Vitamin A and micronutrient deficiencies post-bariatric surgery: aetiology, complications and management in a complex multiparous pregnancy.

Adequate vitamin A is essential for healthy pregnancy, but high levels may be teratogenic. We present a patient who underwent bariatric surgery, prior to child bearing, and suffered maternal and foetal complications during eleven pregnancies, possibly associated with vitamin A deficiency, amongst multiple micronutrient deficiencies and risk factors including smoking and obesity. Maternal complications included visual disturbance, night blindness and recurrent infections. Recurrent foetal pulmonary hypoplasia and microphthalmia led to foetal and neonatal loss, not previously described in the medical literature. Current guidance on vitamin A deficiency in pregnancy is focused on developing countries where aetiology of vitamin A deficiency is different to that of women in developed countries. We describe nutritional management of the micronutritient deficiencies, focusing on vitamin A, during her last pregnancy. The need for specific antenatal nutritional guidance for pregnant women post-bariatric surgery is becoming more urgent as more mothers and offspring will be affected.

Fetal Intracardiac Transfusions in Hydropic Fetuses with Severe Anemia.

INTRODUCTION: Fetal anemia can have significant perinatal morbidity and mortality, particularly with onset prior to 20 weeks of gestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We detail a case-cohort study (n = 8) of all women who underwent fetal in-utero, intracardiac transfusion prior to 24 weeks of gestation (7 women before 20 + 1 weeks), between March 2004 and September 2014, in a supraregional Fetal Medicine Center in the United Kingdom, comprising 2.2% of all transfusions performed during this period. All the fetuses were hydropic, with high maternal BMI, and had severe anemia as an indicator for transfusion. It was an attempt to perform intravascular transfusion when other common routes of fetal vascular access had failed. RESULTS: There were 2 intrauterine deaths (25%), both of which were associated with in-utero transfusion and fulminant parvovirus B19 infection. The perinatal survival rate was 75% (6/8). DISCUSSION: Fetal in-utero, intravascular transfusion by the intracardiac route may be used to correct severe early-onset anemia. It is particularly useful when technical issues of fetal size, early gestation (<20 weeks), maternal adiposity, and hydrops fetalis make umbilical cord or intrahepatic vein puncture technically difficult. Survival rates appear comparable to other series of pregnancies where in-utero transfusion is performed at early gestation.

Functional HY-specific CD8+ T cells are found in a high proportion of women following pregnancy with a male fetus.

Recent studies have demonstrated that fetal cells can be detected in the maternal circulation during virtually all human pregnancies. These fetal cells can engraft and may be isolated for many decades after pregnancy, leading to a state that may be maintained by the passage of pregnancy-associated progenitor cells. The clinical consequences of fetal cell microchimerism are unclear but may be potentially detrimental or valuable to the mother. One possibility is the generation of an alloreactive immune response by the mother to antigens expressed by the fetus; for example, the HY protein encoded by the Y chromosome. To test this we have screened a cohort of women with a range of parity histories within 8 yr of their last pregnancy for the presence of an HY-specific CD8+ T-cell response. Fluorescent HLA-peptide (HY) tetramers were used to stain short-term T-cell cultures from these women for analysis by flow cytometry. Responses were detected in 37% of women with a history of pregnancies that produced males, and this value rose to 50% in women with two or more pregnancies that produced males. HY-specific CD8+ T cells also could be detected directly in the peripheral blood of women with a history of at least two pregnancies that produced males. These HY-specific CD8+ T cells produced interferon gamma (IFNG) following peptide stimulation, demonstrating their functional capacity. In conclusion, our data indicate that alloreactive CD8+ T cells are generated frequently following normal pregnancy and retain functional capability for years following pregnancy.

