Interpregnancy interval and perinatal outcomes across Latin America from 1990 to 2009: a large multi-country study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship of interpregnancy interval with maternal and offspring outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective study with data from the Perinatal Information System database of the Latin American Centre for Perinatology and Human Development, Uruguay. SETTING: Latin America, 1990-2009. POPULATION: A cohort of 894 476 women delivering singleton infants. METHODS: During 1990-2009 the Perinatal Information System database of the Latin American Centre for Perinatology identified 894 476 women with defined interpregnancy intervals: i.e. the time elapsed between the date of the previous delivery and the first day of the last normal menstrual period for the index pregnancy. Using the interval 12-23 months as the reference category, multiple logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of the association between various interval lengths and maternal and offspring outcomes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal death, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, puerperal infection, fetal death, neonatal death, preterm birth, and low birthweight. RESULTS: In the reference interval there was 0.05% maternal death, 1.00% postpartum haemorrhage, 2.80% pre-eclampsia, 0.15% eclampsia, 0.28% puerperal infection, 3.45% fetal death, 0.68% neonatal death, 12.33% preterm birth, and 9.73% low birthweight. Longer intervals had increased odds of pre-eclampsia (>72 months), fetal death (>108-119 months), and low birthweight (96-107 months). Short intervals of <12 months had increased odds of pre-eclampsia (aOR 0.80; 95% CI 0.76-0.85), neonatal death (aOR 1.18; 95% CI 1.08-1.28), and preterm birth (aOR 1.16; 95% CI 1.11-1.21). Statistically, the interval had no relationship with maternal death, eclampsia, and puerperal infection. CONCLUSIONS: A short interpregnancy interval of <12 months is associated with pre-eclampsia, neonatal mortality, and preterm birth, but not with other maternal or offspring outcomes. Longer intervals of >72 months are associated with pre-eclampsia, fetal death, and low birthweight, but not with other maternal or offspring outcomes. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: A short interpregnancy interval of <12 months is associated with neonatal mortality and preterm birth.

Ultrasonic patterns of intrauterine fetal growth in a Latin American country.

Head circumference and its cross-sectional area, biparietal and fronto-occipital diameters, abdominal circumference and its cross-sectional area, and the transverse and anteroposterior diameters were measured in 30 healthy single fetuses from normal pregnancies by means of ultrasound. The 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles of distance and velocity curves are described. The comparison of the values of a perimeter (abdominal or cephalic) measured directly from the photograph or calculated by the ellipse formula, showed a straight correlation. The use of the ellipse formula in current practice may simplify and reduce the cost of this technology.

Vertical position during the first stage of the course of labor, and neonatal outcome.

This study included 369 normal term labors. In 145 cases the women were sitting, standing or walking at will during the first stage, whereas 224 remained lying in bed during the whole labor. When the mother remains in the 'vertical position during the first stage of labor (1) the physiological timing of the spontaneous rupture of membranes is not altered, (2) duration of the first stage is shortened in 25%--this shortening may reach 34% in the nulliparas, (3) cephalic molding is not increased, (4) the incidence of forceps delivery diminishes and (5) perinatal morbimortality is not increased.

Interpregnancy interval and perinatal outcomes across Latin America from 1990 to 2009: a large multi-country study

Objective: To determine the relationship of interpregnancy interval with maternal and offspring outcomes. Design: Retrospective study with data from the Perinatal Information System database of the Latin American Centre for Perinatology and Human Development, Uruguay. Setting: Latin America, 1990-2009. Population: A cohort of 894 476 women delivering singleton infants. Methods: During 1990-2009 the Perinatal Information System database of the Latin American Centre for Perinatology identified 894 476 women with defined interpregnancy intervals: i.e. the time elapsed between the date of the previous delivery and the first day of the last normal menstrual period for the index pregnancy. Using the interval 12-23 months as the reference category, multiple logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of the association between various interval lengths and maternal and offspring outcomes. Main outcome measures: Maternal death, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, puerperal infection, fetal death, neonatal death, preterm birth, and low birthweight. Results: In the reference interval there was 0.05% maternal death, 1.00% postpartum haemorrhage, 2.80% pre-eclampsia, 0.15% eclampsia, 0.28% puerperal infection, 3.45% fetal death, 0.68% neonatal death, 12.33% preterm birth, and 9.73% low birthweight. Longer intervals had increased odds of pre-eclampsia (>72 months), fetal death (>108-119 months), and low birthweight (96-107 months). Short intervals of <12 months had increased odds of pre-eclampsia (aOR 0.80; 95% CI 0.76-0.85), neonatal death (aOR 1.18; 95% CI 1.08-1.28), and preterm birth (aOR 1.16; 95% CI 1.11-1.21). Statistically, the interval had no relationship with maternal death, eclampsia, and puerperal infection. Conclusions: A short interpregnancy interval of <12 months is associated with pre-eclampsia, neonatal mortality, and preterm birth, but not with other maternal or offspring outcomes. Longer intervals of >72 months are associated with pre-eclampsia, fetal death, and low birthweight, but not with other maternal or offspring outcomes. (AU)

Intrauterine and extrauterine growth of cranial perimeter in term and preterm infants. A longitudinal study.

