Maternal and perinatal consequences of antepartum haemorrhage of unknown origin

Successful management of intraoperative cesarean section bleeding due to cervical arteriovenous malformation: A case report

Cervical arteriovenous malformation is an exceedingly rare condition that can lead to antepartum hemorrhage, posing risks for both maternal and perinatal morbidity. We report the case of a 30-year-old primigravida, at a gestational age of 31+2 weeks, who presented to hospital with antepartum hemorrhage. A speculum examination revealed a 500 mL blood clot. Despite a thorough examination, the cause of the antepartum hemorrhage remained elusive. An emergency cesarean section was done due to hypovolemic shock and a fetal NICHD category III assessment. Following the delivery of the fetus, a pulsatile tubular structure was identified at the endocervix and biopsied. Suture ligation followed by insertion of a Bakri balloon, effectively controlled the bleeding with blood loss of 1200 mL. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of arteriovenous malformation. This case underscores the importance of recognizing cervical arteriovenous malformation and demonstrates the effectiveness of suture ligation and balloon tamponade in managing associated hemorrhage, offering insights for similar cases.

An Increased Adverse Fetal Outcome Has Been Observed among Teen Pregnant Women in Rural Eastern Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Background: According to the World Health Organization, teenage pregnancies are high-risk due to increased risks of fetal and infant morbidity and mortality. This study compares adverse fetal outcomes between teen and adult pregnant women from rural Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among women visiting maternity units from surrounding rural areas. A total of 481 teenagers (13-19 years old) and 481 adults (20-34 years old) women with a singleton pregnancy were included in the study. Two hospitals and 3 health centers were selected in Eastern Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. Comparative analysis was carried out using the log-binomial regression model to identify factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in both categories. The results are reported in adjusted prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Results: High proportion of adverse fetal outcome was observed among teenage women than adult (34.9% vs 21%). Statistically significant difference (P < .05) in the proportion of low birth weight (21.1% vs 9.3%), preterm birth (18.7% vs 10.6%), APGAR score at 5th minute (9.3% vs 4%) were found in teenagers compared to adult women. Antenatal care attendance (APR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.86); eclampsia (APR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.26, 3.06); pre-eclampsia (APR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.67); and wealth index (rich) (APR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.94) were significantly associated with adverse fetal outcomes among the teenage women. Whereas intimate partner violence (APR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.26, 3.90); preeclampsia (APR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.61, 5.69); antepartum hemorrhage (APR = 2.77; 95% CI: 1.73, 4.46); and hyperemesis gravderm (APR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.79) were significantly associated with adverse fatal outcomes among the adult women. Conclusion: teenage pregnancy is associated with a high rate of adverse fetal outcomes. Early identification and treatment of problems during antenatal follow-up should be the mainstay to avert the massive adverse fetal effects.

Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Resulting from Antepartum Hemorrhage in Women with Placenta Previa and Its Associated Risk Factors: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Purpose

Antepartum hemorrhage (APH) in women with placenta previa (PP) has been associated with increased perinatal complications. The present study aims to evaluate the maternal and neonatal outcomes, and risk factors related to this condition.

Methods

This retrospective study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Military Medical University from January 2016 to September 2019, which included all women with PP. The clinical and ultrasound features in patients with or without APH were compared.

Results

There were 233 women with APH and 302 women without APH in the cohort. Most of the women with APH were prone to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. In the logistic regression analysis, cervical length was inversely correlated to APH (OR: 0.972, 95% CI: 0.952~0.993), while complete PP increased the risk for APH (OR: 2.121, 95% CI: 1.208~3.732). Furthermore, the anterior placenta increased the risk for APH (OR: 1.664, 95% CI: 1.139~2.430), the partial absence of the over lying myometrium increased the risk for APH (OR: 2.015, 95% CI: 1.293~3.141), and the previous history of uterine artery embolization (UAE) increased the highest risk for APH (OR: 11.706, 95% CI: 1.424~96.195).

Conclusion

Obstetricians should be aware of the increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes related to APH in women with complete PP, short cervical length, anterior placenta, and partially absent over lying myometrium. Prior UAE is a novel risk factor associated with increased prevalence of APH.

The association between intimate partner violence and low birth weight and preterm delivery in eastern Ethiopia: Findings from a facility-based study

OBJECTIVE

To determine the associations between intimate partner violence during pregnancy and low birth weight and preterm birth among women who gave birth in public hospitals in Harari region, eastern Ethiopia.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted among women who gave birth in public hospitals in Harari region.

