Intrapartum fetal monitoring: Maximizing benefits and minimizing risk
February 1st 2010Electronic feta l heart rate (FHR) monitoring was introduced in the late 1960s with the hope of preventing intrapartum fetal brain injury and cerebral palsy (CP). However, it is now clear that this hope was unrealistic for at least 2 reasons. First, the false-positive rate of intrapartum FHR monitoring for predicting CP exceeds 99%. Except in the most extreme cases, intrapartum FHR monitoring has never been capable of reliably predicting CP.
Breastfeeding affected by whether mothers smoke
February 1st 2010Compared with nonsmoking mothers, mothers who smoke are less apt to breastfeed their babies. In addition, among mothers who smoke and who choose to breastfeed, the length of time during which they do so may be shortened, compared with nonsmoking mothers, according to new research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Should Infertility Patients be Screened for Celiac Disease?
February 1st 2010Celiac disease occurs in roughly 1% of all humans. It is an autoimmune condition initially caused by hypersensitivity and hyperimmunity to a class of proteins, called gliadins, which are found in the outer husk of common grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and oats.
Viewpoint: Is it time for physicians to have an 80-hour attending workweek?
January 1st 2010I recall I took some comfort in that adage during my residency. However, such bravado was representative of a different era, a time when 36-hour calls, 120-hour workweeks, and 1 weekend off a month were seen as rites of passage crucial to the creation of competent physicians.
In cases of benign disease, vaginal hysterectomy is preferred approach
January 1st 2010The vaginal route is preferable to the open abdominal route and to the laparoscopic technique for hysterectomy for benign disease, according to an American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) committee opinion.
Cesarean deliveries may benefit from blunt versus sharp needles
January 1st 2010The use of blunt, as opposed to sharp, needles significantly reduces the rate of glove perforation-and perhaps needlesticks-for surgeons and assistants performing cesarean-delivery closure, according to the results of a randomized, controlled trial.
Prolapse surgery combination may lead to stress urinary continence treatment failure in older women
January 1st 2010Compared with younger women, older women who undergo combined surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) are almost twice as likely to experience SUI (but not POP) treatment failure.
Statins and cancer: Discovering their role in treating gynecologic cancers
January 1st 2010HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, commonly referred to as statins, have gained popularity for their ability to effectively lower cholesterol levels in patients with CV disease, but new roles for statins may be on the horizon.
Treatment of mild gestational diabetes reduces some, but not all, risks
December 1st 2009Treating mild gestational diabetes doesn't improve perinatal mortality or conditions linked to maternal carbohydrate intolerance such as neonatal hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, hyperinsulinemia, and birth trauma. But treatment does lessen other risks.
Some antibiotics are safer than others during pregnancy
December 1st 2009Women prescribed penicillins, erythromycins, and cephalosporins for bacterial infections during their first trimester may be reassured that these ntibacterial agents are not significantly associated with birth defects, new research shows.
Maternal complications linked to where obstetricians train
December 1st 2009A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (9/23-9/30/09) suggests that if information about maternal complication rates at training hospitals were generally available, a woman would do well to choose her obstetrician on the basis of where he or she did residency.