In this study a cranial perimeter curve was established from 13 weeks of gestation to 6 months of postnatal life. Thirty cases were studied. The intrauterine section of the curve was derived from data obtained weekly by echography. The tenth and fiftieth percentiles of fetal measurements were greater than those described by other authors, who established intrauterine growth curves with data obtained after pretermed delivery. This pattern was used to assess the cranial perimeter growth to six months of corrected age in 48 preterm neonates of appropriate weight. Their values were below the standard at birth, reaching the normal measures on the expected date of confinement.

Estimation of gestational age by the length of the dorsal spine.

Gestational age assessed by dorsal spine length (DSL) was compared with that based on date of the last menstrual period (LMP). This study was performed in 70 newborn infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit requiring chest radiography, by which dorsal spine length was measured (figure 1). Gestational age ranged from 23 to 42 weeks. Regression analysis were performed on DSL and gestational age. Estimation error was evaluated based on the percentage of agreement in weeks (validity) and the difference in averages between both methods (accuracy) (table I and figure 2). Variations during the first week of life were also studied and no significant differences were found. For infants born at 31 weeks or less, DSL overestimated gestational age in one week. There was no differences between 32 and 36 weeks, and over 37 weeks, underestimation was one week (figure 3). With this correction a table was built estimating gestational age for different DSL; percentage of agreement was 91.4% for +/- 3 weeks (table III). This methodology assists the clinician to evaluate gestational age by an objective method, that does not vary during the first week of life and that can be obtained retrospectively.

Arterial blood pressure standards during normal pregnancy and their relation with mother-fetus variables.

The purpose of our work was to study blood pressure variations during pregnancy in a normal Latin American population from Argentina and Uruguay; to investigate blood pressure variations according to maternal age, parity, or pregnancy weight gain; and to correlate diastolic blood pressure levels in the last trimester of pregnancy with newborn birth weight. This prospective study included follow-up throughout gestation of 249 normal pregnant women (129 nulliparous and 120 multiparous) with a weekly blood pressure control under the same experimental conditions. Our results demonstrate that there is only a low correlation between maternal age and diastolic blood pressure, but no correlation was found with systolic blood pressure; maternal weight gain correlates with blood pressure changes; no correlation was found between gestational age and blood pressure, although an increasing tendency in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was found toward the end of gestation; and a significant correlation was observed between birth weight and average diastolic blood pressure during the third trimester. These findings demonstrate the potential significance of the use of standard blood pressure data from normal pregnant women for the future clinical evaluation of our population.

Small for dates: evaluation of different diagnostic methods.

Ninety-four high-risk pregnancies were studied weekly in a prospective and longitudinal study. Uterine height, biparietal diameter (BPD), cranial perimeter (CrP) and abdominal perimeter (AbP) were measured. Amniotic fluid volume (AFV) was assessed. Of the sample selected, 58 neonates were appropriate for gestational age and 36 were small-for-date (17 symmetrical and 19 asymmetrical). The sensitivity values in diagnosis of small-for-dates were: 67% for BPD, 42% for CrP, 94% for AbP, 56% for Uterine Height and 28% for AFV. The specificity for the five variables ranged from about 91% to 100%. If we consider symmetrical and asymmetrical retardation separately, the sensitivity values for the former were: 94%, 77%, 100%, 77% and 24% for BPD, CrP, AbP, Uterine Height and AFV respectively. For symmetrical retardation, the sensitivity values were: 43%, 11%, 90%, 37% and 32% for BPD, CrP, AbP, Uterine Height and AFV respectively. The fetal cranial measurements were the only ones to demonstrate a different pattern of evolution in symmetrical and asymmetrical small-for-dates. This is therefore a useful measurement in making a differential diagnosis between both retardations. The earliest diagnoses were made in the symmetrical small-for-date group.

Oxygen transport in newborns at different gestational ages.

