Pregnancy and Birth

One of the most devastating events in a couple's life is the loss of their baby through a miscarriage or stillbirth. Even though magazines and other media sources have begun discussing this sensitive subject, most people are unaware that a high number of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage, usually during the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is a common and frustrating problem for up to 3/4 of all pregnant women. Although this is commonly called "morning sickness," many pregnant women report nausea and vomiting throughout the day. Surprisingly, even though the symptoms may make a pregnant woman miserable, morning sickness only rarely causes serious problems for the mother or her baby.

One of the most controversial topics in modern obstetrics is cesarean section. Cesarean section refers to a major surgical procedure where a baby is removed from the uterus by making a cut into the abdomen, then into the uterus.

About 25% of all babies in the United States are born by cesarean delivery, creating a situation where many women have to choose whether or not to have a repeat c/section, or to undergo an attempt at vaginal delivery for their next pregnancy. In medical terminology this is called a "vaginal birth after cesarean," or VBAC, and is pronounced "V-BACK."

Sometimes, your Ob/gyn will propose you an induction of the labour. Let's see now why this can be proposed, and how. We can distinguish two kinds of labour induction,1st: the medical reasons , and 2nd: the convenience reasons.

Miscarriages are a very frequent complication of pregnancy. 15%% of pregnancies are end with a miscarriage, but with this rate, the very early (and unknown ones) are not included, and the real rate is estimated to be 30%%.

The following story is a composite of many situations I have witnessed in twenty-two years as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.The names and events are fictitious; but similar situations often arise.

Research presented at the ASRM's meeting shows that women at risk of unintended pregnancy are using some form of contraception. However there is a tendency for user dependent, short term contraception which has a higher failure rate than long term reversible contraception.

ICP, otherwise known as Obstetric Cholestasis (OC), refers to a specific liver condition in which the normal flow of bile is impaired in a woman's body resulting severe itching and more rarely, jaundice.

So you're having a baby! Time for prenatal appointments, eating for two and...childbirth classes? Funky breathing patterns to remember and embarrassing “practice” contractions - who needs it? Well, whether it's your first baby or your fifth, everyone can benefit from a good childbirth education series.

OBGYN.net Interview with David Augustus Nagey, MD, OBGYN.net Editorial Advisor, Pregnancy & Birth

European principles of giving birth were first introduced into the Pacific by missionaries in the early nineteenth century as part of their belief in civilising the local population. Formal medical practices were not introduced until some forty years later; then they were based only in the urban centres, almost unreachable for many Fijian women from their villages.

I would like to share with you my most recent experience with a VBAC case and give some of my own reactions and comments. A 26 y/ G3P2 is admitted at term in dyskinetic labor to the hospital with ruptured membranes.

Pregnancy loss can be emotionally devastating to both mother and father. Frequently, the response tends to be why me, and what could we have done differently? It is important for these couples to realize that the miscarriage is usually not a result of something that they have done, it is also important for them to realize that they are not alone.

Ectopic Pregnancy is a potentially fatal condition if not diagnosed and treated on time. The incidence of Abdominal Pregnancy is 1.4% of all ectopic pregnancy, of which Primary Intrahepatic Pregnancy constitutes only 0.03 %.

Evidence-based Ways to Prevent Prematurity Caused by Infection Including Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

It has been a mere 10 years since a portion of the genome of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), the infectious agent responsible for most cases of post transfusion hepatitis was sequenced. The discovery in 1989 was followed by the development of tests to detect anti-HCV antibodies, facilitating the screening of potential blood donors.

While morning sickness can occur in up to 70% of all pregnancies, it is usually more troublesome than serious. The more severe and disturbing condition, hyperemesis gravidarum, may complicate up to .3% of pregnancies, causing physiological changes that may effect the mother and fetus.

From the 7th European conference of Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology - October 5, 1999, in Istanbul, TurkeyReporting for OBGYN.net at ESIDOG, Dr. Joseph Pastorek

Whereas the surgical approach has long been the standard of care for ectopic pregnancy, a wider range of treatment options is now available--leading to a number of questions for the OB/GYN. Our expert panelists debate the relative merits and drawbacks of methotrexate and various invasive procedures, and also discuss their preferred diagnostic approaches, in managing the patient who presents with signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy.

Subjects who underwent immediate postpartum curettage had a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure at 16 hours post delivery (p

Pre-eclampsia first described more than hundred years ago, remains a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Despite extensive researches, our knowledge of the aetiology and pathophysiology is still limited (Chappel & Bewley, 1998).

One of the first uses of ultrasonic energy applied for medical diagnostic purposes was by Dr. George D. Ludwig at the Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland in 1947-1949, and subsequently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He demonstrated thatgallbladder stones could be detected by an ultrasonic echo method using A mode metal flaw detectors and naval sonar. The documentation of Dr. Ludwig's research came by way of his daughter, Rosemary Ludwig Turner.

Ultrasound-History@OBGYN.net is very fortunate to have papers and communications of Donald W. Baker donated to this polybiography site. Don Baker was a central figure in the invention and production of the first commercial medical Doppler instruments for the noninvasive study of blood flow and motion in the living body. This work constitutes a distinguished career of over 50 years.

My ultrasound training began when I was starting the second year of a neurology residency at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I had just finished a year of general medical internship which was a requirement for neurology residents.

I would like to share with you a few words about the use of a-mode ultrasound (echoencephalography) at Bowman Gray. My training began several years before the ready availability of computed tomography in the emergency center setting. An early application of ultrasound was for rapid screening of trauma and stroke patients for intracranial mass lesions.

Some of the earliest efforts involving the use of ultrasound for guidance of renal biopsy procedures took place at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine Ultrasound Laboratory in 1974 and 1975.

This syndrome, which is poorly understood from both diagnostic and treatment perspectives, results in significant perinatal morbidity and mortality. Improved outcomes depend on a better understanding of the etiology of this devastating disease and on the performance of randomized, controlled trials to evaluate treatment protocols.

A Case of Prenatal Renal Vein Thrombosis, Intrauterine Death of Twin II Associated With Hereditary Thrombophilia

39 year old para 0500 referred because of her horrid obstetric history felt due, at least in part, to placental floor infarction which was found with her last placenta. She has a history of left leg and thigh phlebitis. She took INH for six months in 1991 for a PPD conversion.