PARTICIPANTS

Women aged 16-45 years who gave birth in hospitals from November 2018 to April 2019.

SETTING

Two public hospitals in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia MEASUREMENT: Intimate partner violence was measured using a questionnaire adapted from the World Health Organization Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Binary and multiple logistic regression was performed to establish the association between intimate partner violence and low birth weight and preterm birth. Both crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The level of significance was set at a p-value of <0.05.

RESULTS

In this study, 39% of women reported experiencing partner violence during their most recent pregnancy. The prevalence of preterm birth and low birth weight were found to be 18.9% and 12.01%, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, women who experienced any intimate partner violence during pregnancy were 1.62 times (AOR = 1.62, 95%CI= 1.22, 2.78) more likely to give birth prematurely and 1.37 times (AOR= 1.37, 95%CI=1.73, 2.57) more likely to have a low birth weight infant relative to women who did not experience intimate partner violence during pregnancy.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The results underscore the need for including intimate partner violence prevention as an important strategy to reduce child mortality and morbidity. Screening pregnant women for intimate partner violence and providing support for women who have experienced violence might be helpful in tackling prematurity and low birth weight.

The Impact of Severe Maternal Morbidity on Perinatal Outcomes in High Income Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

While there is clear evidence that severe maternal morbidity (SMM) contributes significantly to poor maternal health outcomes, limited data exist on its impact on perinatal outcomes. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to ascertain the association between SMM and adverse perinatal outcomes in high-income countries (HICs). We searched for full-text publications in PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Scopus databases. Studies that reported data on the association of SMM and adverse perinatal outcomes, either as a composite or individual outcome, were included. Two authors independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data, and performed quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We used random-effects modelling to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. We also assessed the risk of publication bias and statistical heterogeneity using funnel plots and Higgins I2, respectively. We defined sub-groups of SMM as hemorrhagic disorders, hypertensive disorders, cardiovascular disorders, hepatic disorders, renal disorders, and thromboembolic disorders. Adverse perinatal outcome was defined as preterm birth (before 37 weeks gestation), small for gestational age (SGA) (birth weight (BW) < 10th centile for gestation), low birthweight (LBW) (BW < 2.5 kg), Apgar score < 7 at 5 min, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, stillbirth and perinatal death (stillbirth and neonatal deaths up to 28 days). A total of 35 studies consisting of 38,909,426 women were included in the final analysis. SMMs associated with obstetric hemorrhage (OR 3.42, 95% CI: 2.55-4.58), severe hypertensive disorders (OR 6.79, 95% CI: 6.06-7.60), hepatic (OR 3.19, 95% CI: 2.46-4.13) and thromboembolic disorders (OR 2.40, 95% CI: 1.67-3.46) were significantly associated with preterm birth. SMMs from hypertensive disorders (OR 2.86, 95% CI: 2.51-3.25) or thromboembolic disorders (OR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.09-1.99) were associated with greater odds of having SGA infant. Women with severe hemorrhage had increased odds of LBW infant (OR 2.31, 95% CI: 1.57-3.40). SMMs from obstetric hemorrhage (OR 4.16, 95% CI: 2.54-6.81) or hypertensive disorders (OR 4.61, 95% CI: 1.17-18.20) were associated with an increased odds of low 5-min Apgar score and NICU admission (Severe obstetric hemorrhage: OR 3.34, 95% CI: 2.26-4.94 and hypertensive disorders: OR 3.63, 95% CI: 2.63-5.02, respectively). Overall, women with SMM were 4 times more likely to experience stillbirth (OR 3.98, 95%C 3.12-7.60) compared to those without SMM with cardiovascular disease (OR 15.2, 95% CI: 1.29-180.60) and thromboembolic disorders (OR 9.43, 95% CI: 4.38-20.29) conferring greatest risk of this complication. The odds of neonatal death were significantly higher in women with SMM (OR 3.98, 95% CI: 2.44-6.47), with those experiencing hemorrhagic (OR 7.33, 95% CI: 3.06-17.53) and hypertensive complications (OR 3.0, 95% CI: 1.78-5.07) at highest risk. Overall, SMM was also associated with higher odds of perinatal death (OR 4.74, 95% CI: 2.47-9.12) mainly driven by the increased risk in women experiencing severe obstetric hemorrhage (OR 6.18, 95% CI: 2.55-14.96). Our results highlight the importance of mitigating the impact of SMM not only to improve maternal health but also to ameliorate its consequences on perinatal outcomes.

