The impact of reference growth standards on small- and large-for-gestational age outcomes among pregnancies conceived by fresh and frozen embryo transfers.

Objective: To describe differences in the frequency of small-for-gestational age (SGA) and large-for-gestational age (LGA) driven by different birth weight curves in assisted reproductive technology (ART)-conceived pregnancies. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Single academic medical center. Patients: Singleton live births between the gestational ages of 36 weeks and 0 days and 42 weeks and 6 days from fresh or frozen embryo transfer (ET). Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: SGA (<10th percentile) and LGA (>90th percentile) classified by Fenton, INTERGROWTH-21, World Health Organization, Duryea, and Oken curves. Results: The median birth weight and gestational age at birth among fresh ET pregnancies were 3,289g (interquartile range [IQR], 2,977-3,600g) and 39.4 (IQR, 38.6-40.3) weeks, respectively, and those among frozen ET pregnancies were 3,399g (IQR, 3,065-3,685g) and 39.4 (IQR, 38.7-40.1) weeks, respectively. The frequencies of SGA neonates using each birth weight standard ranged from 5.8% to 13.4% for fresh ET and from 3.5% to 8.7% for frozen ET. Those of LGA neonates ranged from 5.3% to 14.3% for fresh ET and from 6.6% to 21.2% for frozen ET. Conclusion: The frequency of SGA and LGA neonates among ART-conceived gestations is partially driven by the birth weight standard. Selecting an appropriate standard that best reflects the patient population is critical to quantifying the risk of ART-conceived pregnancies.

COVID-19 in Pregnancy: An Update for Clinicians.

In this review, we will discuss the risks of COVID-19 on maternal, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes. We will also review the safety of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, as well as review the management of COVID-19 in pregnancy.

Sweet syndrome in pregnancy: A narrative review.

The aim of this review is to increase obstetrician awareness of pregnancy-associated Sweet syndrome. Patients present with fever, leukocytosis, and skin eruption, which can mimic other infectious or inflammatory conditions, but do not respond to antibiotics. A search using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science Core Collection was conducted to review all reported cases of pregnancy-associated Sweet syndrome, an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis occurring during pregnancy or postpartum. A total of 33 episodes among 30 patients were identified, with the majority (54.5% [18]) of cases occurring within the second trimester. Among the 30 patients, skin lesions most commonly affected the head and neck (73.3% [22]), with rare oral or ocular involvement. Leukocytosis was the most common laboratory finding, reported in 96.7% [29] of patients, with neutrophil predominance noted in 70.0% [21]. The diagnosis was confirmed for all patients with pathognomonic results of skin biopsies. Of the 27 cases detailing treatment, systemic corticosteroids were most frequently used (19 cases), followed by conservative management (seven cases), and dapsone (one case). The dapsone-treated patient and 15 of the 19 steroid-treated patients experienced resolution, but additional management strategies were required in the remaining four individuals. Spontaneous resolution occurred during pregnancy in six of the seven conservatively managed individuals, with one patient experiencing spontaneous abortion shortly after skin eruption at 10 weeks of gestation. No associated maternal deaths were reported. Obstetric complications of pregnancy-associated Sweet syndrome included endomyometritis, sterile placental abscesses, and abdominal wall necrosis. Delivery of healthy infants occurred in 24 of the 25 cases that presented fetal outcome, which included two infants who underwent medically indicated preterm deliveries.

Cost-effectiveness of BRCA1 testing at time of obstetrical prenatal carrier screening for cancer prevention.

BACKGROUND: Improved technologies paired with an increase in access to genetic testing have led to the availability of expanded carrier screening evaluating hundreds of disorders. Currently, most autosomal dominant mutations, such as BRCA1, are not included in expanded carrier assays. Screening pregnant or preconception reproductive-aged women for BRCA1 may present a unique opportunity to perform population-based screening for patients at a time when precancer screening, chemoprevention, and/or risk-reducing surgery may be beneficial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to inform clinical decision-making as to whether the universal incorporation of BRCA1 testing at the time of obstetrical prenatal carrier screening is cost-effective. STUDY DESIGN: A decision analysis and Markov model was created. The initial decision point in the model was BRCA1 testing at the time of expanded carrier screening. Model probabilities, cost, and utility values were derived from published literature. For BRCA1-positive patients, the model simulated breast cancer screening and risk-reducing surgical interventions. A cycle length of 1 year and a time horizon of 47 years were used to simulate the lifespan of patients. The setting was obstetrical clinics in the United States, and the participants were a theoretical cohort of 1,429,074 pregnant patients who annually underwent expanded carrier screening. RESULTS: Among our cohort, BRCA1 testing resulted in the identification of an additional 3716 BRCA1-positive patients, the prevention of 1394 breast and ovarian cancer cases, and 1084 fewer deaths. BRCA1 testing was a cost-effective strategy compared with no BRCA1 testing with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $86,001 per quality-adjusted life years. In a 1-way sensitivity analysis, we varied the prevalence of BRCA1 in the population from 0.00% to 20.00% and found that BRCA1 testing continued to be the cost-effective strategy until the prevalence rate was reduced to 0.16%. Multiple additional sensitivity analyses did not substantially affect the cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSION: The addition of BRCA1 testing to obstetrical prenatal carrier screening is a cost-effective management strategy to identify at-risk women at a time when cancer screening and preventive strategies can be effective. Despite the burden of additional genetic counseling, prenatal care represents a unique opportunity to implement population-based genetic testing.

