Objective:Available evidence about the role of supplementary vitamin E in normal pregnancy is inadequate. This study assessed the potential benefit of vitamin E supplementation on some pregnancy health indices.Methods:A 1:2 weighted simple randomization technique was used to allocate 104 eligible pregnant women to receive vitamin E and 168 women (control) not to receive the drug. Treated women received capsules containing 400 IU vitamin E from week 14 of gestation to the end of the pregnancy.Results:Background variables including maternal age were found to be similarly distributed between the study groups. The rate of maternal and perinatal outcomes including Apgar score and birth weight did not differ significantly between groups. Preeclampsia occurred in 1% of treated women vs 1.78% of control women.Conclusion:Giving supplemental vitamin E from the second trimester of pregnancy did not appear to affect the risk of pregnancy outcomes and occurrence of preeclampsia.
Background:Reproductive health researchers are interested in finding better methods for predicting an unwanted type of delivery after induction of labor. The aim of this study was to compare the value of transvaginal ultrasonography findings and the Bishop score in predicting cesarean section after induction of labor.Methods:Two hundred women with singleton pregnancies undergoing induction of labor at 37–42 weeks were enrolled in this prospective study. Transvaginal investigation was done for all participants prior to induction. To compare the predictive value of the methods, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted and equality of the area under curve (AUC) was tested.Results:The mean age of the participants was 29.9 years, mean gestational age was 39.6 weeks, and mean gravid was 1.5. The AUC calculated for Bishop score was 0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3–0.48). The AUC for cervical length measured by ultrasonography was 0.69 (95% CI 0.6–0.77). The AUC for the posterior cervical angle measured by ultrasonography was 0.38 (95% CI 0.29–0.47). Testing equality of the ROC curves for these three methods showed the ROC for cervical length to be statistically different from both Bishop score and posterior cervical angle (P < 0.001). However, the difference in ROC area compared between Bishop score and posterior cervical angle was not statistically significant.Conclusion:Based on our findings and available information in the literature, it seems that cervical length measured by transvaginal ultrasonography has the potential to replace the traditional Bishop score, provided that such a facility is available when needed.
Objectives: The administration of betamethasone is associated with increased placental vascular resistance results in the return of the diastolic flow. This study aimed to assess the changes in the flow velocity waveform (FVW) color Doppler in the umbilical artery after the administration of betamethasone in pregnancies with fetal growth retardation (FGR). Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical research included all pregnant women who were referred to Al-Zahra teaching hospital and diagnosed with FGR. The eligibility criteria were the impaired umbilical artery FVW color Doppler, qualified for the administration of a fix-dosed Betamethasone, and no fetal abnormalities. The perinatologists performed the FVW color Doppler ultrasonography before and after the administration of betamethasone at intervals of 24, 48, and 96 hours and weeks 1 and 2. FVWs were obtained by pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonography. Then, neonatal outcomes were recorded based on neonates’ admission documents. Finally, one-way repeated measures ANOVA, Cochran’s Q test, and paired-samples t-test were used to compare Doppler indices before and after betamethasone administration. Results: The mean pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) of the umbilical artery showed a statistically significant reduction after the administration of betamethasone (P<0.001). The measured umbilical artery PI at two weeks after drug administration predicted the neonatal intensive care unit admission (P = 0.042). Eventually, the results revealed no significant association between the amniotic fluid index (AFI) and betamethasone administration (P = 0.3). Conclusions: In general, betamethasone administration improved the FVWs of the umbilical artery in pregnant women with fetal growth restriction while no association was found between the AFI and betamethasone administration.
Background: Sexuality in pregnancy is extensively investigated in European, American and some eastern Asian countries but not well studied in some Middle East countries like Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of sexuality in a given Iranian population and to investigate possible association between sexual activity pattern during pregnancy and some maternity and fetal health outcomes. Methods: In this pregnancy cohort study, 74 pregnant women receiving prenatal care form Asadabadi and Alzahra university hospital prenatal care units were enrolled. They were studied for their sexuality in pregnancy, their attitudes toward it and effect of birth-week intercourse on maternity and child health. Results: Having an intercourse during the last week of pregnancy was observed in 24.3 percent of women with a mean of 1.4 times among these subjects. Cumulative number of previous intercourses, intercourse at a prior week and husband educational level were the three independent predictors of having intercourse birth week in multivariate regression analysis. Although women with lower educational level and women who had higher satisfaction score during the previous intercourse showed higher percentage of birth-week intercourse, but the results were not statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Desire for and satisfaction of sexual intercourse had less trend variation throughout the pregnancy. Having more than two intercourses during the birth week significantly increased the chance of developing prom(P<0.01). Having Apgar score equal to seven versus higher Apgar scores was significantly more likely among women with more than one intercourse during the birth-week. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed the existence of a behavioral dichotomy in sexuality during pregnancy in an Iranian population: One substantially conservative behavior and one relatively non-cautious sexual behavior.
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