Validation of a Model for Predicting Magnesium Concentration in Women with Preeclampsia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
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Journal of Pregnancy publishes original research articles, review articles, and clinical studies related to all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth. Topics include biomedical aspects of pregnancy labour, maternal health and breastfeeding.
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Chief Editor, Dr. Ozgu-Erdinc, has been an active practitioner for over 30 years. Her research is focused on gestational diabetes mellitus screening, diagnosis and management including being actively involved in clinical research for new and novel ways to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
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More articlesChildbirth Self-Efficacy and Its Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia, 2023: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background. Childbirth self-efficacy is a pregnant women’s perception of their ability to cope with labor stress. Low childbirth self-efficacy is linked to pain intolerance and poor labor progression, which increase the possibility of operative delivery. However, Ethiopia has limited data. So, the aim of this study was to assess childbirth self-efficacy and its factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care in public health facilities in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia, in 2023. Objective. To assess childbirth self-efficacy and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care in public health facilities in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia, in 2023. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 416 women from January 1 to January 30, 2023. A systematic random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected by KoboToolbox through face-to-face interviews using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Modified short-form childbirth self-efficacy inventory was used to score self-efficacy. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 27, was used for data management and analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each variable, and a logistic model was used. Statistical significance was determined at a value of less than 0.05 and 95% confidence level. Results. A total of 416 pregnant women participated in the study. Two hundred twenty-eight (54.8%) of the pregnant women had low childbirth self-efficacy. Age group in ≤24 years (, 95% CI: 1.82-8), primigravida (, 95% CI: 1.10-2.86), unplanned pregnancy (, 95% CI: 1.02-2.70), poor social support (, 95% CI: 1.09-4.30), having anxiety (, 95% CI: 1.10-3.64), having poor knowledge of childbirth (, 95% CI: 2.09-5.39), and severe fear of childbirth (, 95% CI: 2.60-9.80) were statistically significant with low childbirth self-efficacy. Conclusions. The magnitude of low childbirth self-efficacy was high in the study area. Being primigravida, unplanned pregnancy, years, severe fear of childbirth, anxiety, poor social support, and poor knowledge were significantly associated with low childbirth self-efficacy. Therefore, giving special attention to these factors during antenatal care would be important.
Multiple Gestation after Elective Single-Embryo Transfer: A State-of-the-Art Review of Literature and Suggested Mechanisms
Background. Elective single-embryo transfers are being increasingly used to curb the increase in multiple gestation rates. However, it has been documented that single-embryo transfers could still result in twins and on rarer occasions in triplet pregnancies. Main Body. A literature review was done to highlight the possible mechanisms leading to embryonic splitting. In this review, the incidence of zygotic splitting was addressed and the notion of chorionicity was explained. Risk factors for zygotic splitting and suggested mechanisms for both twin and higher order pregnancies were suggested and discussed. Conclusion. The hypotheses that we have so far remain unproven due to the rarity of zygotic splitting as well as the ethicolegal considerations of human embryo research. The presence of such incidents necessitates extensive counselling of the couple.
Drug Utilization Studies in Pregnant Women for Newly Licensed Medicinal Products: A Contribution from IMI ConcePTION
Purpose. Studies focusing on safety outcomes typically require large populations to comprehensively characterise the patient groups exposed to the medicines under investigation. However, there is often less information for subpopulations, such as pregnant or breastfeeding women, particularly when new medicines are considered. It is important to understand what information can be obtained from drug utilization studies (DUS) involving pregnant women in the early years postmarketing to provide supportive information for safety studies. The aims of this literature review are to (1) identify and review DUS for new medicines in pregnancy and breastfeeding and (2) list and summarise key information items to be reported in a DUS for new medicines in pregnancy. Methods. To identify postmarketing DUS of new prescription medicines or enantiomers in pregnancy, a systematic literature review was undertaken in PubMed and Embase between January 2015 and June 2022. In addition, the complete database of the ENCePP EU PAS Register was systematically searched to June 2022. Results. We identified 11 published DUS on new medicines in pregnancy from the ENCePP EU PAS Register and none from other sources. No studies on breastfeeding were identified. The 11 identified publications reported the medicine’s use for the first 3 to 5 years after marketing approval. No reports assessed utilization in the first 3 years of approval. It was usual to issue interim reports annually (7 studies). All studies concerned conditions managed in ambulatory care (primary care and outpatient facilities) and included some primary care prescribing. Most () only had prescribing/dispensing data available at individual level for ambulatory care; outpatient prescribing was included in three of these studies Three studies held a limited amount of in-hospital prescribing data. A DUS can confirm at an early stage whether there are sufficient exposed pregnancies in available data sources to ensure a safety study is powered to detect a difference in the prevalence of adverse pregnancy or infant outcomes or if additional data from other databases are needed. A DUS may also help address methodological considerations such as selection of comparators. DUS can be performed embedded in a DUS in the general population, in a cohort of women of childbearing age, or in a cohort of pregnant women. Conclusion. This review summarises key aspects of a DUS for new medicines in pregnancy. DUS for new medicines in pregnancy should be planned before marketing, scheduled for the first 3 to 5 years after release, with annual interim/progress reports, and reported in peer-reviewed journals. By offering detailed information on data sources, exposure timing, prevalence and location, coprescribing, comorbidities, coexposures, and demographics, a DUS will offer a firm foundation for safety studies and will help to contextualize spontaneous reporting of serious adverse events.
