Fasting in Ramadan and preterm labour

A cross-sectional multicentre study involving 322 women in the third trimester of pregnancy was conducted to determine whether or not fasting in Ramadan in late pregnancy would lead to preterm labour: 167 women were fasting; the other 155, who were not fasting, constituted a control group. No significant differences were found between the study and control groups regarding mode of delivery, fetal weight and Apgar score. There was, however, a significant reduction in the incidence of preterm labour in the study group. Our results showed that there is no risk of preterm labour in healthy women fasting in Ramadan during the third trimester of pregnancy

Prenatal care patterns in Egypt

A KAP study was conducted by Child Survival Project data was collected from 3610 mothers on 10 governorates in reproductive age having children under 5 years old. The details of last pregnancy and prenatal care were reviewed and the results were discussed. Only 26% of mothers received regular check up, however 61% went for medical treatment for health problems. Under utilization of MOH health facilities was clear. Although a high degree of awareness of risky pregnancy was found almost the mothers believe that prenatal consultation is not necessary

Correlation between fibronectin levels and the severity of pregnancy induced hypertension

Plasma levels of fibronectin were measured in 25 primigravidae with pregnancy induced hypertension [PIH] [study group] and in 25 primigravidae with uncomplicated pregnancy [control group] between 30 - 38 weeks gestation. The results indicate that the maternal plasma fibronectin levels increase significantly [p<0.001] from normotensive control women to mild PIH and from mild to severe PIH. It is concluded that measurements of plasma fibronectin might be of importance in the diagnosis, control, and classification of PIH and offer a biochemical marker of this disorder as the blood pressure is significantly correlated with the fibronectin concentration

Treatment of severe pregnancy induced hypertension with the calcium antagonist nifedipine

The calcium antagonist, nifedipine, was given orally to 21 women with acute episodes of severe hypertension during pregnancy or in the puerperium. A rapid and significant fall in blood pressure by an average of 26/20 mmHg was seen at 20 min after administration. The hypotensive effect was not significantly enhanced in those women already taking medication to lower the blood pressure. The principal side effects were detected. The apparent efficacy of nifedipine justifies its further investigation in controlled trials

Individualized approach to fetal movement counting compared with fixed-time and fixed-number methods

The most commonly employed methods for maternal counting of fetal movements take no account of variation in the level of activity between fetuses. This may result in false alarms or prolonged counting in pregnancies in which perceived movements are frequent. A new counting method is described in which individualized hourly rate of perceived movements is first calculated for each patient, the time taken to feel this number is recorded each day for the remainder of the pregnancy. The new system is associated with a substantially lower false alarm rate than a system of counting for an hour and continuing for a second hour if the level is low. In comparison with the Cardiff [count -to- 10] method, the amount of time spent counting each day was more uniform and was halved overall. Although this system is more complicated to initiate these clear advantages suggest that it should be subjected to large-scale feasibility trials

comparison of the effects of four intravenous solutions for the treatment of ketonuria during labour

Forty women in whom ketonuria was detected during the first stage of labour were allocated randomly to intravenous treatment with one liter of either normal saline, Hartmann's solution, 5 percent dextrose or 10 percent dextrose. The solutions were administered over 1 h and blood was taken immediately beforehand and thereafter at 30-min intervals for 90 min to assess their effect on intermediary metabolism, plasma osmolality and acid-base status. Although both the 5 and 10 percent dextrose infusions caused a rapid decline in whole blood D-3-hydroxybutyrate concentrations, they also produced pathological degrees of maternal hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia and a marked elevation in the mean blood lactate and pyruvate concentrations. Administration of 10 percent dextrose was also associated with a significant increase in serum osmolality. Hartmann's solution produced significantly higher mean whole blood lactate and pyruvic concentrations than did normal saline. There was significant increase in the venous base deficit in the group infused with 10 percent dextrose, indicating that the buffering capacity of the blood had been exceeded. It is concluded that rapid infusions of dextrose or Hartmann's solution should not be administered during labour. Normal saline should be used for rehydration and if dextrose therapy is deemed necessary the dose administered should not exceed physiological requirements

Laparoscopic diagnosis of acute pelvic inflammatory disease

At Mataria Teaching Hospital, 103 patients admitted from the out-patient clinic with a diagnosis of pelvic infection were laparoscoped and in only 63 was the diagnosis confirmed, A high incidence of ectopic pregnancy [8 patients was found