Background:Anemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency disorders affecting the pregnant women in the developing countries. Anemia during pregnancy is commonly associated with poor pregnancy outcome and can result in complications that threaten the life of both mother and fetus.Objective:The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and to determine its association with maternal and fetal outcomes.Settings and Design:This study design was a prospective, observational, community-based study.Subjects and Methods:Four hundred and forty-six pregnant women were included in the study from three primary health centers in Kolar district by multistage sampling technique and were followed up till 1 week after delivery.Statistical Analysis:The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22; correlation coefficient, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used.Results:There was a significant overall improvement in the hemoglobin levels of pregnant during the follow-up (10.3–10.72 gm%). About 35.6% of the women had maternal or fetal morbidity. Anemia was one of the main pregnancy-related complications (62.3%), other complications include difficult labor (3%), postpartum hemorrhage, and preeclampsia 1.6% each abortions/stillbirths (3.5%). The fetal complications include low birth weight (25.5%) followed by premature delivery (0.2%) and birth asphyxia (0.5%).Conclusions:A high prevalence of anemia in pregnant women apparently increases the maternal and fetal risks. To improve maternal and fetal outcome, it is recommended that the primary health care has to be strengthened, prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of anemia in pregnancy to be given priority.

We describe a child with classical Menkes disease with a novel ATP7A mutation, intractable seizures, severe hypotonia and developmental delay, hypopigmentation of the skin and hair, and failure to thrive, who was treated with daily subcutaneous copper histidine injections for 2(1/2) years, beginning at 15 months of age. He became seizure-free and pigmentation of his skin and hair darkened, but he continued to have severe developmental delays. His condition remains stable 8 months after stopping treatment. We review the ethical aspects of offering copper treatment for Menkes disease infants diagnosed after neurological symptoms become manifest. These include (1) the prospect for any benefits, (2) the potential risks and discomforts, (3) the parents' wishes with respect to treatment, (4) the family's understanding of the treatment's potential futility, (5) the family's understanding of the investigational nature of this treatment, (6) the potential for treatment to have an adverse impact on unaffected family members, (7) whether the ultimate decision regarding treatment should rest with health care providers or with the patient's parents, and (8) the duration of treatment. The ethical issues encountered in providing possibly futile treatment in this difficult disorder seem relevant to other pediatric medical conditions as well.

Background: Caesarean section is one of the most common procedures performed. Recent studies found that surgical-site infection (SSI) was the most common healthcare-associated infection. Authors hypothesized that optimization of preoperative skin antisepsis may decrease postoperative infections. The objective was to establish the efficacy of chlorhexidine-based antiseptic protocol versus povidone-iodine protocol in reducing SSI for patients undergoing caesarean deliveries.Methods: This is a randomized prospective study conducted from April 2017 to September 2017 at a tertiary care center in India. Women who underwent caesarean sections were allocated into either group. Enrolled patients were randomly assigned to have the surgical site painted with chlorhexidine-alcohol preparation or painted with a solution of 10% povidone-iodine and then with surgical spirit. The outcomes were any SSI occurring within a week or during the 30 day follow up period of the surgery including any of: superficial or deep surgical site infection, or endometritis, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions.Results: A total of 560 subjects (273 in the chlorhexidine group and 287 in the iodine group) qualified for the study. The number of surgical-site infection was significantly lower in the chlorhexidine group than in the iodine group (6.95% vs. 14.28%; P=0.005). Chlorhexidine–alcohol was significantly more protective than iodine-alcohol against both superficial incisional infections (5.49% vs. 10.10%, P=0.03) and deep incisional infections (1.46% vs. 4.18%, P=0.04).Conclusions: This study highlighted that Chlorhexidine-alcohol provided superior skin antisepsis in comparison to povidone iodine-alcohol.

Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a serious health and social problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the obstetrical and perinatal outcomes of nulliparous adolescent pregnancies in a tertiary care centre in rural India.Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted between April 2017 and March 2018.Adolescent primigravidae completing 28 weeks of gestation with singleton pregnancy were included in the study group. Primigravidae aged between 20 and 25 years were taken as a control group. The factors under study included obstetric complications and neonatal outcomes. The association was considered significant at P-value <0.05.Results: 450 women were included in the study group and 460 to the control group. The incidence of adolescent pregnancy was 18.3% during the study period. The adolescent mothers had a significantly higher incidence of preeclampsia (12.8 % vs 8.4 %; p = 0.03), eclampsia (3.5% vs 1.5%; p = 0.01), preterm delivery (18.6% vs 10.8%; p = 0.0009), low birth weight (39.1 % vs 24.2 %; p = 0.00001),very low birth weight babies (13.7 % vs 8.7 %; p = 0.01) compared to control group. There was higher proportion of NICU admissions in adolescent group (20.8% vs 12.3 %; p = 0.0005) compared to control group. No significant difference was found regarding postpartum complications and still birth.Conclusions: Adolescent pregnancy is associated with poorer feto-maternal outcomes. Regular antenatal visits, adequate nutritional supplementation and early detection of high-risk factors may contribute in decreasing the obstetric risk of childbirth in adolescent mothers.

Background: Cardiac disease complicating pregnancy is an indirect cause of maternal mortality. The incidence of cardiac disease during pregnancy has remained stable for many years even with significant decrease in the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as this decrease is being compensated by significant increase of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease (CHD). Therefore, in this study we aim to analyse the incidence of cardiac disease in pregnancy and to assess the obstetrical outcome.Methods: A retrospective study carried out in 32 women with cardiac disorders at a tertiary care centre during the period of 5 years.Results: In the present study the incidence of cardiac disease in pregnancy was observed to be 0.21%. With 62.6% rheumatic, 21.8% congenital being and 15.6% peripartum cardiomyopathy. Among rheumatic valvular heart disease, mitral valve stenosis was most common followed by mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation. Non-cardiac complications like pre-eclampsia and anaemia were also noted. No of vaginal delivery were higher compared to caesarean (26 versus 6). Adverse perinatal outcomes in form of preterm, NICU admission and perinatal death were also noted.Conclusions: A cardiac disease has a major impact on pregnancy. It is a multidisciplinary teamwork to have optimal maternal and foetal outcome in women with cardiac disease. Hence, constant vigilance is required throughout antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum period to avoid adverse outcomes.