Interpregnancy weight change and risk for adverse perinatal outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between interpregnancy weight change and the risk for adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. METHODS: All live-born singleton births delivered at 21-42 weeks of gestation in women who had their first two consecutive births between 2009 and 2011 in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) and who were included in the Study Center for Perinatal Epidemiology database (N=7,897) were included. Interpregnancy weight change was calculated as the difference between the prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) of the first pregnancy and the prepregnancy BMI of the second pregnancy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis to predict gestational diabetes mellitus, pregnancy-induced hypertension, cesarean delivery, macrosomia (4,000 g or greater), low birth weight (less than 2,500 g), and congenital malformations were performed. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for gestational diabetes mellitus was 2.25 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-3.78; P=.002) for interpregnancy weight retention of 2 or more BMI units, and the adjusted OR for pregnancy-induced hypertension was 3.76 (95% CI 2.16-6.57; P<.001) with an increase of 3 or more BMI units between pregnancies, but these associations were only present in underweight and normal-weight women. In overweight and obese women, the adjusted OR was 2.04 (95% CI 1.41-2.95; P<.001) for cesarean delivery for an interpregnancy weight retention of 2 or more BMI units. In underweight and normal-weight women, the risk for macrosomia was halved if women lost more than 1 BMI unit between pregnancies, but at the same time, the risk for low birth weight doubled. CONCLUSION: We show that weight retention between the first and second pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for perinatal complications, even in underweight and normal-weight women. Stabilizing interpregnancy weight appears an important target for reducing adverse perinatal outcomes in a second pregnancy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Anxiety and depressed mood in obese pregnant women: a prospective controlled cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The psychological health in obese women during pregnancy has been poorly studied. OBJECTIVE: To compare levels of anxiety and depressed mood during pregnancy in obese versus normal-weight women. METHODS: 63 obese pregnant women and 156 normal-weight controls were included prospectively before 15 weeks of gestation. Levels of state and trait anxiety and depressed mood were measured during the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. A linear mixed-effect model with repeated measures was used to evaluate group differences. RESULTS: The levels of state anxiety significantly increased from trimester 1 to trimester 3 in obese pregnant women (beta = 3.70; p = 0.007), while this parameter remained constant throughout pregnancy in normal-weight women. Levels of trait anxiety and depressed mood significantly decreased from trimester 1 to trimester 2 in controls, but not in obese pregnant women. Variables such as maternal education, ethnicity, marital state, psychological history and miscarriages, parity and smoking behaviour had significant effects on anxiety and/or depressed moods during pregnancy. Obese pregnant women show higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptomatology compared to normal-weight pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Interventional programmes aiming at preventing the deleterious influence of maternal obesity on perinatal outcomes should include a psycho-educational program specifically tailored to this high-risk group.

Anxiety during early pregnancy predicts postpartum weight retention in obese mothers.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the weight status of obese mothers 6 months after delivery and examine its relationship to important sociodemographical, behavioral, and psychological variables. DESIGN AND METHODS: Postpartum data from an interventional trial in obese pregnant women (n = 197), conducted in three regional hospitals, between March 2008 and June 2012, were available from 150 mothers. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 29 kg/m2. Predictors were examined from the pregnancy and postpartum period. Descriptive statistics were performed and linear regression models constructed. RESULTS: Postpartum weight retention (PPWR) 6 months after delivery ranges from -17 to + 19 kg with a mean of -1.28 kg (SD 6.05). Thirty-nine percent showed PPWR (>0 kg) and 13% of obese mothers reported a high PPWR (≥5 kg). Gestational weight gain (GWG) and psychological discomfort were significantly higher in obese mothers with PPWR compared to those with no or low PPWR. Mean duration of breastfeeding in this cohort of obese mothers was 9.5 weeks (SD 8.7), with 17.3% breastfeeding for at least 6 months. At 6 months after delivery, prepregnancy BMI (ß = -0.283; P = 0.001), GWG (ß = 0.337; P = 0.001), and maternal trait anxiety in the first trimester of pregnancy (ß = 0.255; P = 0.001) were significantly associated with PPWR in obese mothers. CONCLUSION: PPWR in obese mothers is associated with psychological discomfort during early pregnancy. Besides the importance of adequate prenatal weight management, focused psychological support should be an important cue to action in obese women, to prevent maternal obesity on the long run.

Obesity in pregnancy: altered onset and progression of labour.

BACKGROUND: the incidence of obesity increases in all developed countries to frightful percentages, also in women of reproductive age. Maternal obesity is associated with important obstetrical complications; and this group also exhibits a higher incidence of prolonged pregnancies and labours. OBJECTIVE: to review the literature on the pathophysiology of onset and progression of labour in obese woman and translate this knowledge into practical recommendations for clinical management. METHODS: a literature review, in particular a critical summary of research, in order to determine associations, gaps or inconsistencies in this specific but limited body of research. FINDINGS: the combination of a higher incidence of post-term childbirths and increased inadequate contraction pattern during the first stage of labour suggests an influence of obesity on myometrial activity. A pathophysiologic pathway for altered onset and progression of labour in obese pregnant women is proposed. CONCLUSIONS: analysis of the literature shows that obesity is associated with an increased duration of pregnancy and prolonged duration of first stage of labour. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: an adapted clinical approach is suggested in these patients.