Obesity Cut-Off Points Using Prepregnancy Body Mass Index according to Cardiometabolic Conditions in Pregnancy
Aim. To suggest cut-off points for body mass index (BMI) using gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) as cardiometabolic conditions in pregnancy. Methods. In this prospective study, singleton pregnant women from the fetal medicine service of the Brazilian Unified Health System were included. The pregnancy, perinatal, and newborn data were obtained from the clinical medical records. Maternal anthropometry included an assessment of weight and height and the prepregnancy BMI evaluation categorized according to the World Health Organization cut-off points. The area under the curve and confidence interval values from receiver operator curves were generated to identify the optimal cut-off points using prepregnancy BMI with better sensitivity and specificity. Results. Data on 218 pregnancies were analyzed, with 57.9% () being classified as overweight/obese, 11% () with GDM, 6.9% () with preeclampsia, and 11.0% () with gestational hypertension. The BMI cut-off points for predicting cardiometabolic conditions were 27.52 kg/m2 (S: 66.7%; E: 63.8%) for women with GDM; 27.40 kg/m2 (S: 73.3%; E: 62.4%; S: 79.2%; E: 64.9%; S: 70.3%; E: 66.3%) for women with preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational hypertension plus preeclampsia, respectively; and 27.96 kg/m2 (S: 69.6%; E: 65.6%) for women with preeclampsia plus GDM. Conclusion. The findings suggest that the optimal prepregnancy BMI cut-off point is around 27 kg/m2 for pregnant women with maternal cardiometabolic conditions.
Assessment of Place of Delivery and Associated Factors among Pastoralists in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Evaluation
Background. Pastoralist communities rely on their livestock for at least 50% of their food supply and source of income. Home births raise the risk of maternal morbidity and death, whereas institutional births lessen the likelihood of difficulties during labor. Around 70% of labors in pastoralist regions of Ethiopia were assisted by traditional birth attendants. Methods. Studies done from January 2004 to January 2023, accessed in PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, and other search engines, were included. PRISMA guidelines and JBI critical appraisal checklist were used to assure the quality of the review. Ten articles were included in this review. Data were extracted with Excel and exported to STATA 16 for analysis. Heterogeneity of literatures was evaluated using statistics and publication bias using the Egger regression asymmetry test and the Duval and Tweedie trim-fill analysis. Statistical significance was declared at value less than 0.05. Result. The pooled estimate of institutional delivery among the pastoralist community in Ethiopia is 21.2% (95% CI: 16.2-26.1). Husbands who were involved to decide place of delivery (; 95% CI: 1.61, 7.50), women with good knowledge of MCH services (; 95% CI: 1.51, 3.44), women who had a positive attitude towards MCH services (; 95% CI: 0.79, 3.6), availability of health institutions (; 95% CI: 0.95, 7.20), and women who had an ANC follow-up (; 95% CI: 2.07, 3.73) were higher institutional delivery prevalence among pastoralist women. Moreover, institutional delivery among women who were educated above the college level was more than two times (; 95% CI: 1.985, 3.304) higher than among women who were not educated. Conclusion. Pastoralist women in Ethiopia were found to be a disadvantaged group for institutional delivery at national level. Husband involvement, educational level, ANC visit, knowledge and attitude for MCH service, and health facility distance were identified to have significant association with institutional delivery.
Missed Opportunity of Antenatal Care Services Utilization and Associated Factors among Reproductive Age Women in Eastern Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia: Mixed Methods Study
Background. Despite the enormous advantages of early pregnancy-related problem diagnosis and therapy during prenatal care visits, not all pregnant women begin antenatal care at the proper time. Thus, this study aims to identify factors associated with missed opportunities for antenatal care service utilization among reproductive-age women in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods. A mixed methods study design (quantitative and qualitative) was conducted in Grawa, Meta, and Haramaya woredas from September 5 to December 5, 2019. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. A multivariable logistic regression analysis model was used to identify the predictors. Statistical software programs based on ATLAS.ti version 8.2 was were used to conduct the thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Results. Overall, missed opportunities for antenatal care were 15.4% of 95% (12.1, 19.1%). Factors such as maternal age being 15–24 (, 95% CI: 2.89–8.81); having a college education (, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.42), elementary (, 95% CI: 0.002, 0.98), and secondary education (, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.88); having five and more parity (, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.75); three visits (, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.71); those in the first trimester (, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.35) and the second trimester (, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.26); and get information from a health facility (AOR =0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.67) and traditional birth attendance (, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.74) were factors statistically associated with outcome variables. Conclusions. According to this report, relatively high proportions of pregnant women experienced missed opportunities in antenatal care follow-up. Factors such as maternal age, education, parity, frequency, timing, and media access were statistically significantly correlated with missed antenatal care follow-up. Therefore, all stakeholders should emphasize advocating for and enhancing the benefits of antenatal care; this in turn plays a crucial role in increasing the follow-up of clients for these crucial services. Moreover, health policy implementers need to coordinate their tracking of pregnant women who missed their antenatal care session.