Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “MATERNITY”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Maternal and umbilical cord serum leptin concentrations in small-for-gestational-age and in appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates: a maternal, fetal, or placental contribution?

Leptin is secreted during pregnancy by the placenta and by the maternal and fetal adipose tissues. The leptin levels mainly reflect the amount of fat stored and thus are indicative of the energy balance, i.e., small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates represent the negative metabolic balance of in utero starved babies. We chose to compare maternal and umbilical cord leptin levels in pregnancies complicated by asymmetrical SGA versus those with appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) neonates as well as a model of multifetal growth concordant gestations in order to establish through the 'leptin link' the relative contributions of mother, fetus, and placenta to fetal weight. We found that the maternal leptin levels at delivery correlated poorly with the maternal weight gain/body mass index and with neonatal birth weight. Furthermore, the umbilical cord leptin levels correlated well with neonatal and placental weights in the AGA group but not in the SGA group. As in AGA singleton pregnancies, in multifetal uncomplicated pregnancies, the umbilical cord leptin levels correlated well with the birth weight of individuals, regardless of the status of the twin or triplet in the set. Thus, we speculated that in SGA neonates the birth weight represents the lean body weight and the low adipose tissue content (as opposed to the AGA neonates who have a substantial adipose tissue content) and, therefore, reflects mainly the basic placental contribution.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1987

Effect of maternal fasting on ovine fetal and maternal branched-chain amino acid transaminase activities.

Activities of branched-chain amino acid transaminase were assayed in maternal skeletal muscle, liver and fetal skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, liver, kidney and placenta obtained from fed and 5-day-fasted late gestation ewes. Very high activities were found in placenta; fetal skeletal muscle also had high activity. Fetal brain had intermediate activity, followed by cardiac muscle and kidney. Fetal liver possessed negligible activity. Activities were low in both maternal liver and skeletal muscle. Trends were seen for fasting to increase activities in fetal placenta, skeletal muscle, brain, kidney, heart and maternal liver, but these changes were statistically significant only for fetal brain and placental tissue. Fetal skeletal muscle activity was 100 times that of maternal skeletal muscle. These data imply differences in the metabolism of the branched-chain amino acids by fetal and adult ruminants and expand the thesis that branched-chain amino acids are important to the metabolism of the ovine fetus.

Amino Acids, Branched-Chain↗
PubMed1990

Antenatal fetal diagnosis and maternal transport gastroschisis. A maternal-infant case report.

Gastroschisis is a rare congenital birth defect of the abdominal wall that invariably is fatal if not managed appropriately. Early in utero diagnosis is now possible using maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and ultrasound. As with other serious congenital disorders, antenatal diagnosis allows therapeutic options and time for preparation. Even if the diagnosis is made late, however, efforts to achieve prenatal maternal transport are still reasonable. The neonatal outcome of an unplanned delivery of an anomalous child requiring immediate attention is likely to be better if the delivery occurs in a tertiary center. These facilities generally have specialized services and teams available for critical care around the clock. The authors describe the maternal transport and delivery of a neonate with a serious disorder that required specialized attention at an hour when most hospitals are staffed with a skeleton crew. The necessary resources were available immediately, and the neonatal outcome was favorable. Although this report describes gastroschisis specifically, the concept of tertiary site delivery for potentially seriously ill neonates applies to any condition. With a late diagnosis, possible other anomalies, and a logistically unfavorable hour, the advantages of maternal transport are evident. This report also briefly reviews the area of antenatal ultrasound diagnosis and the newer mechanisms used to develop a perinatal care plan.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed2003

Maternal endocrine adaptation throughout pregnancy to nutritional manipulation: consequences for maternal plasma leptin and cortisol and the programming of fetal adipose tissue development.

