Background and objectives In low resource settings, ultrasound scans may not be available for amniotic fluid volume (AFV) assessment as part of fetal evaluation for suspected prolonged pregnancies (≥41 weeks’ gestation). The objectives of this study were: 1) to describe AFV measurements using ultrasound in women with suspected prolonged pregnancies, and to relate these measurements to maternal and fetal factors; 2) to evaluate different clinical palpation methods for estimating AFV; and 3) to determine the ability of clinical palpation to estimate AFV and predict oligohydramnios, using ultrasound-based amniotic fluid index (AFI) as a gold standard, accounting for the influence of maternal and fetal factors. Methods The study included women referred to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital from midwife-run antenatal clinics because of concern about prolonged pregnancy (gestational age ≥41 weeks). On arrival at hospital, the women had real-time ultrasound assessment of AFI by an experienced ultrasonographer. The researcher, blinded to the AFI result, estimated AFV by abdominal palpation using ballottability of fetal parts, uterine fluctuance, uterine irritability, easily felt fetal parts, and a general impression of AFV. After recording the palpation findings, the researcher made a best estimate of gestational age for each woman based on the last menstrual period, early pregnancy ultrasound scans if available, or other relevant clinical information. Oligohydramnios was defined as an AFI <5 cm. Results One hundred women participated, of whom 45 had a best estimate gestational age ≥41 weeks. The mean AFI was 8.1±4.3 cm; 23 women had an AFI <5 cm. Twenty women were HIV infected. In univariable and multivariable linear regression analysis, HIV infection and gestational age were inversely associated with AFI at a P value <0.05. On abdominal palpation, the symphysis-fundal height, uterine fundal fetal parts ballottement, and presenting part ballottement were significantly positively associated with AFI on univariable and multivariable linear regression analysis. For the binary outcome of oligohydramnios, only presenting part ballottement was associated with an AFI <5 cm (negatively), both crudely, and adjusted for gestational age and HIV infection using logistic regression analysis. For women with a fetal head fully palpable (‘five fifths’) above the pubic symphysis (n=55), an inability to ballot the presenting part had a sensitivity of 73%, specificity of 64%, and a negative predictive value of 90% for an AFI <5 cm. Conclusion While fetal part ballottement and symphysis-fundal height measurement showed significant associations with AFI, the predictive value of clinical palpation for oligohydramnios was poor. However, in settings where real-time ultrasound technology is unavailable, the assessment of presenting part ballottement may be of value in women with suspected prolonged pregnancy. In clinical settings similar to those in this study, a ballottable fetal head gives 90% assurance of normal AFV.

No description available.

Deficient trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodeling are associated with pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Using a model in which pregnant Wistar rats are given daily, low-dose, injections of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 – 40 µg/kg) on gestational days (GD) 13.5 – 16.5, our group has shown that abnormal maternal inflammation is causally linked to shallow trophoblast invasion, deficient spiral artery remodeling, and altered utero-placental hemodynamics leading to FGR/PE; these alterations were shown to be mediated by TNF-a. The present research evaluated certain consequences of decreased placental perfusion; this was accomplished by examining placental alterations indicative of decreased placental perfusion. Additionally, the role of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) was determined as a potential therapeutic to prevent the consequences of decreased placental perfusion. Results indicated that dams experiencing heightened maternal inflammation showed significantly greater expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1a (HIF-1a) and nitrotyrosine, both of which are markers of decreased perfusion and oxidative/nitrosative stress. Contrary to expectations, inflammation did not appear to affect nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, as revealed by a lack of change in placental or plasma levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). However, continuous transdermal administration of GTN (25 µg/hr) on GD 12.5 – 16.5 prevented the accumulation of HIF-1a and nitrotyrosine in placentas from LPS-treated rats. These results support the concept that maternal inflammation contributes to placental hypoxia and oxidative/nitrosative stress. Additionally, they indicate that GTN has potential applications in the treatment and/or prevention of pregnancy complications associated with abnormal maternal inflammation. / Thesis (Master, Anatomy & Cell Biology) -- Queen's University, 2013-07-05 14:37:05.15

