Reflection of a birth reflections midwife.

Supporting a woman's emotional recovery following what can sometimes be a traumatic event is becoming an important part of postnatal care. That simple question, "How was the birth?" can be the first step in allowing a woman to acknowledge and voice her innermost anxieties around the birth of her baby, and put her on the right path towards feeling better about it, if need be. The birth reflections service has been running in our area for almost six years and its purpose is two fold: firstly it provides women with a safe environment in which to talk about their labour and birth, where they can become better informed about the birth and where they can express themselves freely. Secondly, it provides first hand feedback for the maternity service about the care that's been given, enabling us to change practice for the better.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the KCNN3 gene associate with preterm birth.

The objectives were to determine whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in KCNN3 (encodes the small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel subfamily N, member 3), associate with preterm birth (PTB). In all, 602 preterm families with at least 1 preterm (<37 weeks gestation) infant were studied: DNA from the infant and one or both parents were genotyped for 16 SNPs in KCNN3. A region of interest within KCNN3 was sequenced in 512 Caucasian non-Hispanic mothers (412 with preterm deliveries;100 who delivered at term). Family-based association testing was used for genotyping analysis; Fisher exact test was used for sequencing analysis. Six SNPs (rs1218585, rs4845396, rs12058931, rs1218568, rs6426985, and rs4845394) were associated with PTB (all Ps < .05). These variations were all located within the intronic region between exons 1 and 2. Maternal sequencing revealed an association of 3 SNPs with spontaneous PTB; rs1218585 (P = .007), rs1218584 (P = .05), and a novel SNP at chromosome1:153099353 (P = .02). Polymorphisms in KCNN3 are associated with PTB and investigation into the functional significance of these allelic changes is warranted.