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Statement: RhD immune globulin after spontaneous or induced abortion at less than 12 weeks of gestation.

Guidelines for the management of first-trimester spontaneous and induced abortion vary in terms of rhesus factor D (RhD) testing and RhD immune globulin (RhIg) administration. These existing guidelines are based on limited data that do not convincingly demonstrate the safety of withholding RhIg for first-trimester abortions or pregnancy losses. Given the adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes associated with RhD alloimmunization, prevention of maternal sensitization is essential in RhD-negative patients who may experience subsequent pregnancies. In care settings in which RhD testing and RhIg administration are logistically and financially feasible and do not hinder access to abortion care, we recommend offering both RhD testing and RhIg administration for spontaneous and induced abortion at <12 weeks of gestation in unsensitized, RhD-negative individuals. Guidelines for RhD testing and RhIg administration in the first trimester must balance the prevention of alloimmunization with the individual- and population-level harms of restricted access to abortion.

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #69: Hepatitis B in pregnancy: updated guidelines.

More than 290 million people worldwide, and almost 2 million people in the United States, are infected with hepatitis B virus, which can lead to chronic hepatitis B, a vaccine-preventable communicable disease. The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection in pregnancy is estimated to be 0.7% to 0.9% in the United States, with >25,000 infants born annually at risk for chronic infection due to perinatal transmission. Given the burden of disease associated with chronic hepatitis B infection, recent national guidance has expanded both the indications for screening for hepatitis B infection and immunity and the indications for vaccination. The purpose of this document is to aid clinicians caring for pregnant patients in screening for hepatitis B infection and immunity status, discuss the perinatal risks of hepatitis B infection in pregnancy, determine whether treatment is indicated for maternal or perinatal indications, and recommend hepatitis B vaccination among susceptible patients. The following are the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine recommendations: (1) we recommend triple-panel testing (hepatitis B surface antigen screening, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen, and total antibody to hepatitis B core antigen) at the initial prenatal visit if not previously documented or known to have been performed (GRADE 1C); (2) we recommend universal hepatitis B surface antigen screening alone at the initial prenatal care visit for all pregnancies where there has been a previously documented negative triple-panel test (GRADE 1B); (3) we recommend that individuals with unknown hepatitis B surface antigen screening status be tested on any presentation for care in pregnancy; we also recommend that those with clinical hepatitis or those with risk factors for acute hepatitis B infection be tested at the time of admission to a birthing facility when delivery is anticipated (GRADE 1B); (4) we do not recommend altering routine intrapartum care in individuals chronically infected with hepatitis B; administration of neonatal immunoprophylaxis is standard of care in these situations (GRADE 1B); (5) we do not recommend cesarean delivery for the sole indication of reducing perinatal hepatitis B virus transmission (GRADE 1B); (6) we recommend that individuals with HBV infection can breastfeed as long as the infant has received immunoprophylaxis at birth (GRADE 1C); (7) we suggest individuals with hepatitis B infection who desire invasive testing may have the procedure performed after an informed discussion on risks and benefits in the context of shared decision-making and in the context of how testing will affect clinical care (GRADE 2C); (8) in individuals with hepatitis viral loads >200,000 IU/mL (>5.3 log 10 IU/mL), we recommend antiretroviral therapy with tenofovir (tenofovir alafenamide at 25 mg daily or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate at 300 mg daily) in the third trimester (initiated at 28-32 weeks of gestation) as an adjunctive strategy to immunoprophylaxis to reduce perinatal transmission (GRADE 1B); (9) we recommend administering hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobin within 12 hours of birth to all newborns of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive pregnant patients or those with unknown or undocumented hepatitis B surface antigen status, regardless of whether antiviral therapy has been given during the pregnancy to the pregnant patient (GRADE 1B); and (10) we recommend hepatitis B vaccination in pregnancy for all individuals without serologic evidence of immunity or documented history of vaccination (GRADE 1C).