Maternal nutrient restriction at specific stages of gestation has differential effects on fetal development such that the offspring are programmed to be at increased risk of adult disease. We investigated the effect of gestational age and maternal nutrition on the maternal plasma concentration of leptin and cortisol together with effects on fetal adipose tissue deposition plus leptin, IGF-I, IGF-II ligand, and receptor mRNA abundance near to term. Singleton bearing ewes were either nutrient restricted (NR; consuming 3.2-3.8 MJ/d of metabolizable energy) or fed to appetite (consuming 8.7-9.9 MJ/d) over the period of maximal placental growth, i.e. between 28 and 80 d gestation. After 80 d gestation, ewes were either fed to calculated requirements, consuming 6.7-7.5 MJ/d, or were fed to appetite and consumed 8.0-10.9 MJ/d. Pregnancy resulted in a rise in plasma leptin concentration by 28 d gestation, which continued up to 80 d gestation when fed to appetite but not with nutrient restriction. Plasma cortisol was also lower in NR ewes up to 80 d gestation, a difference no longer apparent when food intake was increased. At term, irrespective of maternal nutrition in late gestation, fetuses sampled from ewes NR in early gestation possessed more adipose tissue, whereas when ewes were fed to appetite throughout gestation, fetal adipose tissue deposition and leptin mRNA abundance were both reduced. These changes may result in the offspring of NR mothers being at increased risk of obesity in later life.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2000

Is neuropsychological development related to maternal hypothyroidism or to maternal hypothyroxinemia?

Several recent publications have drawn attention to the role of the thyroid hormone status of the mother on the future neuropsychological development of the child. The screening of pregnant women for clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism based on second trimester elevated maternal TSH values has been proposed. Here, we have summarized present epidemiological and experimental evidence strongly suggesting that conditions resulting in first trimester hypothyroxinemia (a low for gestational age circulating maternal free T4, whether or not TSH is increased) pose an increased risk for poor neuropsychological development of the fetus. This would be a consequence of decreased availability of maternal T4 to the developing brain, its only source of thyroid hormone during the first trimester; T4 is the required substrate for the ontogenically regulated generation of T3 in the amounts needed for optimal development in different brain structures, both temporally and spatially. Normal maternal T3 concentrations do not seem to prevent the potential damage of a low supply of T4, although they might prevent an increase in circulating TSH and detection of the hypothyroxinemia if only TSH is measured. Hypothyroxinemia seems to be much more frequent in pregnant women than either clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease, especially in regions where the iodine intake of the pregnant woman is inadequate to meet her increased needs for T4. It is proposed that the screening of pregnant women for thyroid disorders should include the determination of free T4 as soon as possible during the first trimester as a major test, because hypothyroxinemia has been related to poor developmental outcome, irrespective of the presence of high titers of thyroid autoantibodies or elevated serum TSH. The frequency with which this may occur is probably 150 times or more that of congenital hypothyroidism, for which successful screening programs have been instituted in many countries.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Size distributions of maternal and fetal DNA in maternal plasma.

BACKGROUND: The discovery of fetal DNA in maternal plasma has opened up an approach for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Despite the rapid expansion in clinical applications, the molecular characteristics of plasma DNA in pregnant women remain unclear. METHODS: We investigated the size distribution of plasma DNA in 34 nonpregnant women and 31 pregnant women, using a panel of quantitative PCR assays with different amplicon sizes targeting the leptin gene. We also determined the size distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma by targeting the SRY gene. RESULTS: The median percentages of plasma DNA with size >201 bp were 57% and 14% for pregnant and nonpregnant women, respectively (P <0.001, Mann-Whitney test). The median percentages of fetal-derived DNA with sizes >193 bp and >313 bp were 20% and 0%, respectively, in maternal plasma. CONCLUSION: Plasma DNA molecules are mainly short DNA fragments. The DNA fragments in the plasma of pregnant women are significantly longer than those in the plasma of nonpregnant women, and the maternal-derived DNA molecules are longer than the fetal-derived ones.

DNA↗
PubMed1994

Transcranial assessment of maternal cerebral blood flow velocity in normal VS pre-eclamptic women (variation with maternal posture). A preliminary study.

