Abnormally invasive placenta-prevalence, risk factors and antenatal suspicion: results from a large population-based pregnancy cohort study in the Nordic countries.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to investigate prevalence, estimate risk factors, and antenatal suspicion of abnormally invasive placenta (AIP) associated with laparotomy in women in the Nordic countries. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING AND POPULATION: A 3-year Nordic collaboration among obstetricians to identify and report on uterine rupture, peripartum hysterectomy, excessive blood loss, and AIP from 2009 to 2012 The Nordic Obstetric Surveillance Study (NOSS). METHODS: In the NOSS study, clinicians reported AIP cases from maternity wards and the data were validated against National health registries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence, risk factors, antenatal suspicion, birth complications, and risk estimations using aggregated national data. RESULTS: A total of 205 cases of AIP in association with laparotomy were identified, representing 3.4 per 10 000 deliveries. The single most important risk factor, which was reported in 49% of all cases of AIP, was placenta praevia. The risk of AIP increased seven-fold after one prior caesarean section (CS) to 56-fold after three or more CS. Prior postpartum haemorrhage was associated with six-fold increased risk of AIP (95% confidence interval 3.7-10.9). Approximately 70% of all cases were not diagnosed antepartum. Of these, 39% had prior CS and 33% had placenta praevia. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that a lower CS rate in the population may be the most effective way to lower the incidence of AIP. Focused ultrasound assessment of women at high risk will likely strengthen antenatal suspicion. Prior PPH is a novel risk factor associated with an increased prevalence of AIP. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: An ultrasound assessment in women with placenta praevia or prior CS may double the awareness for AIP.

Familial risk of obstetric anal sphincter injuries: registry-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the aggregation of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) in relatives. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway from 1967 to 2008. POPULATION: All singleton, vertex-presenting infants weighing 500 g or more. Through linkage by national identification numbers, 393 856 mother-daughter pairs, 264 675 mother-son pairs, 134 889 mothers whose sisters later became mothers, 132 742 fathers whose brothers later became fathers, 131 702 mothers whose brothers later became fathers and 88 557 fathers whose sisters later became mothers were provided. METHODS: Comparison of women with and without a history of OASIS in their relatives. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Relative risk of OASIS after a previous OASIS in the family. RESULTS: The risk of OASIS was increased if the woman's mother or sister had OASIS in a delivery (aRR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.3; aRR 1.7, 95% CI 1.6-1.7, respectively). If OASIS occurred in one brother's partner at delivery, the risk of OASIS in the next brother's partner was modestly increased (aRR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.4). If OASIS occurred in one sister at delivery, the risk of OASIS in the brother's partner was also increased a little (aRR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.4). However, there was no excess occurrence in sisters whose brothers' partners had previously had OASIS (aRR 1.1, 95% CI 0.9-1.3). CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be increased familial aggregation of OASIS. These risks are stronger through the maternal rather than the paternal line of transmission, suggesting a strong genetic role that shapes aggregation of OASIS within families. These observations must be cautiously interpreted because of bias from unmeasured confounding factors may have impacted the findings.

Risk of recurrence and subsequent delivery after obstetric anal sphincter injuries.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the recurrence risk, the likelihood of having further deliveries and mode of delivery after third to fourth degree obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS). DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway. POPULATION: A cohort of 828,864 mothers with singleton, vertex-presenting infants, weighing 500 g or more, during the period 1967-2004. METHODS: Comparison of women with and without a history of OASIS with respect to the occurrence of OASIS, subsequent delivery rate and planned caesarean rate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: OASIS in second and third deliveries, subsequent delivery rate and mode of delivery. RESULTS: Adjusted odds ratios of the recurrence of OASIS in women with a history of OASIS in the first, and in both the first and second deliveries, were 4.2 (95% CI 3.9-4.5; 5.6%) and 10.6 (95% CI 6.2-18.1; 9.5%), respectively, relative to women without a history of OASIS. Instrumental deliveries, in particular forceps deliveries, birthweights of 3500 g or more and large maternity units were associated with a recurrence of OASIS. Instrumental delivery did not further increase the excess recurrence risk associated with high birthweight. A man who fathered a child whose delivery was complicated by OASIS was more likely to father another child whose delivery was complicated by OASIS in another woman who gave birth in the same maternity unit (adjusted OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2-3.7; 5.6%). However, if the deliveries took place in different maternity units, the recurrence risk was not significantly increased (OR 1.3; 95% CI 0.8-2.1; 4.4%). The subsequent delivery rate was not different in women with and without previous OASIS, whereas women with a previous OASIS were more often scheduled to caesarean delivery. CONCLUSION: Recurrence risks in second and third deliveries were high. A history of OASIS had little or no impact on the rates of subsequent deliveries. Women with previous OASIS were delivered more frequently by planned caesarean delivery.

