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Objectives To examine the association between prior chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections and adverse obstetric outcomes. Methods Records of women resident in New South Wales, Australia with a singleton first birth during 1999-2008 were linked to chlamydia and gonorrhoea notifications using probabilistic linkage. Obstetric outcomes and potential confounders were ascertained from the birth record. Logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounders was used to estimate the association between a disease notification prior to the birth and adverse birth outcomes: spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB), small for gestational age (SGA) and stillbirth. Results Among 354 217 women, 1.0% (n=3658) had a prior chlamydia notification; 0.06% (n=196) had a prior gonorrhoea notification. The majority of notifications (>80%) occurred before the estimated conception date. 4.1% of women had a SPTB, 12.1% had a SGA baby and 0.6% of women had a stillbirth. Among women with a prior chlamydia notification, the risk of SPTB and stillbirth was increased, aOR 1.17 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.37) and aOR 1.40 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.96) respectively but there was no association with SGA, aOR 0.99 (95% CI 0.89 to 1.09). For women with gonorrhoea the risks for SPTB, stillbirth and SGA were respectively aOR 2.50 (95% CI 1.39 to 4.50), 2.35 (95% CI 0.58 to 9.56) and 0.98 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.68). Among women with a prior chlamydia diagnosis, the risk of SPTB did not differ between women diagnosed >1 year prior to conception, within the year prior to conception or during the pregnancy, (p=0.9). Conclusions Sexually transmissible infections in pregnancy and the preconception period may be important in predicting pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of hands and knees position and pelvic rocking exercises on the incidence of fetal occiput posterior position at birth. Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial. Setting: Seven maternity units in New South Wales, Australia, encompassing teaching hospitals and district general hospitals. Participants: 2547 pregnant women at 37 weeks' gestation; 1292 randomised to the intervention group and 1255 to the control group. Intervention: Hands and knees position and pelvic rocking exercises from 37 weeks' gestation until the onset of labour. Main outcome measure: Incidence of fetal occiput posterior position at birth. Results: 1046 women in the intervention group and 1209 women in the control group remained in the study until they went into labour. No significant difference existed between the groups for the incidence of occiput posterior position at birth: 105 (8.1%) women in the intervention group and 98 (7.8%) in the control group had a baby in a posterior position at delivery (difference in risk 0.3%, 95% confidence interval -1.8 to 2.4). The incidence of fetal transverse arrest was 3.4% (44 women) in the intervention group and 3.0% (38 women) in the control group (difference in risk 0.4, - 1 to 1.7). No differences occurred between intervention and control groups for induction of labour, use of epidural, duration of labour, mode of delivery, use of episiotomy, or Apgar score. Conclusion: Hands and knees exercise with pelvic rocking from 37 weeks' gestation to the onset of labour did not reduce the incidence of persistent occiput posterior position at birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an abstract on the effects on pregnancy outcome of changing partners between first two births: prospective population study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: To study the association between coffee consumption during pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth and infant death in the first year of life. Design: Prospective follow up study. Setting: Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, 1989-96. Participants: 18 478 singleton pregnancies in women with valid information about coffee consumption during pregnancy. Main outcome measures: Stillbirth (delivery of a dead fetus at ≥28 weeks' gestation) and infant death (death of a liveborn infant during the first year of life). Results: Pregnant women who drank eight or more cups of coffee per day during pregnancy had an increased risk of stillbirth compared with women who did not drink coffee (odds ratio=3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.5 to 5.9). After adjustment for smoking habits and alcohol intake during pregnancy, the relative risk of stillbirth decreased slightly. Adjustment for parity, maternal age, marital status, years of education, occupational status, and body mass index did not substantially change the estimates of association. There was no significant association between coffee consumption and death in the first year of life after adjustment for smoking habits during pregnancy. Conclusion: Drinking coffee during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth but not with infant death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents various topics related to medicine. Comment on the antibiotic advertisement; Patterns of obstetric care; Association of iodochlorhydroxyquin and subacute myelo-optic neuropathy.

Examines the physical anthropology on the association between maternal height, shoe size and the outcome of labor among primigravid patients in Inverness, Scotland. Increase of caesarean rate of women with short stature; Insignificance of shoe size as clinical predictor for cephalopelvic disproportion possibilities; Absence of obstetric complications on trial of labor among primigravid patients.

Presents a longitudinal study on subfecundity and neonatal mortality within the Danish national birth cohort. Participants, methods and results; Findings that subfecundity may be associated with an increased risk of neonatal death and should be included as a risk indicator in neonatal care; Comment on the need for further study before it can be stated that a long time to pregnancy increases the risk of neonatal death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines whether spontaneous losses of early pregnancy are associated with maternal risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in later life. Participants, methods, and results; Conclusion that this study shows a specific association between spontaneous abortion and maternal risk of IHD in Scotland and that a woman's reproductive history might predict future cardiovascular risk.

Discusses whether obstetric complications explain high caesarean section rates among women over age 30. Methods; Results; Conclusion that the observed relation between maternal age and caesarean section cannot be explained by the obstetric complications considered in testing.

STUDY QUESTION Which variables at 15 and 20 weeks' gestation, particularly those amenable to modification before pregnancy, are associated with a subsequent uncomplicated pregnancy? SUMMARY ANSWER Normalising body mass index, increasing fruit intake before pregnancy, reducing blood pressure, stopping misuse of drugs, and being in paid employment are all associated with subsequent uncomplicated pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes findings of medical studies conducted as of November 13, 2010. A study published in the "Journal of Laryngology and Otology" determined the safety of an alternative to Epley's manoeuvre. A Chinese study of the relationship between the mode by which infants ar born and childhood psychopathology was published in the "BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology." The association between ischaemic stroke and coffee consumption in non-coffee drinkers was published in "Neurology."

The article answers a question about using vaginal ultrasonography to predict preterm birth in women who have been treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. A study by J. M. G. Crane and colleagues suggests vaginal ultrasonography could give a prognosis in women who had loop electrosurgical excision. Research methods are mentioned, as well as the significance of cone biopsy.

Answers a question about the effectiveness of progestational agents in preventing preterm birth. A study using systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials tested the hypothesis using 17α-hydroxyprogesterone and two other forms of progesterone; The conclusion is that progestins reduce the risk of preterm birth for women with a history of preterm birth or multiple spontaneous abortions.

Presents the views of an obstetrician about a therapeutic trial treating nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Management with first line treatments of diet and lifestyle changes, antihistamines, phenothiazines and other remedies; Details of the case involving Mrs. Reynolds, whose sickness began later in pregnancy than usual; Recommendation that possible causes of hypermesis be eliminated; Justification for an n of 1 trial.

Presents development related to medicine in Great Britain as of March 1994. Poem on obstetrical research; Prescription of drugs; Information on drug treatment.