Fetal body volume: use at MR imaging to quantify relative lung volume in fetuses suspected of having pulmonary hypoplasia.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively determine an algorithm based on fetal body volume (FBV) by using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to calculate relative lung volume in fetuses with normally developed lungs and prospectively assess the use of this algorithm in predicting pulmonary hypoplasia in the late second and early third trimesters for fetuses at risk for pulmonary hypoplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Oral informed consent was obtained for the prospective component of this ethics committee-approved study. MR imaging lung volumetry was performed in 36 fetuses with normally developed lungs between 18 and 39 weeks gestational age by using T2-weighted single-shot fast spin-echo imaging in fetal transverse and sagittal planes. Findings were then correlated with biometric variables and gestational age. The best-performing algorithm was applied to 37 fetuses (between 18 and 29 weeks gestational age) at risk for pulmonary hypoplasia to determine observed-expected lung volume ratio. This group was stratified according to pregnancy management, and observed-expected ratios were correlated with outcome. In fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) (n = 19), observed-expected ratio was correlated with lung-head ratio, neonatal survival in pregnancies managed expectantly (n = 13), and/or lung-body weight ratio at necropsy (n = 9). For that purpose, linear regression correlation was used with the Pearson correlation coefficient; P < .05 was considered to indicate a significant difference. RESULTS: Total fetal lung volume correlated best with total FBV (r = 0.96, P < .05). Observed-expected ratio based on FBV correlated with lung-head ratio in patients with CDH (r = 0.71, P < .001) and with lung-body weight ratio at necropsy (r = 0.68, P < .05) and could be used to help predict neonatal survival. CONCLUSION: FBV measured with MR imaging can be used as a single parameter in an algorithm and showed closest correlation with normal total fetal lung volume. In the transition from second to third trimester, this algorithm enabled calculation of the observed-expected ratio and prediction of outcome in fetuses at risk for pulmonary hypoplasia.

Fetal magnetic resonance imaging of an intracranial venous thrombosis. Case report.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the magnetic resonance imaging findings of an antenatal intracranial venous thrombosis. METHODS: Prenatal ultrasound (US) at 22 weeks' gestational age (GA) in a 27-year-old patient (G2 P1) revealed a nonspecific avascular echogenic mass above the cerebellum evaluated with MRI at 23 weeks' GA. RESULTS: With MRI an enlarged occipital pericerebral space with a layered ovoid mass at the torcular herophili was demonstrated and MRI characteristics suggested a subacute cloth. In follow-up, an important enlargement of the mass was noticed on US examinations. After multidisciplinary consult and parental consent, a prostaglandin induction was performed at 25 weeks' GA. The baby died immediately after birth. Pathology confirmed the diagnosis of a venous thrombosis at the torcular herophili with extension into the superior sagittal sinus. CONCLUSION: In our case, MRI findings were helpful in diagnosing an intracranial fetal venous thrombosis.

Positive maternal serum triple test screening in severe early onset hypophosphatasia.

OBJECTIVES: Hypophosphatasia is a rare heritable inborn error of metabolism characterized by a liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase defective bone mineralization due to mutations in the tissue-non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNS-ALP) gene. To date 128 mutations are described in the TNS-ALP gene located on the short arm of chromosome 1. The clinical presentation of hypophosphatasia is variable ranging from early onset lethal short-limb dwarfism to a late-onset presentation with fractures in childhood or adulthood. METHODS: We report a pregnancy with a positive maternal serum triple test screening and a post-mortem pathological and molecular diagnosis of perinatal lethal hypophosphatasia. RESULTS: Two heterogeneous missense mutations in the TNS-ALP gene were found, of which one was not previously described. CONCLUSION: This case report adds to the list of fetal malformations found after positive maternal serum triple test screening and reports a previously undescribed mutation in the TNS-ALP gene responsible for hypophosphatasia.

Monochorionic diamniotic twins: complications and management options.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Monochorionic compared with dichorionic twins have disproportionately high fetal loss rates, perinatal mortality and morbidity. This is because of the unpredictable vascular anastomoses and the often asymmetrical distribution of the single placenta between both twins. RECENT FINDINGS: The pathophysiology of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome is usually explained on an angioarchitectural basis, although certain hemodynamic and hormonal factors also may be involved. The results of the large randomized trials on amnioreduction, fetoscopic laser coagulation and septostomy are still awaited. An update is given on hardware and instruments required for fetoscopic laser. Subsequently, the problem of the monochorionic twin set with severe early discordant growth is addressed. Several etiological mechanisms have been proposed, but little is known of its natural history. Also, umbilical artery Doppler waveforms may not have the same predictive value as in singletons. Prophylactic laser coagulation of the vascular anastomoses to protect against the adverse effects of single intrauterine demise, has so far not been shown to confer any benefit in outcome. Finally, pathophysiology and management of discordant structural and chromosomal anomalies in monochorionic twins are discussed. Laser and monopolar coagulation, which can be introduced through a needle, may be used for selective feticide in early pregnancy or low hemodynamic conditions. Bipolar coagulation seems more effective at later gestational ages and normal hemodynamic conditions. SUMMARY: Our insight into the complications associated with monochorionic twins has increased in recent years. It is hoped that this will lead to better surveillance and ultimately an improved outcome for these high-risk pregnancies.

Benign multiple diffuse neonatal hemangiomatosis after a pregnancy complicated by polyhydramnios and a placental chorioangioma.

A male newborn with multiple cutaneous hemangiomatosis is described. Pregnancy was complicated by polyhydramnios and a large placental chorioangioma. After an initial outburst of the hemangiomas in the first two weeks of life, spontaneous and almost complete regression occurred before the age of 3 months. The relationship between hemangiomas and placental chorioangioma is briefly discussed.