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A study led by Contemporary OB/GYN Editorial Advisory Board member Haywood L. Brown, MD, has found that lack of seatbelt use during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of fetal death. The study was published online by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology on February 25, 2013.

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.

A meta-analysis of two Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) clinical trials shows a clear long-term survival benefit for intraperitoneal (IP) therapy over intravenous (IV) treatment of ovarian cancer. The results were presented at the 2013 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in Los Angeles.

There is no evidence that plastic adhesive surgical drapes reduce surgical site infection rates, and some evidence that these drapes may increase infection rates, according to a third update of an intervention review and analysis conducted by the Cochrane Wounds Group.

Vitamin D deficiencies are common in women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), and serum levels of zinc, copper, and vitamin D appear to correlate with hormonal status, concluded a recent cross-sectional, case-control study.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued a list of 5 procedures that may be overused by ob/gyns.

A survey of medical students and residents shows that gifts to them from pharmaceutical company representatives remain common, despite efforts by medical schools to restrict such transactions. The research, which included participants from every medical school in the United States, appears in the February issue of The Journal of General Internal Medicine.

A study has found that nearly 1 in 4 women (23%) newly diagnosed with breast cancer reported symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shortly after diagnosis. Black and Asian women were more likely to report such symptoms. The study, called “Racial Disparities in Posttraumatic Stress After Diagnosis of Localized Breast Cancer: The BQUAL Study,” has been published online ahead of print in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In this first installment of Contemporary OB/GYN’s Point/Counterpoint department, two physicians discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the laborist (or “hospitalist”) model of care. What are the pros and cons for ob/gyns and their patients?

Tablets are redefining personal computing and making us evaluate what we need from a device and its software.

When a patient’s pregnancy test is positive but ultrasound is inconclusive, a stepwise approach is essential to make an accurate-and timely-diagnosis.

Medical advances mean nothing if our government and infrastructure are broken

Having unprotected sex is not the only impetus for use of emergency contraception (EC) among US women of reproductive age, according to data from a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly half the women represented in the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) said they turned to EC because of fear of contraceptive failure.

On October 24, 2012, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the CDC voted to recommend administering the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) to pregnant women with every pregnancy, regardless of the women’s previous Tdap history.

A large multiyear cohort study by investigators at ColumbiaUniversity in New York City shows limited short-term benefit and significantly higher cost for robotic-assisted hysterectomy than for laparoscopic hysterectomy. The findings, say the researchers, point to the need for “rational strategies to implement new surgical technologies.”

The common disorder now called “polycystic ovary syndrome” (PCOS) is imprecisely labeled, according to an independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).The panel met in December 2012 in an evidence-based methodology workshop sponsored by the NIH Office of Disease Prevention and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

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 small study by New Zealand investigators shows that first-borns may be at higher risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) as adults than their younger siblings. The results, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, may have important public health implications.

A large, multinational study has shown that low birth weight (LBW) is tied to prenatal exposure to air pollution.

A first-of-its-kind study has determined that although African-American women may have lower levels of the biomarker used to measure Vitamin D levels-25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25OHD-older African-American women and Caucasian women require the same amount of vitamin D supplementation.

The current genitourinary fistula classification systems have poor to fair prognostic value, as does an empirically derived scoring system that predicts fistula closure 3 months after surgery, according to the findings of a new prospective cohort study.

Between 70 and 90 percent of women carrying a fetus diagnosed in utero with Down syndrome choose to abort. Is terminating a fetus diagnosed with Down syndrome the same as terminating a fetus because of its gender?

Monitoring uterine contractions with internal tocodynamometry (IT) versus external tocodynamometry (ET) results in similar maternal and neonatal outcomes in women whose labor is induced or augmented with oxytocin.

The use of APTIMA human papillomavirus (AHPV) assay for the detection of high-risk human papillomavirus E6/E7 oncogenic messenger RNA is an effective triage method for colposcopy referral in women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance cytology (ASC-US).

A study by Norwegian researchers has shown that the use of folic acid supplements around the time of conception may lower the risk of autism in children. The study was published in the February 13, 2013, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

High intakes of calcium in women are associated with higher death rates from all causes and from cardiovascular disease, but not from stroke. This is the conclusion of a prospective longitudinal cohort study by researchers in Sweden.

On February 12, the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC) released the report “Breast Cancer and the Environment: Prioritizing Prevention.” The report is a result of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, which was passed by Congress in October 2008. The act required the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the IBCERCC, composed of federal and nonfederal members, to examine the current state of breast cancer and the environment research and make recommendations for eliminating any knowledge gaps.

Preconception genetic carrier testing has become more widely available and affordable, but is not always routinely recommended by physicians. Do you encourage it among patients planning to conceive?

Women who have migraine with aura, especially those who take combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) have an increased risk for cardiovascular or thrombotic events.