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Objectives: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates an average maternal mortality rate (MMR) of around 3.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for 2019-2021, based on relevant diagnoses on death certificates. However, Germany does not currently have a registry for recording the number of maternal deaths. The aim of this study is to identify the actual number of maternal deaths in Berlin between 2019 and 2022, as well as sources of underreporting and causes of death., Methods: Potential maternal mortality cases were identified through a search at the Berlin Central Archive for Death Certificates, inquiring women aged 15-50 years with indications of present or recent pregnancy on the death certificate. To cross match the database, an additional search at the Charité University Hospital Berlin was carried out, checking each individual file for pregnancy-association., Results: The data search resulted in 2,316 women, 18 of which presented an association to pregnancy. Of these, 12 could be classified as maternal mortality cases (MMR 7.8/100,000). The additional search in a university setting revealed two further maternal mortality cases without prior indication of pregnancy on the death certificate. This results in a total MMR of 9.1/100,000 live births, which is over double the official estimate by the OECD., Conclusions: Based on our findings in Berlin, it can be estimated that there is significant underreporting regarding maternal death cases in Germany. A more comprehensive recording system is needed to more accurately portray maternal mortality., (© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

First-trimester screening between 11 + 0 and 13 + 6 weeks with qualified prenatal counseling, detailed ultrasound, biochemical markers and maternal factors has become the basis for decisions about further examinations. It detects numerous structural and genetic anomalies. The inclusion of uterine artery Doppler and PlGF screens for preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Low-dose aspirin significantly reduces the prevalence of severe preterm eclampsia. Cut-off values define groups of high, intermediate and low probability. Prenatal counseling uses detection and false-positive rates to work out the individual need profile and the corresponding decision: no further diagnosis/screening - cell-free DNA screening - diagnostic procedure and genetic analysis. In pre-test counseling it must be recognized that the prevalence of trisomy 21, 18 or 13 is low in younger women, as in submicroscopic anomalies in every maternal age. Even with high specificities, the positive predictive values of screening tests for rare anomalies are low. In the general population trisomies and sex chromosome aneuploidies account for approximately 70 % of anomalies recognizable by conventional genetic analysis. Screen positive results of cfDNA tests have to be proven by diagnostic procedure and genetic diagnosis. In cases of inconclusive results a higher rate of genetic anomalies is detected. Procedure-related fetal loss rates after chorionic biopsy and amniocentesis performed by experts are lower than 1 to 2 in 1000. Counseling should include the possible detection of submicroscopic anomalies by comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH). At present, existing studies about screening for microdeletions and duplications do not provide reliable data to calculate sensitivities, false-positive rates and positive predictive values., Competing Interests: U Gembruch participated 2013 – 2015 in a clinical follow-up study on PraenaTest supported by LifeCodexx.KO Kagan runs a prospective study on cfDNA supported by Ariosa.T Schramm is member of Scientic Advisory Board at GE Healthcare Viewpoint., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose: The German maternity record (GMR, "Mutterpass") is the most important document for pregnant women and their health care providers during antenatal care. While the serological and ultrasound sections have been updated regularly, the document's catalogue of pre-existing factors has remained unaltered since 1986. We investigated whether a health-focused revision of the GMR would serve the needs of pregnant women and their care providers., Methods: A revised version of the Mutterpass was developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts, focusing on health and salutogenesis. The new document highlights the uncomplicated pregnancy, and gives pregnant women the opportunity to make their own notes and to choose an appropriate place of birth after consultation with the doctor or midwife. These changes were developed within the requirements of the latest version of the German maternity guidelines (GMG) mandatory during the revision process. To test for user-friendliness and acceptance, 23 persons--8 consultants, 7 midwives and 8 pregnant women--were asked to evaluate the revised GMR. Comments could be entered in the GMR itself and in an electronic survey. Notes in the GMR (n=296 comments) were assigned to one of 7 categories (e. g. general comments, structural aspects) by 2 reviewers. After 6 weeks one of the reviewers repeated her evaluation., Results: 20 of the 23 persons approached wrote comments in the document, 19 participated in the electronic survey. Consultants and midwives predominantly stated that they would prefer to work with the revised GMR (92%). Pregnant women appreciated the space for their own notes (83%). Most respondents (90%) had a good general impression. Inter-observer agreement was kappa=0.43, intra-observer agreement kappa=0.55., Conclusions: This health-focused version of the German maternity record is a first step towards optimising maternity records in Germany. Future investigations should consider revisions going beyond the content of the mandatory guidelines., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Prenatal care in Germany is based on a nationwide standardized program of care for pregnant women. Besides support and health counseling, it comprises prevention or early detection of diseases or unfavorable circumstances with risks for mother and child. Prenatal care is regulated by law and structured by directives and standard procedures in maternity guidelines (Mutterschafts-Richtlinien). This includes information and counseling of future mothers on offers of psychosocial and medical assistance in normal pregnancies as well as in unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. Further aspects are clinical examinations and risk determinations for genetic variations or direct genetic analysis. During pregnancy, medical history, clinical examination, and blood testing are part of the sophisticated program, which includes at least three standardized sonographic examinations at 10, 20, and 30 weeks of gestation. The maternity passport allows a pregnant woman to carry the most relevant information on her pregnancy and her personal risks with her. For 45 years now, women in Germany are used to carrying their Mutterpass. Societal changes have influenced the central goals of maternity care: In the beginning, the mortality of mother and child had to be reduced. Today, maternal morbidity and impaired development of the child are the center of interest, with expansion to familial satisfaction. The reduction in the mortality and morbidity of both the mother and the child during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum can be attributed to prenatal care. Thus, investment in a program of nationwide structured prenatal care seems to be worthwhile-despite the lack of evidence concerning its effectiveness.

