Low risk pregnancy

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To establish longitudinal reference intervals for pulsatility index (PI) and systolic velocity (SV) of the fetal renal artery, and to evaluate their correlation with the amniotic fluid index (AFI). Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted among women with low-risk pregnancies who attended outpatient clinics at the University of Campinas Medical School, Brazil, at 16-19 weeks of pregnancy between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2010. Doppler velocimetric measurements of the fetal renal artery and assessments of the AFI were undertaken at 4-week intervals to 36 weeks, and every 2 weeks thereafter until delivery. Results: A total of 63 women were enrolled. The PI of the fetal renal artery showed little variation during pregnancy, whereas SV values increased to 36-37 weeks of pregnancy and decreased thereafter. No correlations were found between the AFI and the fetal renal artery Doppler velocimetric parameters (P N 0.05 for all). The intraclass correlation coefficients for intra-observer and inter-observer variability indicated good reproducibility of SV, but the reproducibility of PI was lower. Conclusions: The AFI did not correlate with fetal renal artery Doppler velocimetric measures among low-risk pregnancies. However, investigations are needed among high-risk pregnancies.

Background and objectives There has been a steady annual increase in the number of deliveries performed at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in recent years. A 2004 audit found that approximately one third of deliveries conducted at the hospital were of women who had referred themselves and were low risk and as such did not require delivery at a specialist centre. A triage down-referral system back to midwife obstetric units was implemented in 2008 to address the problem of low-risk self-referrals at the hospital. This study was conducted after the establishment of the triage system to find out whether the establishment of the triage system had been accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of self-referred women presenting to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in labour, and to assess delivery outcomes in these patients. Literature review The literature review was conducted using Pubmed and MDConsult using the key words self referral, triage, gatekeeper, low-risk pregnancy, maternity / labour and referral systems. Relevant references were accessed via the University of the Witwatersrand eJournal portal. Appropriate articles cited by other authors were also reviewed. Appropriate websites were also used and referenced. Methods This was a retrospective descriptive study which included all women presenting in labour to the hospital maternity admissions area. The study population was clinical case-files of all births that were admitted in labour from 1 May to 31 May 2010. A simple random sample of these files was drawn.

The aim of this scoping review is to map the available evidence on the nature, extent, and range of antenatal care policies for low-risk pregnant women in high-income countries with a health system founded on the Beveridge Model. Introduction: Low-risk women in high-income countries have good evolutionary perinatal outcomes but high intervention rates in pregnancy and childbirth, which ultimately leads to high morbidity. This has implications at all levels including families, the health care system, and society. This review aims to inform future policy and identify the viability of the adoption of alternative models to the Portuguese context that can reduce unnecessary interventions. Inclusion criteria: Studies, protocols, guidelines, and policies that provide guidance on antenatal care for low-risk pregnant women in high-income countries with a health system founded on the Beveridge Model (universal health care) will be considered. Documents from 2005 to present will be included, and no language restrictions will be imposed. Methods: An initial search will be conducted in databases including MEDLINE (via PubMed) and CINAHL (via EBSCOhost), followed by a manual search of the reference lists from the documents accepted for inclusion, and a hand search of gray literature. For the countries whose policies are not available through the earlier steps, key persons from health ministries and academia will be contacted. Search results will be exported and data extracted using charting forms. Data will be synthesized using narrative description.

South Africa's healthcare system is based on the primary care model in which women with lowrisk pregnancies are encouraged to deliver in clinics, community health centres and district hospitals while women with high-risk pregnancies are encouraged to deliver in secondary and tertiary hospitals. However, in the South African setting quite a significant number of women with low-risk pregnancies are still delivering in tertiary hospitals. The objectives of this study were to determine the preference of delivery place in women with low-risk pregnancies presenting for maternal healthcare services at a tertiary hospital in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, and the associated factors. A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional analytic design was utilised. Data were collected using an administered structured questionnaire on 200 women with low-risk pregnancies presenting for maternal healthcare services at the hospital. Data were analysed using software SPSS for Windows and EPI Info StatCalc. The study revealed that the majority of the women, 80 per cent (n = 161) preferred to deliver at a hospital as opposed to 20 per cent (n = 39) who preferred the community health centre independent of their age, parity, education, employment, income, location in relation to the health facility, beliefs regarding the reliability of ambulance and public transport as well as the affordability of public transport. The women's reasons for preferring to deliver at a hospital were largely because they felt that it was well equipped and ARTICLE

