Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Doctor of Medicine

This qualitative descriptive study investigated the unique and specific impact of being pregnant while one's husband was deployed to a combat zone. Three specific aims were used to address the study objectives 1) Describe the experience of being pregnant while one's husband is deployed 2) Describe the women's experiences with health-care providers 3) Describe the types of support women sought or had access to during pregnancy. Participants were 16 women who had been pregnant while their husbands were deployed for greater than 30 days from 2004-2014, with no prior personal history of being deployed. Participants completed demographic questionnaires on their pregnancy course, and their husband's military and deployment history. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with each participant individually. Content and matrix analysis were utilized to explore the study aims. The Stress and Coping Model by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) provided the theoretical framework for this study. Communication was an important part of receiving support from the husband and daily communication (n=4, 25%) was associated with more problem-based coping (75%) and feelings of emotional support from the husband (38%). Six participants stated a history of preterm labor or birth, and most of those participants used emotion-based coping predominantly (57%). Participants who perceived that their husbands experienced significant danger were more likely to use emotion-based coping (56%). Participants overall had more positive interactions with certified nurse midwives (76%) and civilian obstetric physicians (77%), and reported more negative interactions with military obstetric providers (87%). Primiparous participants reported that 61% of all experiences with providers were positive while multiparous participants were more likely to have negative (66%) or mixed (6%) experiences. Support systems sought or accessed were different for officer and enlisted wives as well as for different ages. The wives of enlisted soldiers were more likely to not participate, or have an unfavorable view (52%) of the FRGs. Whereas, the wives of officers felt more support and involvement (69%). Wives who were 29-years-old or less sought out more support from friends/co-workers (33%) than the 30-years-old or older group (19%). The 30-years-old or older group was more likely to have sought support from family (50%) versus the 29-years-old or younger group (40%). The difference in support sought or accessed from the FRG between the two age groups was much less significant (28% for ≤ 29-years old versus 31% for ≥ 30-years old). The findings from this study could be adapted to create a screening tool that would alert providers to those pregnant women who might need specific resources or social support.

140 p. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The aim of the work described in this thesis was to isolate the gene encoding a protein involved in the generation of Early Pregnancy Factor (EPF) activity. EPF activity is defined as the ability of pregnancy serum to induce a positive response in the rosette inhibition test (RIT). Non-pregnant serum fails to give a positive response in this assay and therefore does not containe EPF activity. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Biochemistry. 1990

Appropriate placental development in early gestation is essential for subsequent placental function and hence optimal fetal growth and pregnancy outcome. Placental insufficiency has been implicated in common disorders of pregnancy, which result in fetal and maternal mortality or morbidity, and also increase the risk of poor health in adult offspring. Prior to the onset of maternal blood flow to the placenta at ~10 weeks of gestation, placentation occurs in a relatively hypoxic environment, which is essential for healthy pregnancy. IGF-II is abundantly expressed by the invasive trophoblast and may interact with oxygen to regulate placentation. Additionally, maternally-derived IGFs may act on the placenta and the mother to regulate fetal growth. This thesis investigated the role and interaction of oxygen and IGF-II on human placental outgrowth during early pregnancy in vitro. Furthermore, the impact of maternal IGF treatment during early to mid pregnancy, on placental development and substrate transfer, nutrient partitioning between the mother and fetus, and fetal growth, were also determined in mid and late gestation in guinea pigs. We have demonstrated, using human early first trimester placental villous explants, that IGF-II mediates the effect of hypoxia on placental outgrowth. Culture of placental explants in hypoxia, or with exogenous IGF-II, enhanced trophoblast outgrowth and inhibited TGF-β1 activation, a negative regulator of trophoblast function. In addition, culture of explants in hypoxia induced Igf2 gene expression in outgrowing trophoblast, without altering Upar, Igf1r, Igf2r or Tgfβ1 transcription. We propose that this novel interaction of oxygen, IGF-II and TGF-β1 during pregnancy is an important determinant of placental development. Furthermore, we showed that exogenous IGF-II stimulates villous explant trophoblast outgrowth in placenta from >10 weeks gestation, suggesting that IGF-II may be a potential therapeutic agent to enhance placental growth. In guinea pigs, maternal treatment with IGF-I or IGF-II, in early to mid pregnancy, has sustained anabolic effects on fetal growth, enhanced fetal survival and increased placental delivery, and fetal and maternal utilization of, glucose and amino acids near term. These effects were also evident by mid gestation following earlier IGF-I treatment. Despite these similar pregnancy outcomes, there were IGF specific effects on the placenta and mother, suggesting that IGFs may mediate some of their effects via different pathways. IGF-I administration severely reduced maternal adiposity in late pregnancy, elicited its effects by substantially improving development of the placental exchange region, which correlated with placental function. We have suggested that the discrete effects of IGF-I and IGF-II stem from distinct interactions of the IGFs with various receptors. Maternal administration of an analogue of IGF-II that selectively interacts with IGF2R (Leu ²⁷-IGF-II), revealed that many of the effects of IGF-II treatment, were mediated by IGF2R, while IGF-I presumably acts through IGF1R. Together, this work has highlighted the major and somewhat complementary roles of maternal IGFs during the first half of pregnancy, in regulating placental development, fetal growth and pregnancy success. Importantly, it indicates the potential use of maternal IGFs in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to pregnancy complications. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1277715 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, 2007.

Thesis (M.D. 1973) from the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide & Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Dundee.

Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Biochemistry. 1990.

Program--Univ. Marburg (Novi prorectoris inaugurationem). / Bibliographical foot-notes.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute. 1951. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 39). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis--Universitas Indonesia. / Summary in English. "Dalil-dalil": (1 leaf) inserted. Bibliography: p. 183-202.