The high prevalence of diabetes supports early postpartum oral glucose tolerance testing. Several women had undiagnosed diabetes. The risk factors identified could be useful for prenatal risk stratification.

cART significantly reduced cervical HPV infection. This effect was dependent on the duration of exposure to cART and is the mechanism by which cART may improve the outcome of dysplasia in HIV-infected women.

Antiretroviral treatment reduced the risk for progression and persistence of LSIL in HIV-infected women.

To determine factors that influence excision treatment outcome and recurrence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) in women living with HIV infection, we analysed 1848 women who underwent excision treatment of cervical SIL at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. We compared treatment failure defined as presence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I (presence of CIN I or higher at first follow-up after excision treatment) and post-excision recurrence of lesions (at one year or later) between women of HIV-positive, -negative or unknown status and examined factors associated with excision treatment outcome and recurrence. HIV-infected women experienced higher treatment failure than uninfected women (53.8% versus 26.9%, P < 0.001). At treatment failure, more HIV-infected women had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) compared with uninfected women (64.9% versus 37.3%, P < 0.001). Treatment failure did not differ with the type of excision used in HIV-infected women. HIV-infected women were more likely to experience recurrence of lesions after excision treatment than uninfected women (hazard ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59-2.39; P < 0.001). Antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiated before excision biopsy had a strong protective effect against recurrence (hazard ratio 0.70, 95% CI 0.55-0.89; P = 0.006). Our data suggest that women with cervical SIL initiated on ART earlier may be expected to have better long-term excision treatment outcome. Close follow-up should be maintained after cervical excision treatment, especially in a setting of high HIV prevalence.

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To the best of our knowledge, no information is available on perinatal, neonatal and infant mortality rates based on gestational age (GA) at delivery for any community-based cohort in South Africa (SA). In addition, birth weight is commonly used to define the lower borders of fetal viability. To distinguish between a late miscarriage and an early stillbirth, a birth weight of 500 g rather than GA of 22 weeks is often used. However, in defining stillbirth, GA is the preferred criterion with regard to the lower cut-off point, as using birth weight may exclude growth-restricted fetuses. [1] Furthermore, patients are often discharged from the delivery unit very early, and it is therefore unlikely that all neonatal deaths after discharge are accurately reported. There is also no information on the rates of late miscarriages, as this information is not prospectively collected.The true incidence of mid-trimester miscarriage is unknown. [2] Information on the incidence and causes of miscarriages may provide valuable information for programmes to reduce stillbirths. It is also necessary to analyse stillbirth and perinatal mortality rates (PNMRs) regularly to predict whether the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 will be reached. [3] The Safe Passage Study (SPS) was undertaken in three populations, of which the 'coloured' (mixed race) population in Bishop Lavis, a suburb of Cape Town, SA, was one, to determine the role of alcohol consumption in stillbirths and sudden infant deaths. [4] Robust information on all pregnancies, from the first antenatal visit until the infant was 1 year old, allowed accurate calculation of perinatal and infant mortality. It also created an opportunity to calculate late miscarriage rates for participants who booked early and to study the role of preterm delivery in perinatal mortality and infant deaths during the first year. ObjectivesTo determine the true population-based risk of miscarriage, late stillbirth, neonatal death and preterm delivery in otherwise low-risk coloured pregnant women in a suburban area of Cape Town. MethodsThis prospective cohort study was conducted in Bishop Lavis. Recruitment was done between August 2007 and January 2015. A woman was eligible if all the following criteria were met: (i) able to provide informed consent; (ii) pregnant with one or two fetuses; (iii) ≥16 years of age; (iv) GA of at least 6 weeks and 0 days and not at the delivery admission unit; and (v) able to speak English or Afrikaans. A woman was excluded if any of the following This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

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