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Objective: The main objective of the present study was to determine whether the summer season is a risk factor for oligohydramnios, by comparing the frequency of oligohydramnios during the summer months versus its frequency during the rest of the year., Methods: A retrospective population-based study including all pregnancies of patients with oligohydramnios that delivered during the years 1988-2007 in a tertiary medical center was performed. All non-idiopathic causes for oligohydramnios were excluded from the analysis. Summer months were defined as May to August. A multiple logistic regression model was performed in order to control for confounders., Results: During the study period, there were 191,558 deliveries of which 4,335 were diagnosed with oligohydramnios. Of these, 1,553 deliveries occurred during the summer months and 2,782 deliveries occurred during the rest of the year. Higher rates of oligohydramnios were found in the summer months as compared to the rest of the year: 2.5 versus 2.1%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.3; P < 0.001. Using a multiple logistic regression model, controlling for confounding variables such as ethnicity, the summer season was noted as an independent risk factor for oligohydramnios (OR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.02-1.21; P < 0.001). Another independent risk factor for oligohydramnios was Bedouin ethnicity (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.2-1.4; P = 0.015)., Conclusions: Oligohydramnios is significantly more common during the summer months versus the rest of the year. Moreover, the summer season is an independent risk factor for oligohydramnios.

In this descriptive prospective study, 269 African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian women from rural prenatal clinics were interviewed once between 16 and 28 weeks' gestation. Associations between biopsychosocial risk factors and preterm birth (PTB) were examined. African American women with spontaneous PTB were more likely to be older, and to have higher Bowman Gray Risk Index scores and hypertensive diseases of pregnancy than African American women who did not have a spontaneous PTB. There were significant differences in bacterial vaginosis, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, smoking, social support from others, and self-esteem among the three racial groups. In the total sample after adjustment for sociodemographic and biopsychosocial factors, women with spontaneous PTB were three times more likely to be African American, to have oligohydramnios, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, and had higher Bowman Gray Risk Index scores than the total sample of women without spontaneous PTB. Understanding the risks associated with spontaneous PTBs that are unique to African American women and why biopsychosocial risk factors vary by racial/ethnic group may lead to tailored interventions.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare maternal and neonatal morbidity among Somali immigrants, US-born blacks and whites in Washington state., Study Design: Washington state birth certificate data was linked to hospital discharge records comparing singleton deliveries among Somali immigrants with US-born blacks and whites between 1993 and 2001, in a 1:3 ratio. Outcomes were compared using unconditional multiple logistic regression models calculating odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs)., Results: Five hundred seventy-nine pregnancies from Somali women were compared with 2384 and 2435 pregnancies from black and white women, respectively. Nulliparous Somali women were more likely to have a cesarean delivery than black or white control women, OR 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.3) and 2.0 (95% CI, 1.4-2.8), respectively. Among all women who had cesarean deliveries, Somali women more commonly had cesarean deliveries associated with fetal distress and failed induction of labor. They were 9 times more likely than both control groups to deliver after 42 weeks gestation, and 4 times more likely than black women and 8 times more likely than white women to have oligohydramnios. Somali women were more likely to have gestational diabetes and significant perineal lacerations, and less likely to smoke. Newborns of Somali women were at increased risk for prolonged hospitalization, lower 5-minute Apgar scores, assisted ventilation, and meconium aspiration., Conclusion: Pregnancy outcomes should be evaluated within ethnically and culturally unique groups; Somali immigrants are a high-risk subpopulation.