Diet and physical activity before and during pregnancy affect short- and long-term health of mother and child. The energy needs at the end of pregnancy increase only by about 10% compared to nonpregnant women. An excessive energy intake is undesirable since maternal overweight and excessive weight gain can increase the risks for a high birth weight and later child overweight and diabetes. Maternal weight at the beginning of pregnancy is especially important for pregnancy outcome and child health. Women should strive to achieve normal weight already before pregnancy. Regular physical activity can contribute to a healthy weight and to the health of pregnant women. The need for certain nutrients increases more than energy requirements. Before and during pregnancy, foods with a high content of essential nutrients should be preferentially selected. Supplements should include folic acid and iodine, iron (in case of suboptimal iron stores), the ω-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (in case of infrequent consumption of ocean fish) and vitamin D (in case of decreased sun exposure and decreased endogenous vitamin D synthesis). Pregnant women should not smoke and not stay in rooms where others smoke or have smoked before (passive smoking). Alcohol consumption should be avoided, since alcohol can harm unborn children.

Background: There is an increasing trend towards delivery before 39 weeks of gestational age. The short- and long-term effects of early delivery on the infant have only recently received scientific attention., Methods: Selective review of the literature, Results: Delivery at any time before 39 weeks is associated with significantly higher infant mortality and with an increase of the risk of impairments after birth from 8% to 11%. The increase in risks of various kinds is disproportionately more pronounced the earlier the child is delivered. For example, the risk of needing respiratory support or artificial ventilation after birth increases from 0.3% with delivery at 39-41 weeks of gestational age to 1.4% at 37 weeks and 10% at 35 weeks, while the risk of death or neurological complications increases from 0.15% at 39-41 weeks of gestation to 0.66% at 35 weeks. Delivery at 34.0 to 36.6 weeks of gestation also has long-term effects. Compared to delivery at term, the frequency of cerebral palsy rises threefold, from 0.14% to 0.43%; the risk of death in early adulthood rises by about half, from 0.046 to 0.065%; and the risk of dependence on government benefits in early adulthood also rises by about half, from 1.7% to 2.5%., Conclusion: Studies from the USA have shown that the number of medically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks can be lowered by 70% to 80% through consistently applied measures for quality improvement. If similar results could be achieved in Germany, the iatrogenic complications of delivery would become less common in this country as well.

Nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle in pregnancy influence maternal and child health. The "Healthy start - Young Family Network" supported by the German Government with the national action plan IN FORM developed recommendations on nutrition in pregnancy. Folic acid supplements (400 µg/day) should be started before pregnancy and continue for at least the first trimester. Iodine rich foods and salt and an iodine supplement (100-150 µg/day) are recommended. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids should be provided with ≥ 1 weekly portion of oily sea fish, or a DHA-supplement if regular fish consumption is avoided. Vitamin D supplementation is advisable unless there is regular exposure to sunlight. Iron supplements should be used based on medical history and blood testing. Vegetarian diets with nutritional supplements can provide adequate nutrition, but counselling is recommended. In contrast, a vegan diet is inadequate and requires additional micronutrient supplementation. For risk reduction of listeriosis and toxoplasmosis, raw animal foods, soft cheeses and packed fresh salads should be avoided; fresh fruit, vegetables and salad should be washed well and consumed promptly. Pregnant women should remain physically active and perform sports with moderate intensity. They should avoid alcohol, active and passive smoking. Up to 3 daily cups of coffee are considered harmless, but energy drinks should be avoided. Childhood allergy is not reduced by avoiding certain foods in pregnancy whereas oily sea fish is recommended. Health care professions should lead parents to health-promoting lifestyles. Subjects of part 1 of the article are practice recommendations on nutrition, on energy needs, micronutrient needs and body weight/weight gain in pregnancy., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objectives: Is out-of-hospital vaginal birth at a birth center safe for women with a previous cesarean section? Do their maternal or neonatal outcomes vary significantly from those of a "non-cesarean" control group?, Study Design: Retrospective evaluation of prospectively collected data on documented singleton births (cephalic presentation, >34/0 weeks of gestation), all of which were second births, occurring between 2000 and 2004 in 1 of 80 German birth centers. Births that occurred in the birth center or when labor had started in the birth center prior to transfer were included for analysis., Results: Three hundred and sixty four women (5.3%) had a previous cesarean. The control group included 6448 parae II with no previous cesarean. Significant differences (p<0.05) between these two groups included: the transfer rate of mothers from a birth center to a hospital clinic during labor, the number of emergency transfers, the method of delivery (repeat cesarean), and the Apgar score at 5 min

Purpose: Are there differences regarding important perinatal outcome-parameters in Berlin relating to ethnicity?, Patients and Methods: A database was available covering 152,193 single deliveries in all hospitals in Berlin/Germany in the period 1993-1999, including 132,555 German women and 19,638 women of other ethnicities. Comparisons were made between a total of four pairs of sub-groups matched in terms of parity and social status (significance level P < 0.01)., Results: Pregnant migrants come for their first antenatal check-up significantly later, thus delaying the initiation of necessary diagnostic or therapeutic measures. Migrants show higher rates of prepartal and also postpartal anemia than the German women. In all sub-groups the German women had a significantly higher frequency of planned cesarean sections. Migrants were significantly less likely to receive an epidural anesthesia during delivery. It is also noticeable that the rate of congenital malformations of neonates is significantly higher in the migrant collectives., Conclusions: Important perinatal quality parameters such as infant and maternal mortality and rates of premature delivery have largely converged between German and Turkish migrant mothers. The differences found (e.g., rates of planned cesarean section, epidural anesthesia, or anemia) could be interpreted as indications of persistent differences in quality of care for migrants.