Matrix metalloproteinase 1 in pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction: reduced gene expression in decidual tissue and protein expression in extravillous trophoblasts.

Superficial invasion of extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) and impaired spiral artery remodelling are characterizing phenomena in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). However, the underlying causes remain unclear. In this study, gene expression in decidua basalis tissue from pregnancies complicated with PE and/or FGR (n = 18) and normal pregnancies (n = 17) was assessed by Affymetrix HG Focus microarray to obtain hints of mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis. A total of 200 differentially expressed transcripts were detected at a false discovery rate (FDR)

Trends in incidence and mortality for triplets in Norway 1967-2006: the influence of assisted reproductive technologies.

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in incidence rates and outcomes of triplets over 40 years with a particular focus on the influence of assisted reproductive technology (ART). DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway. POPULATION: 2.18 million pregnancies, including 448 sets of triplets and 27,575 twin pairs, covering the years 1967-2006. Since 1988, pregnancies from ART have been available through a separate registry and linked with the birth record. METHODS: Incidence rates and outcomes for triplets were analysed and compared with those for singletons and twins. Relative risks were estimated between time periods and between ART and non-ART pregnancies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence rates, birthweight, gestational age and perinatal mortality. RESULTS: The total triplet rate per 10,000 pregnancies increased from 1.0 during 1967-71 to 3.5 during 1987-92, followed by a decline to 2.7 during 2002-06. After excluding ART pregnancies, the incidence was more than doubled at the end of the study period. The mean gestational age and birthweight of triplets were significantly lower during 1988-2006 than 1967-87, but similar for ART and non-ART triplets in the last period. The caesarean rate in triplets increased from 47 to 92%. The relative risk of perinatal death in triplets relative to singletons did not change after the introduction of ART [before: relative risk, 8.9 (95% confidence interval, 6.8-11.7); after: relative risk, 10.4 (95% confidence interval, 8.3-13.0)]. CONCLUSIONS: The triplet incidence rate in Norway has more than doubled during the last 40 years, even after excluding ART pregnancies. The risk of perinatal death in triplets is ten times higher relative to singletons and has not changed during this 40-year period, independent of the introduction of ART.

[With forceps all over the world--Christian Kielland and his forceps]. / Med tangen ut i verden--Christian Kielland og hans tang.

The history of the obstetric forceps is a colourful chapter in the history of medicine. Several hundred obstetric forceps have been described in detail, but most of them were minor modifications of the prototypes. However, the forceps invented by the Norwegian gynaecologist Christian Kielland (1871-1941) had a considerable impact upon the obstetric world during most of the 20th century. This ingenious instrument was demonstrated in Munich in 1915 and was gradually quite extensively used nearly all over the world. However, a great deal of controversy has surrounded his forceps, also in Norway.

[Løvseth's manoeuvre in breech presentation--"best and safest"]. / Løvsets manøver ved skulder-forløsning i seteleie--"bedst og sikrest".

During the first half of 20th century, the most important goal in obstetrics was to make vaginal deliveries safer. Two Norwegian gynaecologists put their mark on this development: Christian Kielland's (1871-1941) obstetric forceps and Jørgen Løvset's (1896-1981) manoeuvre in breech presentation. Løvset made several other contributions to Norwegian and international obstetrics, in particular a series of innovations. In his old age he advocated obstetrics as a form of art and underlined the importance of learning "what is necessary to be worthy of the name of obstetrician". He experienced the dramatic change in attitude to and frequency of caesarean section.

