients with threatened preterm labor, nifedipine-maintained tocolysis did not result in a statistically significant reduction in adverse perinatal outcomes when compared with placebo. Although the lower than anticipated rate of adverse perinatal outcomes in the control group indicates that a benefit of nifedipine cannot completely be excluded, its use for maintenance tocolysis does not appear beneficial at this time.
trialregister.nl Identifier: NTR1336.
Objective
To learn lessons for maternity care by scrutinizing postpartum hemorrhage management (PPH) in cases of PPH‐related maternal deaths in France and the Netherlands.
Methods
In this binational ...Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD), 14 PPH‐related maternal deaths were reviewed by six experts from the French and Dutch national maternal death review committees regarding cause and preventability of death, clinical care and healthcare organization. Improvable care factors and lessons learned were identified. CEMD practices and PPH guidelines in France and the Netherlands were compared in the process.
Results
For France, new insights were primarily related to organization of healthcare, with lessons learned focusing on medical leadership and implementation of (surgical) checklists. For the Netherlands, insights were mainly related to clinical care, emphasizing hemostatic surgery earlier in the course of PPH and reducing the third stage of labor by prompter manual removal of the placenta. Experts recommended extending PPH guidelines with specific guidance for women refusing blood products and systematic evaluation of risk factors. The quality of CEMD was presumed to benefit from enhanced case finding, also through non‐obstetric sources, and electronic reporting of maternal deaths to reduce the administrative burden.
Conclusion
A binational CEMD revealed opportunities for improvement of care beyond lessons learned at the national level.
Synopsis
Multinational maternal death reviews provide opportunities for care improvement beyond improvable factors already identified by national maternal death enquiries, through the perspective of a different care context.
Objective
To describe the maternal and neonatal outcomes and prolongation of pregnancies with severe early onset pre‐eclampsia before 26 weeks of gestation.
Design
Nationwide case series.
Setting
All ...Dutch tertiary perinatal care centres.
Population
All women diagnosed with severe pre‐eclampsia who delivered between 22 and 26 weeks of gestation in a tertiary perinatal care centre in the Netherlands, between 2008 and 2014.
Methods
Women were identified through computerised hospital databases. Data were collected from medical records.
Main outcome measures
Maternal complications HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet levels) syndrome, eclampsia, pulmonary oedema, cerebrovascular incidents, hepatic capsular rupture, placenta abruption, renal failure, and maternal death, neonatal survival and complications (intraventricular haemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotising enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and sepsis), and outcome of subsequent pregnancies (recurrent pre‐eclampsia, premature delivery, and neonatal survival).
Results
We studied 133 women, delivering 140 children. Maternal complications occurred frequently (54%). Deterioration of HELLP syndrome during expectant care occurred in 48%, after 4 days. Median prolongation was 5 days (range: 0–25 days). Neonatal survival was poor (19%), and was worse (6.6%) if the mother was admitted before 24 weeks of gestation. Complications occurred frequently among survivors (84%). After active support, neonatal survival was comparable with the survival of spontaneous premature neonates (54%). Pre‐eclampsia recurred in 31%, at a mean gestational age of 32 weeks and 6 days.
Conclusions
Considering the limits of prolongation, women need to be counselled carefully, weighing the high risk for maternal complications versus limited neonatal survival and/or extreme prematurity and its sequelae. The positive prospects regarding maternal and neonatal outcome in future pregnancies can supplement counselling.
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Severe early onset pre‐eclampsia comes with high maternal complication rates and poor neonatal survival.
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Severe early onset pre‐eclampsia comes with high maternal complication rates and poor neonatal survival.
Abstract
Patients with SLE are often young females of childbearing age and a pregnancy wish in this patient group is common. However, SLE patients are at high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes that ...require adequate guidance. It is widely acknowledged that pre-pregnancy counselling is the pivotal first step in the management of SLE patients with a wish to become pregnant. Next, management of these patients is usually multidisciplinary and often requires specific expertise from the different physicians involved. Very recently a EULAR recommendation was published emphasizing the need for adequate preconception counselling and risk stratification. Therefore the present review specifically addresses the issue of pre-pregnancy counselling for SLE patients with an evidence-based approach. The review summarizes data retrieved from recently published, high-quality cohort studies that have contributed to a better understanding and estimation of pregnancy-related risks for SLE patients. The present review categorizes risks from a patient-oriented point of view, that is, the influence of pregnancy on SLE, of SLE on pregnancy, of SLE on the foetus/neonate and of SLE-related medication. Lastly, pre-pregnancy counselling of SLE patients with additional secondary APS is reviewed. Collectively these data can guide clinicians to formulate appropriate preventive strategies and patient-tailored monitoring plans during pre-pregnancy counselling of SLE patients.
OBJECTIVESTo explore how specific measures of antenatal care utilization are associated with outcomes in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and eclampsia in Ghana. STUDY DESIGNParticipants were ...adult pregnant women with preeclampsia or eclampsia at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Antenatal care utilization measures included timing of first visit, total visits, facility and provider type, and referral status. Antenatal visits were characterized by former and current World Health Organization recommendations, and by gestational age-based adequacy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESComposites of maternal complications and poor neonatal outcomes. Multivariate logistic regressions identified associations with antenatal care factors. RESULTSAmong 1176 participants, median number of antenatal visits was 5.0 (IQR 3.0-7.0), with 72.9% attending ≥4 visits, 19.4% attending ≥8 visits, and 54.9% attending adequate visits adjusted for gestational age. Care was most frequently provided in a government polyclinic (n = 522, 47.2%) and by a midwife (n = 704, 65.1%). Odds of the composite maternal complications were lower in women receiving antenatal care at a tertiary hospital (aOR 0.47, p = 0.01). Odds of poor neonatal outcomes were lower in women receiving antenatal care at a tertiary hospital (aOR 0.56, p < 0.001), by a specialist Obstetrician/Gynecologist (aOR 0.58, p < 0.001), and who attended ≥8 visits (aOR 0.67, p = 0.04). Referred women had twice the odds of a maternal complication (aOR 2.12, p = 0.007) and poor neonatal outcome (aOR 1.68, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONSFewer complications are seen after receiving antenatal care at tertiary facilities. Attending ≥8 visits reduced poor neonatal outcomes, but didn't impact maternal complications. Quality, not just quantity, of antenatal care is essential.
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