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Objective: To examine whether a 3-day training course in motivational interviewing, which is an approach to helping people to change, could improve the communication skills of obstetric healthcare professionals in their interaction with obese pregnant women., Design: Intervention study., Setting: The Region of Southern Denmark., Methods: Eleven obstetric healthcare professionals working with obese pregnant women underwent a 3-day course in motivational interviewing techniques and were assessed before and after training to measure the impact on their overall performance as well as the effect on specific behavioral techniques observed during interviews., Findings: With a few exceptions, the participants changed their behavior appropriate to the motivational interviewing technique. The participants made more interventions towards the principles of motivational interviewing (adherent and nonadherent interventions). Furthermore, the participants asked fewer closed and more open questions before training in motivational interview. In the assessment of proficiency and competency, most of the participants scored higher after the training in motivational interviewing., Conclusions: Training in motivational interviewing improves healthcare professionals' proficiency and competency when communicating with obese pregnant women, albeit that the effect was not universal., (© 2014 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.)

Information about the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) World Congress 2015 held in Vancouver, British Columbia is presented. Topics include the contributions of Professor Ingemar Ingemarsson on obstetrics, the role of technology on the improvements of obstetric care and the prevention strategies for preterm and post-term labor. The speakers at the event include Christina Anne Winter, Bo Jacobsson and Jan Stener Jorgensen.

The article discusses the highlights of the 2nd Nordic Congress on Obesity in Gynecology and Obstetrics (NOCOGO) held at Hindsgavl Conference Center in Middelfart, Denmark on August 27 to 29, 2015. The conference focused on the epidemiology of obesity globally and its influence on the pre-conceptional environment. Speakers included Philip James, Sven Cnattingius and Ronnie Lamont.

The article offers information on the First Nordic Conference on Obesity in Gynecology and Obstetrics (NOCOGO) that was held in Billund, Denmark from October 22-24, 2012. The aim of the conference was to increase interaction between obstetricians, gynecologists, nurses and midwives regarding to obesity due to its declining global nature. Several delegates nd speakers have participated in the conference including Pernille T. Jensen, Ronnie Lamont and Christina Vinter.

Hypovitaminosis D is common in pregnancy. To systematically review the evidence on vitamin D-dependent pregnancy outcomes, PubMed and Embase were searched for randomized control trials, cohort and case-control studies. In randomized control trials ( n = 7), larger doses of vitamin D resulted in higher 25-hydroxylated vitamin D (25OHD) levels ( n = 6), increased maternal weight gain ( n = 1), and fewer classical vitamin D deficiency symptoms ( n = 1). In observational studies ( n = 32), lower vitamin D intake, or low 25OHD-levels, were associated with adverse fertility parameters ( n = 2), preeclampsia ( n = 5), gestational diabetes or higher blood glucose ( n = 6), bacterial vaginosis ( n = 4), primary cesarean section ( n = 1), none ( n = 3) or a few days' ( n = 2) shorter gestation, and postpartum depression ( n = 1). Studies with few participants having low 25OHD did not identify an association to preeclampsia ( n = 5) or gestational diabetes ( n = 2). Increased odds of pregnancy-associated breast cancer with 25OHD >25.8 nmol/L were observed ( n = 1). In conclusion, an effect of vitamin D on several pregnancy outcomes is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are used for contraception worldwide; however, the management of pregnancies with an IUD poses a clinical challenge. The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of pregnancy in patients with an IUD. Study design: A retrospective cohort study (December 1997–June 2007) was conducted. The cohort consisted of 12,297 pregnancies, of which 196 had an IUD. Only singleton pregnancies were included. Logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for potential confounders between the groups. Results: 1) Pregnancies with an IUD were associated with a higher rate of late miscarriage, preterm delivery, vaginal bleeding, clinical chorioamnionitis, and placental abruption than those without an IUD; 2) among patients with available histologic examination of the placenta, the rate of histologic chorioamnionitis and/or funisitis was higher in patients with an IUD than in those without an IUD (54.2% vs. 14.7%; P<0.001). Similarly, among patients who underwent an amniocentesis, the prevalence of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC) was also higher in pregnant women with an IUD than in those without an IUD (45.9% vs. 8.8%; P<0.001); and 3) intra-amniotic infection caused by Candida species was more frequently present in pregnancies with an IUD than in those without an IUD (31.1% vs. 6.3%; P<0.001). Conclusion: Pregnant women with an IUD are at a very high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This finding can be attributed, at least in part, to the high prevalence of intra-amniotic infection and placental inflammatory lesions observed in pregnancies with an IUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 7th and 13th Study Groups of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists met in 1977 and 1985, respectively, no meeting of this magnitude has convened to discuss the problems of spontaneous preterm labour and delivery and the associated fetomaternal mortality and morbidity. In the 17 years or so since that time, advances have been made in our understanding of the mechanisms of labour, the role of infection, the benefit of antepartum corticosteroids and the development of safer more specific tocolytics. In the future, an understanding of the genetic risk of spontaneous preterm labour and preterm birth is essential, particularly with respect to the predisposition to produce potentially damaging pro-inflammatory cytokines. The examination of the tissue damage will require pathologists specifically trained in perinatal pathology if the aetiology is to be ascertained and future management tailored to the risks. A greater understanding of fetomaternal immunology and response to antigen exposure in pregnancy may help us to understand which fetomaternal pairs are at greatest risk of responding by delivering preterm, with greater or lesser tissue damage than others with similar risk. Specifically, the relation between spontaneous preterm labour and proteinuric pre-eclampsia with their common immunology, inflammatory response and tissue damage leading to either spontaneous preterm labour or iatrogenic preterm birth will need to be addressed. This meeting has been very clinically and obstetrically orientated, in future we will need to involve epidemiologists, neonatologists, microbiologists, genito-urinary medicine physicians, immunologists, geneticists, biochemists, physiologists and endocrinologists. Although spontaneous preterm labour and preterm birth are the major causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity in the developed world, the definition and management protocols for spontaneous preterm labour varies from unit to unit and country to country. A process has already begun, hopefully fuelled by this meeting and those attending, to develop an international consensus on definitions and evidence-based practical guidelines on the management of spontaneous preterm labour. Perhaps in the longer term it may be possible to influence standards of care, outcome measures and training across international boundaries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

When a life is lost or severely impaired during childbirth, the midwife and obstetrician involved may experience feelings of guilt in the aftermath. Through three empirical cases, the paper examines the sense of guilt in the context of the current patient safety culture in healthcare where a blame-free approach is promoted in the aftermath of adverse events. The purpose is to illustrate how healthcare professionals may experience guilt without being at fault after adverse events, and Gamlund's theory on forgiveness without blame is used as the theoretical framework for this analysis. Philosophical insight has proven to be a useful resource in dealing with psychological issues of guilt and Gamlund's view on error and forgiveness elucidates an interesting dilemma in the field of traumatic events and medical harm in healthcare, where healthcare professionals experience that well-intended actions may cause injury, harm or even death to their patients. Failing to recognise and acknowledge guilt or guilty feelings may preclude self-forgiveness, which could have a negative impact on the recovery of midwives and obstetricians after adverse events. Developing and improving support systems for healthcare professionals is a multi-factorial task, and the authors suggest that the narrow focus on medico-legal and patient safety perspectives is complemented with moral philosophical perspectives to promote non-judgemental recognition and acknowledgement of guilt and of the fallible nature of medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]