[A "need not possible to describe by words"--physician refugees 1939-40]. / En "nød som ord ikke kan beskrive"--leger på flukt til Norge 1939-40.

From 1938 onwards, the predicament of Central European Jews was desperate. Norway was one of the most restrictive countries in terms of granting sanctuary to Jewish refugees; in 1939, however, director general of the Norwegian Board of Health Karl Evang (1902-81) proposed that entry permits be issued to a limited number of foreign physicians. This set off a fierce debate in newspaper, journals and medical associations. This article gives an account of that debate. The main arguments against allowing entry were fear of unemployment among Norwegian physicians and the contention that there was no need for foreign physicians in Norway. Anti-Semitic sentiments were hardly expressed. There was, however, almost no realization in Norway of the plight of the Jews, neither among the public at large nor in the medical profession. As it turned out, nine foreign physicians were allowed in, most of them from Czechoslovakia, four of them of professorial rank. Soon after the German occupation of Norway in 1940, Nazi authorities revoked their medical licenses.

[From Problemata Aristotelis to the handbooks of Döderlein. The old book collection of the Rikshospitalet, a center of knowledge and a research tool]. / Fra Problemata Aristotelis til Döderleins håndbøker. Rikshospitalets gamle boksamling, et kunnskaps- og forskningsverktøy.

The collection of old medical and scientific books from the National Hospital in Oslo is a valuable library for education and research. Most of the books are from the collections of the obstetric, paediatric and dermatological departments. The oldest date from the mid-sixteenth century, but the collection also reflects systematic purchases of medical literature after 1800. This library offers an exceptional opportunity in Norway for studying the development of medical knowledge and practice over two centuries.

["Now I am humble. Indeed." From Germany to Norway in 1934]. / "Nu er jeg beskeden. Og mer enn det." Fra Tyskland til Norge i 1934.

A huge refugee problem arose when the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. The most acute stages were just after 1933 and from the summer of 1938. This refugee drama involved all the western countries, including Norway. This paper describes the fate of the German gynaecologist Hans Saenger (1884-1943), professor in Munich, who in 1933 was dispelled by the Nazis because of his Jewish descent. He fled to Norway in 1934 and settled in Fredrikstad. However, the attitude in Norway to refugees in general and Jews in particular was hostile, mainly because of fear of unemployment. Prejudice and xenophobia were of importance, also in the medical profession.

[Obstetrics--a women's discipline for men]. / Fødselshjelp--et kvinnefag for mannfolk.

In recent years there has been a considerable increase in the number of female gynaecologists in Norway. This contrasts sharply with the difficulties pioneering Norwegian female physicians had in entering this specialty. Three generations ago, leading Norwegian physicians argued against female gynaecologists. This article describes the controversy in 1914 when Dr. Louise Isachsen (1875-1932) claimed discrimination when she was not appointed senior registrar at the National Hospital's Midwifery Clinic. Her case was fiercely debated, not only in the medical profession, but also in newspapers and in Parliament. The clinic's director, Professor Kristian Brandt (1859-1932), found women unsuited for operative gynaecology and emergency obstetrics. We compare his arguments against female physicians with the requirements for Norwegian midwives, all female at the time. Brandt himself played a crucial role in formulating these requirements through his teaching and textbooks.