Haemolytic Disease of the Foetus and Newborn (HDFN) and Foetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) are the most clinically relevant alloimmune disorders of pregnancy caused by maternal alloimmunisation to paternally derived foetal red blood cell (RhD) and platelet antigens (HPA-1a) respectively. Recombinant Fc-modified antibodies have been designed as inert potential biotherapeutics to compete with maternal alloantibodies and reduce foetal mortality. Fc-modified anti-D (Fog1G1 Δnab) and anti-HPA-1a (B2G1Δnab & B2G1Δnac) have been evaluated for their materno-foetal transport capacity using human placental models. For future in vivo efficacy, Fc-modified antibodies should transport at similar rates to wild-type antibodies (Fog1G1 and B2G1). The placental perfusion model showed that the Δnab mutation appeared to lower the transport capability of anti-D and anti-HPA-1a across the placenta. In a Human Umbilical Endothelial Vein Cell (HUVEC-c) cell culture model, transport of HPA-1a was favoured in a basal to apical direction and was statistically significant at hours 12 and 24 (p=0.002 & p=0.010 respectively). The relative order of transport was B2G1Δnac > B2G1 > B2G1Δnab implying the Δnac mutation enhances transport across the foetal endothelium. Since approximately 40% of RhD negative women give birth to RhD negative babies, these women currently receive anti-D prophylaxis unnecessarily. Foetal DNA was successfully extracted from maternal plasma and genotyped for foetal RhD status using Real-Time PCR. Foetal genotyping results revealed 96% and 98% concordance with cord blood serology for maternal blood samples taken at booking (~16 weeks) and at 28 weeks gestation respectively. Two-dimensional Difference in Gel Electrophoresis (2-D DiGE) was used to evaluate the normal placental proteome of syncytiotrophoblast membrane particles (STBMs) generated from placental perfusion. Eleven differentially expressed protein species were identified when comparing different STBM samples. Future work aims to compare the normal placental proteome with the proteome of placentas from complicated pregnancies (e.g. PE, IUGR, PTL and Trisomies 13, 18 and 21) to discover potential biomarkers for screening.

This study investigated the impact of perinatal complications on the developing child and the relationship of those complications to the development of autism in an individual. The biological mothers of autistic children (N = 183) completed the Maternal Perinatal Scale, a maternal selfreport which surveys complications of pregnancy and medical conditions of the mother. Archival data on normals (N = 209), obtained during previous perinatal investigations, was utilized as a control group.Previous research in this area has been limited, with no definitive conclusions. All previous investigators have declined to state that events identified in previous research were definitely related to the development of autism.An overall multivariate test was performed to determine if significant differences existed between the autistic and normal subjects. Following this exploration of the data, previously identified complications were entered into a stepwise discriminant analysis in the order of theirtheoretical importance to determine the extent of their contribution to autism. Following this analysis, medical conditions of the mothers (items 27-47 as included on the MPS) were entered into the stepwise analysis to determine their contribution, if any, to autism in the sample.The results of this analysis revealed that the two groups differed significantly on three of the ten factors of the MPS. The overall multivariate test was highly significant and revealed that the groups differed on Factor 2 (Gestational Age), Factor 4 (Maternal Morphology), and Factor 8 (Intrauterine Stress). Moreover, five of the six previously identified items were found to be significant. These were: prescriptions raken during pregnancy, length of labor, viral infection,, abnormal presentation at delivery, and low birthweight. Three of the maternal medical conditions examined were also highly significant and contributed to separation between groups. These were: urinary infection, high temperatures, and depression. These were items which have not been identified in previous investigations.Based on discriminant analysis of the 10 factors of the MPS, 65% of the cases were correctly grouped. The MPS would be a useful clinical tool in identification of those children who are at risk for development of autism. / Department of Educational Psychology

No description available.

Studies of anaemia occurring during pregnancy have been of two main types. The first type, from which information of great value has been collected, is the mass survey of large series of cases. Studies of such a nature have the disadvantage that the less common varieties of pregnancy anaemia are pooled amongst the more common, a feature which is largely responsible for the perpetuation of traditional rather than factual ideas on the subject of these less common forms. The second type of study, of which the present is an example, consists of a more intensive and detailed investigation of individual cases with the main purpose of interpreting pathogenesis in terms of deviation from that which is physiological. Anaemia and pregnancy are common associations. It is important to distinguish between anaemia which is apparently due to pregnancy and anaemia which is associated coincidentally with pregnancy. In the present enquiry, the phrase "anaemia during pregnancy" generically denotes that a case is pregnant and anaemic at the same time. " Anaemia of pregnancy" and "pregnancy anaemia" are used synonymously to indicate that the anaemia is conditioned directly by pregnancy; it is perhaps too strong to refer to such anaemia as being due to pregnancy. ". Anaemia complicated by pregnancy" indicates that pregnancy occurs coincidentally with some disorder of the blood which ordinarily occurs quite apart from and is quite unrelated to pregnancy. The present investigation has sought to establish normal standards for the less commonly noted physical features of red cell fragility and red cell size during normal pregnancy, and to investigate these features in mild and severe grades of anaemia during pregnancy, followed through to the puerperium. At the same time, full haematological investigations were carried out and the results of various types of treatment followed. The type of response to treatment was used as an important aid to the diagnosis of the type of anaemia. That the investigation of the red cell fragility in pregnancy might afford information of value was suggested by Dr. J.M. Vaughan on the evidence of a single case under 2 her own observation some time previously in which the fragility was increased. The observations of Cassells (1938) also suggested that with an accurate technique for fragility estimation the red cells during pregnancy could be shown to behave differently from other forms of anaemia as regards their fragility. As no controlled work had been published on the subject, it was necessary to establish standards of red cell fragility for pregnancy uncomplicated by anaemia, and to compare these standards with the findings in pregnancy complicated by anaemia. On the assumption that red cell fragility is at least in part related to red cell thickness (Haden, 1934, Dacie and Vaughan, 1938), estimations of mean cell volume and mean cell diameter were an essential part of the investigation. Red cell counts, haemoglobin estimations, reticulocyte counts, white cell counts, and estimation of plasma bilirubin were part of the routine investigation.

