Obstetrics

The USPSTF updated recommendations on mammography have sparked discussion on screening in younger women. Plus, does exposure to gestational diabetes increase risk of autism? What are the implications of genome editing?

NASPAG 29th conference featured research on the increased risk of complications in teen pregnancy, the desire on over-the-counter contraception, and a tool to help identify patients with menorrhagia.

DNA from a genetically dissimilar deceased twin may be counted as part of total fetal DNA, leaving to incorrect test results for the surviving fetus.

A recent report sheds light on how much false-positives and overdiagnosis of breast cancer cost. Additionally, new research examines the impact of the number of live births on future heart health in the mother and provides further evidence of the efficacy of cfDNA testing.

A review of the causes, surveillance options, and management strategies for the pregnancy at risk of fetal anemia.

Hospital births and obstetricians are not the enemies of low-intervention spontaneous vaginal delivery.

Knowledge of fetal lung maturity provides useful adjunctive information that is unique and relevant to a patient.

Cardiovascular problems can complicate pregnancy, and pregnancy can reveal cardiovascular risks.

A form of assisted reproductive technology that could make it possible for women with mutations in mitochondrial DNA to give birth to children free of mitochondrial disease has been approved by UK’s House of Commons. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee is considering granting similar approval for use of the technique-known as oocyte modification or three-parent gene therapy-in the United States.

Contemporary OB/GYN provides information on the latest research from SMFM's annual Pregnancy Meeting.

A commentary on ACOG Practice Bulletin Number 145 by Contemporary OB/GYN editorial board member Haywood L. Brown, MD.

A summary of the evidence-based SMFM guidelines for the evaluation and management of nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF). The guidelines cover the epidemiology, risk factors, work-up, prognosis, and treatment of pregnancies complicated by NIHF.

Tight control of hypertension in pregnancy does not produce better perinatal outcomes or fewer serious maternal complications than looser control, according to results of an international randomized clinical trial. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the findings are consistent with those from a meta-analysis of 29 previous trials.

Results of a retrospective cohort study show that use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection is on the rise but cast doubt on whether the technology is improving reproductive outcomes. Brian Levine, MD, MS provides commentary.

Analysis of data from more than 2.2 million vaginal deliveries shows that episiotomy declined between 2006 and 2012 and nonmedical factors may have been at play. The findings were published in a Research Letter in JAMA.

A new CDC report shows that while perinatal mortality rates are continuing to decline-down 10% since 2000-the US fetal mortality rate for the latest study period (2006–2012) did not improve.

Unlike with in vitro fertilization, it appears that uterine contractions may increase the chance of a successful intrauterine insemination (IUI), according to a new study.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a final rule altering how the labels for physicians on prescription drugs and biological products provide information for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Editor-in-Chief Charles J Lockwood, MD, MHCM discusses the recent report from the March of Dimes on the rates of premature deliveries across the United States.

A commentary on Practice Bulletin Number 146 by the Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary OB/GYN.

Questions and answers from SMFM about the implications of uterine fibroids during pregnancy

Prevalence of opioid abuse during pregnancy has more than doubled over the past 14 years, according to a new study in Anesthesiology.

A study by researchers from Yale University and Brown University suggests that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy may not increase risk of birth outcomes such as low birthweight.

Understanding the usual clinical course of periviable PROM helps physicians guide families who are making difficult decisions.

AAGL attendees are normally reserved, but on Wednesday they got on their feet to give an ovation to the doctor who engineered the first pregnancy in a woman with a transplanted uterus.

A panel of experts were bested only once at the “Stump the Professors” session at the 43rd AAGL Global Congress on Minimally Invasive Gynecology in Vancouver. A sarcoma was the diagnosis that got away among three complex cases presented to a packed audience.

Women who receive the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) may not be at increased risk of preterm birth or other adverse birth outcomes, according to a new study in JAMA.

A small study by investigators from Harvard University suggests that cryopreserved embryo transfer (CET) is a strong independent risk factor for placenta accreta in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

The 7th annual March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card shows that in 2013, the preterm birth rate fell to its lowest in 17 years-11.5%--meeting Healthy People 2020 goals. That number, however, still earns a “C” grade from the organization, which has set a goal of 9.6% of all live births by 2020.

First-trimester exposure to maternal estradiol may increase risk of thyroid dysfunction in offspring conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a study in Fertility & Sterility.