Question: The purpose of this investigation is to find any differences between important maternal and infantile perinatal data from a clinic and a birth center group. Is the perinatal and/or maternal mortality in the birth center group higher? What influence do different socioeconomic factors have on the clinic group?, Patients and Methods: We have carried out a retrospective comparison of the obstetric parameters from all birth center deliveries in the states Berlin and Bavaria for the years 1999 and 2000 (n = 3,060) and the perinatal data investigations of selected clinical groups of both states (n = 55,875)., Results: Objective parameters in both groups regarding week of potation at delivery, parity, age of pregnant women, infantile measures, primi- and multiparae and Apgar scales were comparable. There are significant differences in the delivery mode (spontaneous deliveries: birth centers > clinics; operative deliveries: birth centers < clinics), in blood loss over 1,000 ml (birth centers > clinics), in the episiotomy and perineal tear rate (birth centers < clinics), in the infantile transfer rate to a neonatology unit (birth centers < clinics) and in the frequency of necessary neonatological measures in the neonate (birth centers > clinics). The perinatal and maternal mortality in the groups were similar. Within the clinical group the socioeconomic status and a background of immigration had no significant influence on the perinatal data., Conclusion: The retrospective data show that the more "invasive" clinical obstetrics leads to a similar postnatal condition of the neonates in comparison to the birth house group. Further comparative studies over several years are necessary to make statements about the occurrence of rare risks and maternal mortality in the free-standing birth center groups.

In 1946 the share of clinic deliveries in the Soviet occupation zone amounted to 27 %, 1970 the given share of clinic deliveries in the GDR come to 99 %. From the beginning of the seventies home deliveries were not listed any more in the official statistics. After that neither the home obstetrics nor the family orientated clinical obstetrics took a larger space in the scientific discussions in the specialist public of the GDR. The following will show the development of the extraclinical obstetrics on the territory of the GDR as well as describe and discuss its medical and social context from the end of the forties until 1989. Usually in the (critical) reflections of the revival of home resp. extraclinical obstetrics in the eighties and nineties only the development in the "old" Federal Republic is taken into consideration. A description of the medicohistorical development in the former GDR in order to complete the all-German way of looking at this phenomenon was still due until now.

Objective: To compare the management of Caucasian women with gestational diabetes (GDM) based predominantly on monthly fetal growth ultrasound examinations with an approach based solely on maternal glycemia., Research Design and Methods: Women with GDM who attained fasting capillary glucose (FCG) <120 mg/dl and 2-h postprandial capillary glucose (2h-CG) <200 mg/dl after 1 week of diet were randomized to management based on maternal glycemia alone (standard) or glycemia plus ultrasound. In the standard group, insulin was initiated if FCG was repeatedly >90 mg/dl or 2h-CG was >120 mg/dl. In the ultrasound group, thresholds were 120 and 200 mg/dl, respectively, or a fetal abdominal circumference >75th percentile (AC>p75). Outcome criteria were rates of C-section, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) or large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants, neonatal hypoglycemia (<40 mg/dl), and neonatal care admission., Results: Maternal characteristics and fetal AC>p75 (36.0 vs. 38.4%) at entry did not differ between the standard (n = 100) and ultrasound groups (n = 99). Assignment to (30.0 vs. 40.4%) and mean duration of insulin treatment (8.3 vs. 8.1 weeks) did not differ between groups. In the ultrasound group, AC>p75 was the sole indication for insulin. The ultrasound-based strategy, as compared with the maternal glycemia-only strategy, resulted in a different treatment assignment in 34% of women. Rates of C-section (19.0 vs. 18.2%), LGA (10.0 vs. 12.1%), SGA (13.0 vs. 12.1%), hypoglycemia (16.0 vs. 17.0%), and admission (15.0 vs. 14.1%) did not differ significantly., Conclusions: GDM management based on fetal growth combined with high glycemic criteria provides outcomes equivalent to management based on strict glycemic criteria alone. Inclusion of fetal growth might provide the opportunity to reduce glucose testing in low-risk pregnancies.

In a more broader sense guidelines are generally available recommendations for physicians. Ideally, they describe treatment and decision pathways. Most guidelines for obstetrics published by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF, http://leitlinien.net) do not fulfill the quality requirements of the Agency for Quality in Medicine (AQuMed, http://www.aezq.de) in either their goals or their formal presentation. Currently, clinical practice is guided by a consensus of existing expert opinions. Obstetric guidelines are poorly developed at level 1. It is uncertain whether additional scientific evidence can improve already published guidelines. Nonetheless, existing guidelines should be re-evaluated and revised regularly--as has been done in some instances.