To compare the effect of a change in maternal posture on maternal cerebral blood flow velocity assessed transcranially in a normal vs a pre-eclamptic group 5 normotensive and 5 pre-eclamptic patients had maternal middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocity assessed in 2 positions supine and sitting upright using a 2 mHz transcranial doppler ultrasound. Comparison was then made of the effect of a change in posture on cerebral blood flow velocity in both groups using paired student-t test. Normotensive women showed minimal change in MCA blood flow velocity while pre-eclamptic women showed a 20% rise in all aspects of MCA blood flow velocity from supine to sitting. In pre-eclamptic patients MCA blood flow velocity which showed a significant rise with change in posture is not accompanied by significant changes in blood pressure and so is not a secondary response to a change in cardiac output by may be a primary effect related to local circulatory changes. Transcranial assessment of maternal cerebral blood flow velocity performed in normotensive and various hypertensive groups showed significant variation with change in posture in the pre-eclamptic group.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1992

Elevating maternal insulin-like growth factor-I in mice and rats alters the pattern of fetal growth by removing maternal constraint.

Fetal growth is normally constrained by maternal factors. This constraint is demonstrated by the usual inverse linear relationship between litter size and mean fetal weight. Cross-breeding experiments between mice of lines selected for high or low plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) levels suggested that elevations in maternal IGF-I abolish (P less than 0.01) this constraining effect and reverse the usual positive relationship between fetal and placental size in late gestation. This was confirmed by treating mice and rats throughout pregnancy with IGF-I. In normal mice and in low IGF-I line mice treatment with IGF-I (10 micrograms 8-hourly s.c. from day 1 to 19 of pregnancy) abolished maternal constraint whereas 0.9% (w/v) NaCl treatment did not. In Wistar rats osmotic pumps were implanted to deliver IGF-I (1 microgram/g body weight per day), bovine GH (bGH; 0.6 microgram/g body weight per day) or saline from day 1 to 19 of pregnancy. IGF-I therapy but not bGH or saline abolished (P less than 0.01) maternal constraint and altered (P less than 0.01) the relationship between placental and fetal weight. When high or low IGF-I line mice embroys were transplanted into a normal line of mice, the expected negative relationship (P less than 0.05) between mean fetal weight and litter size was maintained. However, the embryos of the high line were heavier (P less than 0.05) than those from the low line irrespective of fetal number, suggesting a direct role for IGF-I in the regulation of fetal growth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Maternal employment and breast-feeding: findings from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.

OBJECTIVES: This analysis uses nationally representative data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey to explore the factors, including employment, associated with breast-feeding initiation and duration. METHODS: Multiple logistic regression was used to model the determinants of breast-feeding initiation among 9087 US women. Multiple linear regression was used to model the duration of breast-feeding among women who breast-fed. RESULTS: Fifty-three percent of mothers initiated breast-feeding in 1988, and the decision to breast-feed was not associated with maternal employment. However, among breast-feeders, returning to work within a year of delivery was associated with a shorter duration of breast-feeding when other factors were controlled. Among employed mothers, the duration of maternity leave was positively associated with the duration of breast-feeding. CONCLUSIONS: The low rates of breast-feeding initiation in the United States are not attributable to maternal participation in the labor force. However, returning to work is associated with earlier weaning among women who breast-feed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The effects of a home-visiting discharge education on maternal self-esteem, maternal attachment, postpartum depression and family function in the mothers of NICU infants.

PURPOSE: A quasi-experimental study was performed to investigate the effects of a home visiting discharge education program on the maternal self-esteem, attachment, postpartum depression and family function in 35 mothers of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants. METHODS: Twenty-three mothers in the intervention group received the home visiting discharge education while 12 mothers in the control group received the routine, hospital discharge education. Baseline data was collected in both groups one day after delivery. The intervention group received the home visiting discharge education while the control group did the routine hospital-based discharge education. The questionnaire including the data on maternal self-esteem, attachment, postpartum depression and family function were collected within 1 week after the discharge by mail. RESULTS: The scores of maternal self-esteem, and attachment were significantly increased, and the postpartum depression and the family function score were decreased after the home visiting discharge education in intervention group. There were no changes in these variables before and after the routine hospital-based discharge education in control group. CONCLUSION: These results support the beneficial effects of home visiting discharge education on the maternal role adaptation and family function of the mothers of NICU infants.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

The role of maternal cognitions in infant sleep problems as assessed by a new instrument, the maternal cognitions about infant sleep questionnaire.