Serum levels of vasoactive factors in HIV-infected pre-eclamptic women on HAART

In South Africa, pre-eclampsia (PE) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are major causes of pregnancy-related deaths. This study aimed to measure serum levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), soluble endoglin (sEng) and placental growth factor (PlGF) in HIV-infected highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-treated and HIV-uninfected PE and normotensive women to ascertain if HIV/HAART alters their concentrations. Mean sFlt-1 levels were significantly up-regulated in the PE (HIV-uninfected 4.39 ± 1.29; HIV-infected 5.10 ± 1.10 ng/ml) compared to normotensive women (HIV-uninfected 2.59 ± 0.83; HIV-infected 2.20 ± 0.85 ng/ml). Mean PlGF levels were significantly lower in HIV-uninfected PE vs. HIV-infected normotensive women (29.69 ± 4.47 pg/ml vs. 32.86 ± 6.46 pg/ml; p = .002). In conclusion, PE women with HIV exhibited significantly low serum PlGF, ET-1 and eNOS levels. Infection with HIV may have further increased the sFlt-1 levels.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? In PE, the numerous identified local and circulating bioactive factors differed in concentrations when compared to normal pregnancy.What do the results of this study add? PE women with HIV exhibited significantly low serum PlGF, ET-1 and eNOS levels as well as increased levels of sFlt-1.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Understanding the link between PE, HIV and HAART during pregnancy will improve prognosis, management and treatment strategies for women clinically.

Maternal BMI at the time of birth and selected risk factors associated with severe neonatal outcomes: a secondary analysis of the WHO Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty (BOLD) project

The main objective of this secondary analysis was to describe the nutritional status of the Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty (BOLD) project study population and determine possible associations between maternal nutritional status (as reflected by maternal BMI at the time of birth) and severe neonatal outcomes (SNO). We also analysed previous and index maternal pathologies to determine associations with neonatal outcomes. We used the classification designed by Atalah for maternal BMI and compared with the Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study one. To describe the nutritional status of this population, figures of distribution and test of normality related to weight and BMI were presented for the women and their babies. To explore the association between maternal BMI data and SNO, the χ2 test was performed. To identify a maternal characteristic or a group of characteristics that could predict SNO, we used Fisher's exact test using previous maternal pathology collected in the BOLD project as well as that in the index pregnancy. In this study, BMI at the time of birth was not associated with neonatal near miss or death. We found that previous maternal obesity, diabetes and chronic hypertension were associated with SNO. Maternal pathology in the index pregnancy such as other obstetric haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, anaemia and gestational diabetes was associated with SNO.

National Analysis of Risk Assessment Content in Prenatal Records Across Canada

Each Canadian province/territory has a distinct prenatal record form to guide maternity health care. Because there is no national oversight of these forms, little is known about how they compare regarding content on risk assessment for adverse perinatal outcomes. We cataloged and compared the risk factors that are captured on prenatal record forms across Canada. Nine out of 12 records included risk sections, with an average of 35 risk items. We identified 100 prenatal risk factors and categorized them as medical (73%), lifestyle (11%), psychosocial (11%), or personal (5%). Where present, clinical definitions for risk factors often varied. The substantial differences in risk assessment content in the prenatal record forms may contribute to differences in health care quality among provinces. The development of standardized national guidelines for prenatal risk assessment may be a valuable goal.

Community-and proximate-level factors associated with perinatal mortality in Nigeria: evidence from a nationwide household survey

BACKGROUND

The perinatal mortality rate (PMR) in Nigeria rose by approximately 5% from 39 to 41 deaths per 1000 total births between 2008 and 2013, indicating a reversal in earlier gains. This study sought to identify factors associated with increased PMR.

METHODS

Nationally representative data including 31,121 pregnancies of 7 months or longer obtained from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey were used to investigate the community-, socio-economic-, proximate- and environmental-level factors related to perinatal mortality (PM). Generalized linear latent and mixed models with the logit link and binomial family that adjusted for clustering and sampling weights was employed for the analyses.