Are isolated facial cleft lip and palate associated with increased perinatal mortality? A cohort study from the West Midlands Region, 1995-1997.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between cleft lip and/or palate and perinatal mortality. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of cases of cleft lip/palate born to West Midlands residents from 1995 to 1997. Perinatal mortality for identified cases was compared with all births from 1995 to 1997. RESULTS: 347 cases of cleft lip and/or cleft palate were delivered from 1995 to 1997. Thirty-six pregnancies were terminated due to parental wishes--2 were registerable births. There were 310 spontaneous registerable births (stillbirths/livebirths) with cleft lip and/or palate and 1 further late fetal loss. In 220 (70.5%), the lesion was isolated. Of these, there were 7 perinatal deaths, 5 had post mortems and no additional anomalies were identified. In 92 (29.5%) cases other abnormalities were identified. The overall perinatal mortality rate (PNMR) in the West Midlands, was 10.0/1000 total births. The overall PNMR for babies with facial clefts was 89.7/1000 total births. The PNMR for those with associated anomalies was 228.3/1000 live/still births. The PNMR for isolated facial clefts was 31.8/1000 live/still births, significantly higher than the background population (OR 3.3, 95% CI: 1.5-7.0). CONCLUSION: Consideration should be given to screening the fetus at 20-24 weeks for facial deformity. This has implications for detection both of fetal anomalies and of a population at risk for adverse outcome.

Middle cerebral artery Doppler velocimetric assessment in two cases of hydrops fetalis without fetal anaemia.

OBJECTIVES: Raised middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler velocity has been shown to be highly predictive of moderate to severe fetal anaemia. We present two false-positive cases of raised MCA Doppler velocity in non-immune hydropic fetuses. METHODS: In both cases, routine investigations for fetal hydrops, as well as detailed ultrasound scanning and MCA peak-systolic velocity Doppler assessment (maximum velocity taken at zero degrees to the vessel), were performed. Fetal blood sampling was carried out at the same visit. RESULTS: MCA peak-systolic velocity values greater than 1.50 MoM for gestation were found in both cases. However, both fetuses had normal haemoglobin values and haematocrits. Both fetuses died in utero soon after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: A raised MCA velocity in a hydropic fetus may not always be due to fetal anaemia, rather it may indicate a fetus in poor condition perhaps due to cardiovascular decompensation and redistribution of blood to the fetal brain.

Prenatal bladder drainage in the management of fetal lower urinary tract obstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of prenatal bladder drainage on perinatal survival in fetuses with lower urinary tract obstruction. DATA SOURCES: Relevant articles were identified by searching the databases MEDLINE (1966-2002), EMBASE (1988-2002), and the Cochrane library (2000;4). METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: Studies were selected if the effect of prenatal bladder drainage (vesicocentesis, vesicoamniotic shunt, or open fetal bladder surgery) on perinatal survival was reported in fetuses with ultrasonic evidence of lower urinary tract obstruction. Study selection, quality assessment, and data abstraction were performed independently and in duplicate. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Sixteen observational studies that included nine case series (147 fetuses) and seven controlled series (195 fetuses) were identified. Study characteristics and quality were recorded for each study. Data on the effect of bladder drainage on perinatal survival were abstracted. Where controlled data were available, 2 x 2 tables were generated to compare the effects of bladder drainage versus no bladder drainage on perinatal survival. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were used as summary measures of effect, and the results were stratified according to predicted fetal prognoses (based on ultrasound features and fetal urinary electrolytes). Among controlled studies, bladder drainage appeared to improve perinatal survival relative to no drainage (OR 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 5.9; P =.03). However, this observation was largely because among the subgroup of fetuses with a poor prognosis there was a marked improvement (OR 8.1; 95% CI 1.2, 52.9; P =.03). Improved perinatal outcome was also suggested in those fetuses considered to have a good prognosis (OR 2.8; 95% CI 0.7, 10.8; P =.13). CONCLUSION: There is a lack of high quality evidence to reliably inform clinical practice regarding prenatal bladder drainage in fetuses with ultrasonic evidence of lower urinary tract obstruction. The limited available evidence suggests that prenatal bladder drainage may improve perinatal survival in these fetuses, particularly those with poor predicted prognoses. Further research in the form of a multicenter randomized controlled trial is required to assess the short- and long-term effects of this intervention.