Sleeping problems in young children are very common, affecting up to 20% of 1-year-olds. Behaviour therapy is the most widely recognised treatment but a significant proportion of parents find it aversive. This suggests that parental cognitions may be important and underevaluated. The aims of this study were therefore fourfold: (1) to describe the development of a new tool to measure maternal cognitions in relation to infant sleeping problems, the Maternal Cognitions about Infant Sleep Questionnaire (MCISQ): (2) to assess the psychometric properties of the MCISQ; (3) to test the hypothesis that maternal cognitions will be associated with, and specific to, infant sleep problems; and (4) to discuss the implications of the findings with respect to aetiological models of infant sleep problems, treatment, and future research. Results showed that maternal cognitions about setting limits, anger at the infant's demands, and doubts about parenting competence were significantly associated with infant sleep problems, whereas cognitions about infant hunger or cot death were not. It is hypothesised that these cognitive responses, if extreme, may disrupt sensitive parent-child interactions, which over time could lead to impairments in the development of infant self-regulation.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Maternal reproductive history: a registry based comparison of previous pregnancy data derived from maternal recall and data obtained during the actual pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the quality of data on previous pregnancies, based on maternal recall, to that of actual data in previous birth records, and to quantify to which extent recall based data bias results in epidemiologic studies on adverse reproductive outcomes. METHODS: Through linkage between agricultural censuses and the Medical Birth Registry, we identified 87,113 Norwegian female farmers with 174,764 single births in 1967-1991, including 533 late abortions (16-27 weeks). Data were linked into sibship records. In routine birth records, mothers provide information at each birth on previous fetal loss. Thus, we had information both based on recall and on the actual record. RESULTS: Among all mothers with a loss documented in previous records, 73.5% had a recall of previous loss (sensitivity), while 74.3% of all mothers reporting a previous loss also had a loss in previous sibship records (positive predictive value). Late abortion after a previous loss according to the sibship record was more frequent than after a previous loss based on maternal recall (18.3 vs. 10.8 per 1,000). There was a particular lack of recall for previous losses of short gestational age or when the current birth was a late abortion; both conditions tended to deflate the association between a previous and a current adverse outcome. Grain farming was associated with late abortion in mothers with previous loss in sibship records (odds ratio, 2.6) but not among mothers without previous loss (odds ratio, 1.0). When information on previous loss was based on maternal recall the odds ratios were 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Consecutive sibship records give more valid information than data derived from maternal recall.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2002

Acute effects of maternal smoking on fetal-placental-maternal system hemodynamics.

OBJECTIVE: To study acute hemodynamic alterations in the fetal-placental maternal system immediately after maternal exposure to nicotine. METHODS: This is a noncontrolled experimental study involving 21 pregnant smoking women, randomly selected, with uncomplicated pregnancies and without risk factors for fetal heart disease. Patients underwent ultrasound and fetal echocardiography before and after smoking a cigarette. They were asked to abstain from smoking for 12 hours before the study. The mean nicotine content of the cigarettes used in the study was 0.5mg of nicotine and 6mg of carbon monoxide. RESULTS: The average number of cigarettes smoked per a day prior to the study was 9.67. Gestational age ranged between 18 and 36 weeks. The mean maternal heart rate was elevated (P<0.001) as was the mean fetal heart rate (P=0.044). Maternal systolic blood pressure (P=0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (P=0.033) were also elevated after smoking. A decrease occurred in the systolic/diastolic ratio in the right uterine artery (P=0.014) and in the left uterine artery (P=0.039). The other hemodynamic variables remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Cigarette smoking can cause changes in physiologic variables of fetal-placental circulation, but it does not change fetal cardiac function, in the dose of nicotine and its components used in this study. The decrease in systolic/diastolic ratio in the uterine arteries is probably related to a dose-dependent nicotine pattern.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Suppression of maternal responsiveness to paternal antigen by maternal plasma.

