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This paper is a review of the literature concerning the importance of social support during pregnancy. Being pregnant is a special event in every woman's life, since it is associated with physical and mental changes. In addition to being a physiological event, pregnancy creates a burden for the body and induces stress. Pregnant women tend to suffer from fear of the unknown, especially regarding: baby, themselves, course of delivery, the need for a new role - of a mother, economic, professional, emotional situations and relationship with partner. The diagnosis of high-risk pregnancy and the need for hospitalization increase the incidence of negative emotions and experiences such as: permanent anxiety about the child's life, anger, sadness, doubts about the diagnosis, fear of pregnancy complications, frustration and dissatisfaction with the implementation of the functions of maternal concerns during the stay in the hospital. Anxiety and fear that appear during pregnancy affect the attitude of women in pregnancy and after childbirth. Various authors frequently use the term 'pregnancy-specific stress'. There is a relationship between concerns, stress in the mother during pregnancy and lifestyle, duration of pregnancy, and the possible complications during intrauterine and neonatal life. Social support significantly influences the quality of coping with stress in pregnant women. If a pregnant woman receives strong social support from her network, the negative emotions and concerns would be reduced. Receiving support also boosts the chances of successful pregnancy completion. The people from the immediate social network of a pregnant woman, like their partner, spouse, family, friends, midwife, doctor, are the most vital source of support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Chromosomal abnormalities, one of the leading causes of pregnancy complications, attract attention of both researchers and clinicians. They use two approaches to identify chromosomal abnormalities, namely screening and diagnostic tests. Ultrasonography is a very reliable screening and diagnostic tool, but the only way to determine if there are any chromosomal defects in the fetus, is performing one of invasive diagnostics tests chorionic villus sampling (CVS), cordocentesis or amniocentesis. Unfortunately, these invasive diagnostic procedures carry a potentially high risk of complications. Using amniocentesis means a procedure-related miscarriage risk at a rate of about 0.5-1%. Aim. The aim of this paper was to present our own experience, results in performing amniocentesis and a review of the literature. Material and methods. During a 10-year period 237 mid-trimester, transabdominal amniocenteses were performed. Results. The follow-up revealed one spontaneous abortion within seven days after the procedure. Premature delivery occurred in fourteen cases (two of them with chromosomal abnormalities). No neonatal deaths related to amniocentesis were noticed. Chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 33 patients. Conclusions. In the group with chromosomal abnormalities the main indications to perform amniocentesis were: improper ultrasound scan and the first trimester biochemical, noninvasive screening tests. This is a proof that modern, non-invasive procedures like the first-trimester ultrasound scan and biochemical tests should be made available to every pregnant woman and not only to mothers' aged >35 years or those with a poor obstetrics history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preeklamsja, która dotyczy 2-5% ciężarnych, jest jedną z głównych przyczyn matczynej i perinatologicznej zacho-rowalności i śmiertelności. Współcześnie uznawaną teorią dotyczącą patogenezy stanu przedrzucawkowego jest hi-poteza zaburzeń w krążeniu matczyno-płodowym. W celu prognozowania wystąpienia stanu przedrzucawkowego po-szukuje się nieinwazyjnych metod diagnostycznych mogą-cych określić zwiększone ryzyko zachorowania. Badania dotyczące identyfikacji wczesnych markerów biochemicz-nych, opracowania algorytmu postępowania lub testu skri-ningowego trwają od wielu lat. Niniejsza praca przedsta-wia aktualny przegląd piśmiennictwa dotyczący osiągnięć w diagnostyce stanu przedrzucawkowego w ciąży. Preeclampsia, which affects 2-5% of pregnancies, is one of major causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Nowadays the leading hypothesis of pathogenesis of preeclampsia is the theory of dysfunction in maternal-fetal circulation. The aim of early identification of preeclampsia is to find non-invasive diagnostic methods that can determine the higher risk of morbidity rate. Research on early identification of biochemical markers, algorithm development or screening test is underway for many years. This paper presents a review of the literature on current developments in diagnostics ofpreeclampsia in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Pregnant women often create their own image of a child. The ultrasound is able to model and modify this picture. The image of the unborn child develops along with the process of creating the space for the baby on the psychological and emotional level and is continued after the delivery. Aim. The authors of the study made an attempt to evaluate the influence of fetal sex determination during ultrasound in pregnancy on emotional and 'practical' experiencing late pregnancy - after the 28th week of its duration. Material and methods. The study included 200 pregnant women. Qualification criteria for the research was the declared awareness of fetal sex confirmed by ultrasound. Among others, factors influencing decision to determine fetal sex, emotional bond with the unborn child after identifying the sex, as well as preparation for birth regarding prognosticated sex were assessed. Results. Nearly all pregnant women wanted to find out the fetal sex, usually claiming that they did so out of curiosity. After they did it, about 2/3 of them stated that the emotional bond with the baby increased and the vast majority of women started preparing layettes for their future babies. Conclusions. Determination of fetal sex during ultrasound improves the relationship between the mother and her future baby. It also enables the woman to prepare for childbirth considering its sex by the purchase of clothes, pram and preparation of layette or baby's room [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]