The purpose of this study was to review the evidence linking maternal and paternal lifestyle habits in the preconception and prenatal period to adverse reproductive outcomes; to determine either the proportion of reproductive casualties which could be attributed to lifestyle risk, thus be amenable to prevention, or the information required to estimate the preventable portion of lifestyle-related reproductive casualties; and to examine a method for surveillance of reproductive health in the community which would provide the basis for a comprehensive information system suited to the needs of the research, planning, preventive medicine and health promotion communities. As a means of managing the size of the study report, only a representative set of lifestyles (smoking, alcohol consumption and nutrition) and research literature (major cohort and case-control studies in human populations) was reported in detail. A method was developed to review and describe the degree to which the evidence meets established criteria for causal association. The most recently available prevalence data for determining smoking, alcohol and nutritional risk, and incidence data for seven reproductive outcomes (infertility, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, infant mortality, congenital anomalies, fetal growth and morbidity) in the British Columbia population were used to calculate the preventable portion of reproductive casualties in this community. A review of the variables required, compared with the data available, provided the basis for recommendations regarding a reproductive health information system to support community surveillance, evaluation and research. The study supports the conclusion that there is evidence of a causal link between exposure to lifestyle risks and the majority of adverse reproductive outcomes selected as indicators of reproductive health. The calculation of the preventable portion (etiologic fraction) of lifestyle-related reproductive casualties in British Columbia suggests the preventable portion associated with single lifestyle risk variables may be in the range of 10-50 percent. A more extensive and up-to-date set of population data for British Columbia is required to determine an accurate estimate. The benefits to be derived from an improved information system were detailed in the study. Reproductive health data collected for British Columbia is primarily outcome oriented with very little input data on which to base rational planning decisions for the improvement of reproductive health outcomes. The study recommends that a more comprehensive reproductive health information system, with an integrated, linked data base, be considered a high priority by government and all institutions, agencies and individuals working to improve reproductive health outcomes in British Columbia. The potential to improve reproductive health is significant enough to warrant action at the clinical and community level, but additional data are required to plan cost-effective intervention strategies, to monitor improvements in reproductive health, and to support applied research initiatives. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Doctor of Medicine

The relationship between perinatal complications and sensory-motor functions was examined. Information from the Maternal Perinatal Scale (MPS) was used to predict factor scores of the Dean Sensory-Motor Battery (DSMB). Participants were 187 normal nonreferred children who were administered the DSMB while their mothers completed the MPS. Using MPS items as predictors, separate stepwise regression analyses for each DSMB factor found that 11 - 16% of variance could be accounted for in sensory-motor performance. At least three MPS items significantly contributed to the prediction of each DSMB factor. Predictors of Sensory and Simple Motor functions (DSMB Factor I) included maternal bleeding during pregnancy, delay between membrane rupture (water break) and onset of labor, and evidence of hypoxia. Evidence of hypoxia, maternal bleeding during pregnancy, and delay between water break and labor onset were predictive of Motor and Complex Sensory functions (DSMB Factor II). In addition, gender of the child joined maternal bleeding during pregnancy, amount of swelling during pregnancy, and mother's height in predicting Subcortical Motor functions (DSMB Factor III). Additional analyses using a canonical correlation confirmed the results of the regression analyses. A linear composite of sensory and motor variables was primarily defined by DSMB factors I and II. The linear composite of perinatal information was defined primarily by the same items that emerged as significant predictors of sensorymotor functions in the regression analyses. Most notably, a redundancy analysis indicated that about 20% of variance in DSMB factor scores could be accounted for by a linear composite of perinatal information. In general, sensory-motor performance decreased as severity of perinatal complications increased. Results were discussed in terms of the implications of using a normal non-referred population. More importantly, the present data suggested the possibility that 1) the relationship between perinatal complications and sensory-motor functions may exist on a continuum rather than the dichotomous diagnosis/no diagnosis, and 2) the synergistic influence of multiple perinatal complications may contribute to the manifestation of clinically significant behaviors. The role of sensory-motor functions as a foundation for more complex behaviors is also discussed. / Department of Educational Psychology