RESULTS

Babies born to obese women (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-1.89) and babies whose mothers perceived their body size after birth to be smaller than the average size (aOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.61-2.30) showed greater odds of PM. Babies delivered through caesarean section were more likely to die (aOR = 2.85, 95% CI: 2.02-4.02) than those born through vaginal delivery. Other factors that significantly increased PM included age of the women (≥40 years), living in rural areas, gender (being male) and a fourth or higher birth order with a birth interval ≤ 2 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Newborn and maternal care interventions are needed, especially for rural communities, that aim at counselling women that are obese. Promoting well-timed caesarean delivery, Kangaroo mother care of small-for-gestational-age babies, child spacing, timely referral for ailing babies and adequate medical check-up for older pregnant women may substantially reduce PM in Nigeria.

Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes after a single episode of third-trimester vaginal bleeding†

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine whether a single episode of vaginal bleeding occurring between 24 and 34 weeks gestation is associated with preterm delivery and other adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.Study design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the Maternal-Fetal unit of two campuses of a large tertiary, medical center with approximately 12,000 deliveries annually. The study group consisted of all women with a singleton pregnancy between 24 + 0/7 and 33 + 6/7 weeks of gestation, admitted to the high-risk antenatal ward due to a single episode of vaginal bleeding of unknown origin between May 2003 and December 2014. Maternal and neonatal parameters of the study group were compared to the maternal and neonatal parameters of the rest of the singleton deliveries occurring in our institution during the study period. The primary outcome was rate of preterm delivery while secondary outcomes were other adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for preterm delivery in the study group.Results: Two hundred thirty women met the inclusion criteria and 51,468 women were in the comparison group. Preterm delivery rates were 20% and 5.5% in the study and the comparison group, respectively OR = 3.55 [2.63-4.78] (p < .001). The aOR for preterm delivery among the study group for women with a previous preterm delivery was 4.62 [1.17-18.20] (p = .029) and for women with a short cervix was 9.35 [2.30-37.95] (p = .002).Conclusions: A single episode of third-trimester vaginal bleeding is an independent risk factor for spontaneous preterm delivery. The presence of a shortened cervix or a history of a prior spontaneous preterm delivery increases this risk significantly.Key messageThird trimester vaginal bleeding is strongly associated with preterm delivery. Knowledge of this relationship has valuable clinical implications for practicing obstetricians.

Risk factors for perinatal mortality in Murmansk County, Russia: a registry-based study

Background: Factors contributing to perinatal mortality (PM) in Northwest Russia remain unclear. This study investigated possible associations between selected maternal and fetal characteristics and PM based on data from the population-based Murmansk County Birth Registry.

Objective: This study investigated possible associations between selected maternal and fetal characteristics and PM based on data from the population-based Murmansk County Birth Registry.

Methods: The study population consisted of all live- and stillbirths registered in the Murmansk County Birth Registry during 2006–2011 (n = 52,806). We excluded multiple births, births prior to 22 and after 45 completed weeks of gestation, infants with congenital malformations, and births with missing information regarding gestational age (a total of n = 3,666) and/or the studied characteristics (n = 2,356). Possible associations between maternal socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, maternal pre-pregnancy characteristics, pregnancy characteristics, and PM were studied by multivariable logistic regression. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results: Of the 49,140 births eligible for prevalence analysis, 338 were identified as perinatal deaths (6.9 per 1,000 births). After adjustment for other factors, maternal low education level, prior preterm delivery, spontaneous or induced abortions, antepartum hemorrhage, antenatally detected or suspected fetal growth retardation, and alcohol abuse during pregnancy all significantly increased the risk of PM. We observed a higher risk of PM in unmarried women, as well as overweight or obese mothers. Maternal underweight reduced the risk of PM.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that both social and medical factors are important correlates of perinatal mortality in Northwest Russia.

The income-based disparities in preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage: a study of the Korean National Health Insurance cohort data from 2002 to 2013

There is limited evidence on the effects of relatively low socioeconomic status on maternal health. Additionally, the global economic recession that began in 2008 could have worsened disparities in maternal complications. To explore disparities in maternal health, we analyzed the occurrence of preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage according to level of household income. A population-based cohort data set from the Korean National Health Insurance was used to calculate the age-adjusted incidence, slope index of inequality, and Kunst and Mackenbach relative index of inequality (RII_KM) for preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage from 2002 to 2013. In the aggregated data of 65,479 live births, women with lower household income showed a higher risk of developing preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage than those with higherhigher incomes after adjusting for conventional risk factors. The absolute and relative inequalities for both complications showed no significant change over the period from 2002 to 2013. Considering the difference in the trends and risks of major obstetric complications according to level of household income, policies to monitor and reduce disparities in maternal health across different economic levels need to be implemented.