Strenuous working conditions and birthweight, Norway 1989.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether strenuous working conditions in pregnancy are associated with reduced birthweight. METHOD: Cross-sectional, population based study. Retrospective data collection by questionnaire to parturients in all maternity wards in Norway 16.10-26.11.89, completed before discharge from hospital, with response rate 87.2%. The study population consists of the 5388 women with singleton births, of whom 3321 were in paid work beyond the third month of pregnancy. Main outcome measures are prevalence of birthweight <2500 grams (LBW) and mean birthweight. RESULTS: Strenuous working conditions increased risk of LBW, but only for nullipara, particularly non-smoking nullipara. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for non-smoking nullipara, adjusted for age, education and income, were 0.3 (0.1,0.9) for influence on work pace, 2.8 (1.2,6.5) for exposure to heavy lifting and 2.2 (0.8,5.8) for twisting/bending. Four groups of occupations were defined according to exposure, solely based on reports from mothers with non-LBW children in order to avoid recall bias. Prevalence of LBW increased from 0.8% in the least exposed to 8.3% in the most exposed group. (Test for trend: p<0.05, after adjustment for age, education and income.) Strenuous working conditions had no independent effect on mean birthweight after adjustment for age, education, income and smoking. CONCLUSION: Strenuous work increased the risk of LBW in nulliparae, particularly in non-smokers. Lack of influence on work pace was the strongest risk factor. The preventive effect of job modification in pregnancy may parallel smoking cessation.

[The first cesarean section in Norway]. / Det første keisersnitt i Norge.

The first reported caesarean section in Norway was performed on 20 August 1843 by a general practitioner, Lars Thalian Backer (1812-84). The operation took place in Lardal, Vestfold County, on a 27 year old woman who had been in labour for six days. The outcome was disastrous; she was delivered of stillborn twins and died 2 1/2 days after the operation. In the 19th century, infection, bleeding and thromboembolic disease made caesarean section a dangerous operation, and only 26 such operations are known in Norway, most of them performed outside hospitals. The first caesarean section in Norway resulting in a living child was performed in 1849, but no mother survived the operation before 1890. We recapitulate the caesarean section of 1843; Dr Backer and his qualifications for operative obstetrics; and the state of instrumental and surgical obstetrics in Norway at that time.

[The introduction of obstetric forceps in Norway--a 250-year anniversary]. / Fødselstangens innføring i Norge--et 250-årsminne.

Johan Gottfried Erichsen (1713-68), born in Germany and chief medical officer in Bergen from 1747, was probably the first to perform a forceps delivery in Norway, on 14 February 1748. The mother, who had been in labour for five days, survived; the child, however, did not. The obstetric forceps had been a secret in the Chamberlen family and had become more widely known only a few decades earlier. Erichsen, who was the first man-midwife in Norway, had learned obstetrics in Paris by the younger Grégoire. He mastered both the techniques of internal version and forceps delivery. This article describes Erichsen's medical and obstetric background and his qualifications for operative obstetrics. He worked in the period when the obstetric forceps changed obstetrics, birth delivery became an arena also for men, and a part of medicine. Obstetrics was established as a science and physicians had a tool whereby also children could be saved during complicated delivery.

["An appropriate forceps"--150-year anniversary of Simpson's forceps]. / "En hensigtsmaessig tang"--Simpsons tang 150 år.

Despite the increasing use of caesarean section and vacuum extraction, obstetric forceps is still in frequent use in obstetric wards. There has, in fact, been an increase due to more active management of births. More than 600 obstetric forceps have been described in detail, but only three of them are in use in Norway today: Simpson's and Kielland's forceps for vertex presentation and Piper's forceps for aftercoming head in breech presentation. This year it is 150 years since James Young Simpson (1811-70) of Edinburgh presented his forceps for the first time. Simpson's forceps has been the most widely used forceps in Norway over the last 120 years. This article describes James Young Simpson, his long forceps, and its use in Norwegian obstetrics.

[Sterilization of women. Waiting lists, surgical techniques and type of anesthesia]. / Sterilisering av kvinner. Ventelister, operasjonsteknikk og anestesiform.

The surgical and anaesthesiological techniques of tubal sterilization in Norway were studied by means of questionnaire. All hospitals returned the questionnaire. 94% of the operations were performed by gynaecologists, and in 99% of the cases by bipolar or endothermal laparoscopy. Local analgesia was used in one of the 60 hospitals. There were significant regional differences in sterilization rates and waiting time. We found no simple relation between sterilization technique and waiting lists.