Pregnancy and Birth

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The plaintiff asserted that during the diagnostic laparoscopy, Dr A and Dr B should have detected the ectopic pregnancy in the right fallopian tube. Her attorneys claimed that based upon the plaintiff’s abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, and β- hCG levels, and absent evidence of intrauterine pregnancy on ultrasound, the defendants should have presumed ectopic pregnancy and adequately evaluated the fallopian tube before discharging the patient, thus avoiding rupture.

Identifying and Counseling Patients at Risk for Recurrent Preterm Birth. Improving Women’s Understanding of Recurrent Preterm Birth. Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Clinical Guideline on Reducing the Risk of Preterm Birth and Potential Treatment in Certain At-Risk Women. Strategies for implementing the SMFM clinical guideline for reducing the risk of preterm birth in women with a history of recurrent preterm birth.

Pregnancy-related deaths in the United States have risen from a low of 7.2 per 100,000 live births in 1987 to a high of 17.3 per 100,000 live births in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System.

Preterm birth (PTB) remains the major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. For the vast majority of spontaneous PTBs, the final pathway is opening of the cervix. Pessaries have been proposed since the 1950s as a possible intervention to keep the cervix closed. But are pessaries safe and do they work for prevention of spontaneous PTB?

Preterm birth is a public health concern. Each year in the U.S., nearly one in ten babies are born preterm…meaning less than 37 weeks of pregnancy or more than 3 weeks prior to the expected due date. That’s nearly 400,000 babies every year born too early in this country.

A 34-year-old Ohio woman was under the care of her longtime family physician, who had minor privileges to deliver uncomplicated pregnancies at a specific hospital, for her pregnancy. The woman is diagnosed with eclampsia in her third trimester and is immediately given a cesarean. After delivery, she is unresponsive having died from a massive intracranial hemorrhage. The physician is sued for fraudulently representing her abilities in obstetric care. What's the verdict?

A study looks at whether women are at greater risk of sleep problems than their male counterparts. Also, are cesarean deliveries increasing the risk of childhood obesity? Plus: A study highlights the need for further research in postpartum psychosis.

On L&D units throughout the country, more and more women are being admitted with birth plans. Birth plans have become an increasingly common part of women’s prenatal preparation.

Your letters

Readers weigh in on the best forceps for a Scanzoni rotation and the reasons behind our high cesarean rate.

For Contemporary OB/GYN, Dr Bobby Lazzara looks at the question of whether reducing term births before 39 weeks' gestation leads to a significant increase in the rate of stillbirths and how it may impact practice.