Oxygen (O2) transport was assessed through the affinity between O2 and hemoglobin (Hb) in 123 newborns of 28 to 40 week gestational ge, with a minimum of 9 newborns for each gestational age group (see table). In order to assess the O2-Hb affinity, we studied the correlation between the pO2 and the Hb saturation for each gestational age, obtaining estimates of the oxy-hemoglobin dissociation curves corresponding to each gestational age (see fig. 3). The pO2 levels corresponding to the 50% saturation (P50) for each gestational age were estimated from there. All newborns were from single vaginal deliveries with no fetal distress before birth and with an adequate weight for gestational age. The latter was calculated according to the date of the last menstrual period (78% of the cases), echography (10.6% of the cases) or neonatal physical exam (11.4% of the cases). A P50 vs. gestational age linear regression showed a high determination rate (r2 = 0.957, p less than 0.00001) (see fig. 2) which supports the hypothesis of the P50 linear growth; decrease in the Hb-O2 affinity with increasive gestational age (Hb-O2 affinity is different in newborns of different gestational ages). With these results one may conclude that the Hb-O2 uptake varies according to gestational age (P50 changes linearly as gestational age increases) and that a single measurement of pO2 in a newborns, blood does not accurately evaluate the amount of O2 that is transported to the tissues, because the transport capacity depends, among other factors, upon gestational age. The Hb saturation better represents the amount of O2 that can get to the cell level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Sistema Informático Perinatal (SIP): programas utilitarios y diagrama de redes: instrucciones de configuración del sistema

Las nuevas versiones de los programas del Sistema Informático Perinatal han sido preparadas para funcionar conformando una red hospitalaria, regional o nacional según diferentes modelos de complejidad. Esta nueva posibilidad facilita el flujo de información entre niveles para la major atención de la gestante y recién nacido, así como también para la gestión del sector, permitiendo centralizar bases de datos con información actualizada para evaluación y toma de decisiones de manera oportuna...

Saúde Sexual e Reprodutiva: Guias para a Atenção Continuada da Mulher e do Recém-Nascido focalizadas na APS

[Extraído do Prólogo]. "O presente manual tem como antecedente o livro “Atendimento Pré-natal e Parto de Baixo Risco”, que foi publicado pelo CLAP em 1995, sendo atualizado em todos os assuntos e com o seu enfoque ampliado, aprofundando os conteúdos dos cuidados pré-gestacionais com um critério de promoção e de prevenção que procura melhorar o estado de saúde da mulher, do seu parceiro e do seu filho/a, com medidas relativamente simples. Incorpora também novos aspectos sobre planejamento familiar com um enfoque de direitos, onde é incluída a anticoncepção de emergência e o conceito de atendimento integral para evitar as oportunidades perdidas e melhorar a eficiência dos contatos do pessoal de saúde com a mulher e seu filho/a" .

Prediccion de la madurez pulmonar fetal por la imagen ecografica de la placenta / Prediction of fetal pulmonary maturity by placental ecographic imaging

Se estudiaron 171 embarazadas que tenian indicacion de amniocentesis para diagnosticar madurez pulmonar fetal. Anexo de la misma se clasifico la placenta en inmadura, intermedia y madura, considerando la caracteristica que mas superficie ocupaba de la plasenta. De los 123 embarazos de termino, 44 (35.8%) presentaron plancentas ecograficamente maduras y estas se asociaron en el 98%, 96%, 93% con la presencia de fosfolipidos en el liquido amniotico en toda la muestra, en menores de 37 semanas y en menores de 35 semanas respectivamente. con los recien nacidos cuyos partos se produjeron dentro de los 7 dias del examen, se calculo la eficacia diagnostica de la imagen ecografica de la placenta para predecir en forma antenatal la enfermedad de la membrana hialina (EMH), encontrandose que la placenta madura predecia en un 100% la ausencia de EMH. El procentaje de imagenes ecograficas de placentas maduras a diferentes edades gestacionales, solo es superado por la relacion L/E mayor o igual a 2

Prediccion de la madurez pulmonar fetal por la imagen ecografica de la placenta / Prediction of fetal pulmonary maturity by placental ecographic imaging

Se estudiaron 171 embarazadas que tenian indicacion de amniocentesis para diagnosticar madurez pulmonar fetal. Anexo de la misma se clasifico la placenta en inmadura, intermedia y madura, considerando la caracteristica que mas superficie ocupaba de la plasenta. De los 123 embarazos de termino, 44 (35.8%) presentaron plancentas ecograficamente maduras y estas se asociaron en el 98%, 96%, 93% con la presencia de fosfolipidos en el liquido amniotico en toda la muestra, en menores de 37 semanas y en menores de 35 semanas respectivamente. con los recien nacidos cuyos partos se produjeron dentro de los 7 dias del examen, se calculo la eficacia diagnostica de la imagen ecografica de la placenta para predecir en forma antenatal la enfermedad de la membrana hialina (EMH), encontrandose que la placenta madura predecia en un 100% la ausencia de EMH. El procentaje de imagenes ecograficas de placentas maduras a diferentes edades gestacionales, solo es superado por la relacion L/E mayor o igual a 2