Amaç: Doğuştan kalp hastalıkları için yüksek ve düşük risk taşıyan gebelerde intrauterin kalp hastalığı sıklığını belirlemek ve karşılaştırmak. Yöntemler: Üniversitemiz Tıp Fakültesi Pediatrik Kardiyoloji Ünitesinde fetal ekokardiyografi yapılan 3782 gebenin kayıtları ve ekokardiyografi sonuçları retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi. Gruplar arasındaki değişkenler Ki-kare testi kullanılarak analiz edildi. Bulgular: Yüksek ve düşük riskli gruplardaki tüm fetüslerin 213'ünde (%5.6) yapısal kalp hastalığı bulundu. En sık patolojiler ventriküler septal defekt (%36.2) ve atriyoventriküler septal defekt (%14.1) idi. Yüksek riskli grupta doğuştan kalp hastalığı sıklığı %7.8 (169 fetüs) bulundu; %4.1'i kompleks, %2.3'ü önemli, %1.4'ü minör patolojiydi. Düşük riskli grupta bu oran %2.7 (44 fetüs) idi; %0.6'sı kompleks, %0.8'i önemli ve %1.3'ü minör patolojiydi. Bu grupta bazı nedenlerle başvuranlarda yapısal kalp hastalığı sıklığı yüksek bulundu; önceki gebelikte intrauterin fetal ölüm (%6.3), anormal birinci ve ikinci üç aylık dönem tarama testleri (%4.3) ve çoğul gebelik (%3.4). Fetal ekokardiyografik incelemenin duyarlılığı %86, özgüllüğü %98 bulundu. Sonuç: Doğuştan kalp hastalığı sıklığı beklenildiği gibi yüksek riskli grupta daha yüksek bulundu. Düşük riskli grupta yer almalarına rağmen önceki gebelikte intrauterin fetal ölüm, anormal birinci ve ikinci üç aylık dönem tarama testleri ve çoğul gebelik nedeniyle başvuranlardaki kalp hastalığı sıklığı ile yüksek riskli gruptaki kalp hastalığı sıklığı arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunmadı. Bu nedenle kardiyoloji kliniğinin bu konuda uzman kardiyoloğu ve ekipmanı yeterli ise yukarıdaki nedenlerle başvuran gebelere rutin fetal ekokardiyografik çalışma yapılmasını öneriyoruz.

Background. Pregnancy risk perception affects a pregnant woman's decision about health care services such as prenatal care, place of birth, choices about medical interventions, adherence to medical procedures, and recommendations. Therefore, the study is aimed at assessing pregnancy risk perception and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at health centers in Jabi Tehnan District. Methods. An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 424 mothers attending ANC at health centers in the Jabi Tehnan District from April 1 to 30, 2021. Data was collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire which was developed according to the health belief model. The logistic regression model was used using an adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI and pvalue < 0:05 to declare significance and associations. Result. Four hundred twenty four (424) pregnant women were interviewed of which nearly half of the respondents 48% (43.2%, 52.7%) had good pregnancy risk perception. Women who had a history of obstetric complications (AOR: 95% CI = 3:44 : 1:73, 6:83), those who knew at least one pregnancy danger sign (AOR: 95% CI = 5:22, 2:46, 11:07), pregnant women who had a bad obstetric history (AOR: 95% CI = 2:23 : 1:13, 4:41), and knowing women who died due to pregnancy-related complications (AOR: 95% CI = 2:85 : 1:45, 5:60) were more likely to have good perception towards pregnancy risk compared to their counterparts. Conclusion. Obstetric complications, awareness of pregnancy danger signs, bad obstetric history, and known women who died due to pregnancy-related complications were found to be significantly associated with pregnancy risk perception.

Randomized retrospective study of the rise in cesarean surgery among low risk women between 1990 and 2000 at Hadassah Ein Kerem Labor and Delivery Unit in Jerusalem. The CS rate in low risk women increased from 4% to 10.5%.  Approximately 90% of the population was low risk. There appears to be no justification for a  10.5% rate of cesarean surgery for "low-risk" women.