The effect of plasma from multigravida women on the expression of cellular hypersensitivity to paternal antigens was investigated. It was found that autologous, but not homologous, maternal plasma specifically blocked MIF production by maternal lymphocytes using their husbands' cells as an antigenic stimulus. The blocking activity could be absorbed out by repeated incubation with paternal cells. Sephadex G-200 fractionation of maternal plasma showed the blocking activity to be in the IgG fraction. The presence of specific blocking factor(s) in maternal plasma which prevent reactivity to paternal antigens may explain in part the success of the fetus as an allograft.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1991

Effect of maternal cocaine administration on maternal and fetal glucose, lactate, and insulin in sheep.

Although cocaine use during pregnancy is an important cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, there are no reports of its effect on maternal and fetal carbohydrate metabolism. Six pregnant ewes and their fetuses were instrumented under halothane general anesthesia at 113-119 days' gestation. Between 124-135 days' gestation, the ewes received a single infusion of vehicle or cocaine (1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg) into the jugular vein. At least 24 hours was allowed between successive injections. Maternal and fetal blood samples were drawn at 30 and 20 minutes before and at 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after the injection. Both maternal and fetal glucose and lactate concentrations increased (P less than .05) after injection of cocaine at 2.0 mg/kg. There were no significant changes in maternal or fetal plasma insulin concentrations after vehicle or cocaine administration. Induction of hyperglycemia and lactacidemia could be mechanisms whereby cocaine exerts its adverse effects during pregnancy.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Family life events, maternal depression, and maternal and teacher descriptions of child behavior.

The relationship between family life events, maternal depression, and teacher and maternal ratings of child behavior was studied in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. Analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis showed that for maternal ratings of child behavior, both maternal depression and family life events made significant independent contributions. For teacher ratings of child behavior, the only significant predictor was family life events. These results persisted when appropriate controls for family social, economic, and demographic characteristics were taken into account. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Quantitative comparison of maternal ethanol and maternal tertiary butanol diet on postnatal development.

The mechanism by which developmental anomalies associated with the fetal alcohol syndrome are produced is not understood. Current hypotheses include altered maternal function and direct action of ethanol or its metabolic product, acetaldehyde, on embryonic tissue. Pregnant mice were fed liquid diets containing either ethanol (3.6% w/v) or tertiary butanol in concentrations of 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00% (w/v) from day 6 to day 20 of gestation. Untreated surrogate maternal animals were substituted in half of the original litters to gain insight into the role played by maternal nutritional and behavioral factors. Quantitatively, t-butanol was approximately 5 times more potent than ethanol in producing a developmental delay in post-parturition physiological and psychomotor performance scores. The existence of significant postnatal maternal nutritional and behavioral factors affecting lactation and/or nesting behavior were also evident at the higher concentrations of alcohol. The results from this study are consistent with the hypothesis that ethanol per se and not acetaldehyde is primarily responsible for the fetal alcohol syndrome.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A comparison of meconium, maternal urine and neonatal urine for detection of maternal drug use during pregnancy.

A large scale drug screening study was done to determine the prevalence of drug use in a large metropolitan, obstetric population. Meconium and first voided urine, as well as maternal urine were collected from 423 consecutive deliveries. Urine samples and methanolic extracts of meconium were initially screened by Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique (EMIT) and then confirmed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Analysis of cocaine metabolite as benzoylecogonine, cannabinoid as carboxy-THC, codeine, morphine and methadone were included in the study. The positive rate for benzoylecgonine was virtually identical for meconium, maternal urine and neonatal urine (12%). Analysis of meconium was found to be more reliable than analysis of maternal or neonatal urine for the detection of benzoylecgonine. Meconium did not appear to offer an advantage over maternal or neonatal urine for detection of cannabinoid, codeine, morphine, or methadone.

Adult↗