Obstetrics

Latest News


CME Content


Obstetricians often see pregnant patients with psychiatric disorders, the most common being depression. Treatment includes both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic options. This article focuses on use of selective serotonin reputake inhibitors (SSRIs), the drugs most often used to treat depression in pregnancy.

The common practice of clamping an umbilical cord within a minute of birth to reduce the possibility of maternal hemorrhaging may need to be revised, according to a new paper published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The study authors searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register to find 15 trials involving a total of 3911 mother and infant pairs. The risk of bias in the trials was considered by the paper’s authors to be moderate in nature.

An overview of rapid screening and augmented screening techniques that impact sensitivity and a look at potential opportunities for appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis against neonatal infection.

A study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found that the risk of bipolar disorder may be quadrupled among children whose mothers contracted influenza in pregnancy.

Women with high levels of antibodies related to celiac disease are more likely to deliver low birthweight (LBW) babies, according to a large Belgian study published in Gastroenterology.

Total delivery costs are lower-and rates of vaginal delivery higher-when external cephalic version (ECV) is done with versus without neuraxial anesthesia. So say the results of a study by Stanford University researchers published online in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

Women in early pregnancy and those attempting conception are often concerned with altering their lifestyles to achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy. Patients often ask ob/gyns for recommendations about caffeine intake, exercise, alcohol consumption, and use of artificial sweeteners. In addition to quantity, the question of timing arises: When is the appropriate time for a woman to alter her lifestyle-before conception or after pregnancy is established?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) taken by a woman during pregnancy do not impact her infant's growth during the first year of life, reports a new small study.

Experts convened by the National Institutes of Health for a Consensus Development Conference on Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) have proposed maintaining the current 2-step approach to diagnosis rather than a 1-step process. The panel, comprising 15 experts and 19 speakers, met March 4-9 in Bethesda to examine a report prepared through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Evidence-based Practice Centers program. The assessment was sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Office of Disease Prevention.

Women whose pregnancies are complicated by hyperemesis gravidarum in the second trimester are at a much higher risk of placental dysfunction disorders such as placental abruption and small-for-gestational age (SGA) babies, according to a study appearing in the January 30, 2013, issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

A study presented on February 16 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) annual meeting in San Francisco, California, found that around-the-clock labor and delivery (L & D) coverage decreased the odds of cesarean delivery in certain populations of patients in California.

A new American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) committee opinion (no. 554) addresses the detection and prevention of sexual coercion and violence within women’s relationships. The opinion was developed by the Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women.