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This cohort study investigated whether letrozole versus hormone replacement therapy (HRT) results in higher live birth rate among anovulatory and oligoovulatory women in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. It was conducted from 1st February 2018 to 31st January 2019 and included 261 anovulatory and oligoovulatory women. Since letrozole has become an effective alternative to HRT cycles, 121 patients received letrozole in 121 cycles from 1st February 2018 to 31st January 2019 and were compared to 140 HRT FET cycles among 140 women from 1st February 2017 to 31st January 2018. The primary outcome was live birth rate. Secondary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, multiple pregnancy and miscarriage rates. Clinical pregnancy and live birth rates of transferred cleavage embryos were higher in the letrozole compared to the HRT group (36/65 (55.3%) vs. 20/110 (18.1%), p < 0.001) and (25/65 (38.4%) vs. 17/110 (15.4%), p < 0.001) respectively, whilst these rates were similar for transferred blastocyst embryos. Miscarriage and multiple pregnancy rates were similar between groups. The letrozole group was older than the HRT group (31.8 ± 5.1 vs. 29.9 ± 5.1 years, p = 0.002) and more smoked cigarettes (p = 0.035). Groups were similar regarding BMI, male versus non-male indication for fertility treatment, peak oestradiol levels, and numbers of oocytes retrieved, blastocysts, frozen and transferred embryos. Letrozole compared to HRT might improve live birth and clinical pregnancy rates among anovulatory and oligoovulatory women undergoing FET cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyse prenatal work‐up, associated anomalies and postnatal outcomes of foetuses with cerebral lateral ventricular width 9–9.9 mm. Method: This retrospective, observational, case‐control study included 121 foetuses with initial presentation of isolated cerebral lateral ventricular width 9–9.9 mm detected during routine ultrasound scans, 21–24 weeks' gestation, in a tertiary referral centre, January 2001–December 2018. Controls included 123 foetuses with lateral ventricular width <9 mm measured under the same parameters. Clinical characteristics, obstetrical history, ultrasound findings, prenatal work‐up and pregnancy outcomes were collected from medical records. Information about postnatal functional and neurodevelopmental sequelae were obtained from telephone‐based questionnaires. Results: The study group had more males (82/116 (70.6%) versus 65/123 (52.8%), p = 0.004), more prenatal testing, including brain magnetic resonance imaging (28/116 (24.1%) versus 0/123 (0%), p < 0.001), echocardiography (46/116 (39.7%) versus 15/123 (12.2%), p < 0.001) and targeted anomaly scans (102/116 (87.9%) versus 1/123 (0.008%), p < 0.001). Long‐term follow‐up did not reveal more neurodevelopmental sequelae compared to controls. Gender‐based analysis found more males with ventricular dilatation 9–9.9 mm treated for developmental delay compared to females with similar findings (15/82 (18.2%) versus 1/34 (2.9%), p = 0.010). Conclusion: Foetuses with 9–9.9 mm cerebral lateral ventricular width versus <9 mm underwent more prenatal testing but had similar rates of neurodevelopmental sequelae. Key points: What are the novel findings of this work? Foetuses with 9–9.9 mm cerebral lateral ventricular width underwent more prenatal tests but did not have more neurodevelopmental problems compared to those with width <9 mmWhen analysed according to gender, more males with 9–9.9 mm ventricular dilatation were treated for developmental delay, as compared to females with a similar diagnosis What does this study add? Lateral ventricular atria width 9–9.9 mm is related to high rate of unnecessary work‐up. It is usually stable and not related to increased neurological impairmentWork‐up should be limited to ultrasound follow‐up of atria width, in addition to routine prenatal careComprehensive work‐up should be performed only when the width increases to ≥10 mm [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Stillbirth accounts for approximately 50%% of all perinatal deaths. We aimed to characterize the relationship between fetal gender and stillbirths. Methods. A retrospective cohort study of all stillbirths cases in a tertiary medical center, between 1995 and 2007. Patient's medical charts were reviewed for demographic information, medical data, and assumed etiology for stillbirth. Stillbirth was defined as fetal death after 20 completed weeks of gestation or birth weight above 500 g, excluding cases of fetal death due to elective termination of pregnancy. Results. Overall, during the study period there were 77,120 deliveries, of them the stillbirth rate was 0.14%% ( n == 105). There were 59 females, 39 males (60.2%% vs. 48.5%%, p == 0.04) and 7 cases of stillbirth with undetermined gender. There were no differences in the demographic and obstetrical characteristics at diagnosis between women carrying a male versus female stillbirth fetuses. The rate of intra uterine fetal death due to placental abruption was significantly higher for male fetuses (OR == 2.1, 95%% CI 1.3-4.5) and the rate of stillbirth due to placental insufficiency was significantly higher for female fetuses (OR == 3.7, 95%% CI 1.6-5.1). Conclusions. Female fetuses are overrepresented in cases of stillbirths compared with male fetuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]