The Significance, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Maternal Hypovolemia as Associated with Fetal/Maternal Illness

The effect of maternal fasting during Ramadan on preterm delivery: a prospective cohort study

“…Based on the yearly statistics from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at AUBMC and worldwide estimates of PTD rate of approximately 10%, 20 a total sample size of 398 pregnant women (199 in the fasting group and 199 in the control group) was needed for the detection of a two‐fold increase in the rate of PTD (from 10% to 20%), under the assumptions of a type I error (two‐sided) of 5% and a power of at least 80%. Considering a dropout rate of 10%, the total number of women required was estimated to be 440 (220 in each arm).…”

“…Women with PTL have been reported to have lower plasma volume than controls 20 and based on uncontrolled observations, intravenous hydration might decrease contractions or delay the delivery in these women, as proposed by some authors. 20,21 It has been hypothesised that volume expansion could increase uterine blood flow, stabilise decidual lysosomes and decrease prostaglandin production. 22 In addition, it could decrease the secretion of antidiuretic hormone from the posterior pituitary, 21,22 so decreasing oxytocin secretion simultaneously.…”

The Magnitude of Hemoconcentration with Eclampsia

“…These studies were conducted at a time before the general implementation of the Belmont Report (17), which placed restrictions on the use of trace amounts of radioisotopes during pregnancy. The total radiation dose for each blood volume measurement was calculated to be less than 20 millirads for the mother and less than 10 millirads for the fetus (18)(19)(20). By way of comparison, X-ray pelvimetry, which was commonly used in nulliparous women during the time of the study, resulted in an average fetal exposure of 250 millirads.…”

Intrauterine transfusion and non-invasive treatment options for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn – review on current management and outcome

“…In the Netherlands, donor blood for IUTs is additionally matched with the maternal Duffy, Kidd and S blood group, to reduce the high risk on the formation of new antibodies [54]. Donations are usually from an allogenic donor, as multiple maternal blood donations have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcome [55,56], although a direct cause-effect relation seems unlikely [57]. Altogether, proposed advantages [41,53,57,58] usually do not outweigh these possible adverse effects of autologous donations.…”