Work, in general, does not increase the risks of pregnancy complications. Work that is stressful, physically, psychologically, or both, has deleterious effects on pregnancy. Stressful work increases the risks of miscarriage, preterm labor, preterm birth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia. The greater the stress, the greater the risks of pregnancy complications. Women with a history of pregnancy complications should be counseled about reducing stressful work before pregnancy. Women with stressful jobs should be followed closely during pregnancy, and if signs of preterm labor or delayed fetal growth develop, then occupational stress should be decreased or eliminated. Some occupations expose pregnant women to teratogens such as organic solvents, heavy metals, or pesticides. A careful work history should be part of every preconception and early pregnancy visit.

A case of complex of obstetrical complications which endangered the life of both the mother and the fetuses was presented. The dilemma the authors faced as a result of spontaneous abortion of one of the triplet was due to rupture of membranes, the remaining twins were at risk of demise. At caesarean section, the patient had severe placenta accreta and torrential haemorrhage that was managed with a Bakri balloon.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a multisystemic disorder of coagulation-causing thrombosis in the arterial and venous system as well as pregnancy-related complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm delivery and pre-eclampsia. The disease is characterized by the autoimmune production of antibodies against phospholipid, a substance found in the cell membrane. We here report the case of a patient with four second trimester miscarriages, who apart from a heterozygous plasminogen activator-inhibitor-1 mutation, had no risk factors explaining her condition. In the subsequent pregnancy she was therefore put on low-molecular-weight heparin, aspirin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Antiphospholipid antibodies (APL), which had been negative before gestation, increased and remained high throughout pregnancy, thus suggesting a pregnancy-induced or -aggravated APS. The patient was kept on the above-mentioned medication and delivered a healthy male baby by Caesarean section after an otherwise uneventful pregnancy. Thus, in order to diagnose and treat pregnancy-triggered APS in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriage, screening for APL should also be performed at several time points after conception.

Cervical incompetence treated with transabdominal cerclage can carry significant morbidity with the need for sequential laparotomies and necessitating prolonged postoperative recovery. Laparoscopic transabdominal cerclage placement has been described but has significant limitations with only two-dimensional depth perception and limited dexterity. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) is rapidly gaining acceptance in gynecologic surgery. RALS has reportedly been used for placement of an interval transabdominal cerclage. We report the first two cases where the da Vinci robot was used during pregnancy for placement of abdominal cerclage. Two women were successfully treated with robotic-assisted laparoscopic placement of transabdominal cerclage in pregnancy. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic transabdominal cerclage placement is less invasive and is effective not only as an interval procedure but also during pregnancy, offering the patient an alternative to the traditional laparotomy with quicker recovery time.

Hospitalizations of foreign patients from developing countries outside the European Union were examined for the period 1999-2004, focusing on infectious diseases and on pregnancy issues. Patients over 14 years old had 6,003 admissions, leading to 7,231 overall diagnoses. During the 6-year study period, female hospitalizations increased steadily, with a peak in 2002 (p .001). This trend was mainly due to the rise in women from Eastern Europe (p .001), which occurs at a younger mean age versus that of males (p .001). Admission of illegal immigrants, performed on an emergency basis, accounted for an average of 9.4%. This phenomenon was very frequent in 1999 (43% of admissions), but dropped sharply after 2002 (p .001), caused by changes in Italian law. The prevalent women diagnoses were ob/gyn ones: voluntary pregnancy interruption, spontaneous abortion or pregnancy complications in 30.6% of cases, and childbirths or controls of pregnancies with a favourable outcome in 18.2% of patients. These diagnoses covered nearly 50% of hospitalizations of migrant women: other admissions were due to organic, dysmetabolic, or functional disorders, while infectious diseases were less frequent (4.6%). Among men, dysmetabolic disorder and organic-degenerative diseases, or functional illnesses (36.2%), were prominent, and significantly more frequent versus women (p .001), as well as post-traumatic diseases (16.5%), and infectious illnesses (12.1%; p .001). Also generic-undefined diagnoses were proportionally numerous (6.6%): cultural-language deficiencies affected the physician-patient relationship. Among infectious diseases, the main causative organisms were Mycobacterium tuberculosis (14.9%), HIV (7.1%), HBV (3.3%), and HCV (2.6%). Upper-lower airways represented the most involved organ system (45% of discharges), followed by the gastroenteric tract (16.4%), and skin-soft tissues (7.4%), while systemic infectious diseases accounted for 14.9% of episodes. Such disorders predominated (up to 90% of cases) among non-regular migrants during 1999-2000, while after 2002 an increase in infectious disorders was observed among patients from Eastern Europe. From a health care-social perspective, although a reduced incidence of infectious diseases did not occur, the possibility of attributing them to individuals of ascertained identity and housing makes it possible to trace index patients, and ultimately strive towards well-planned and effective therapeutic-preventive interventions.

To determine the incidence of an abnormal glucose tolerance test in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion and whether metformin would safely reduce the rate of first trimester spontaneous abortions in patients without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as well as with PCOS and an abnormal glucose tolerance test.Prospective control clinical trial.Shiraz University-affiliated hospital.Patients with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortion and women with a history of normal full term pregnancy.The incidence of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism was determined. Metformin and placebo were given to women with an abnormal glucose tolerance test and who had recurrent spontaneous abortions.Continuation of pregnancy beyond the first trimester in all groups and presence or absence of teratogenicity in the delivered baby after metformin therapy.Twenty-nine of the patients in the group with recurrent spontaneous abortion were found to have an abnormal glucose tolerance test result compared with just four (5.4%) patients in the normal pregnancy group. The abortion rate was significantly reduced after metformin therapy in patients without PCOS in comparison to the placebo group (15% vs. 55%).This study indicates an important link between an abnormal glucose tolerance test and a history of recurrent abortion. It was also found that metformin therapy improves the chances of a successful pregnancy in patients with an abnormal glucose tolerance test.

Endometrial ossification is a rare endometrial pathology. Its predisposing factors include history of uterine curettage to metabolic abnormalities. It usually presents in patients with secondary infertility and history of first trimester pregnancy loss, accompanied by severe dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia. The diagnosis is suspected by OB-GYN history and USG findings, therapeutic strategies range from D&C to hysterectomy, we propose diagnosis and management by hysteroscopy in order to preserve future fertility and minimize uterine damage. A review of four cases during 1985-2004 from a large assisted reproduction center in Mexico City is presented.

In this study, we discovered that embryos sense shear stress and sought to characterize the kinetics and the enzymatic mechanisms underlying induction of embryonic lethality by shear stress. Using a rotating wall vessel programmed to produce 1.2 dynes/cm2 shear stress, it was found that shear stress caused lethality within 12 h for E3.5 blastocysts. Embryos developed an approximate 100% increase in mitogen-activated protein kinase 8/9 (formerly known as stress-activated protein kinase/junC kinase 1/2) phosphorylation by 6 h of shear stress that further increased to approximately 350% by 12 h. Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase dUTP nick end labeling/apoptosis was at baseline levels at 6 h and increased to approximately 500% of baseline at 12 h, when irreversible commitment to death occurred. A mitogen-activated protein kinase 8/9 phosphorylation inhibitor, D-JNKI1, was able to inhibit over 50% of the apoptosis, suggesting a causal role for mitogen-activated protein kinase 8/9 phosphorylation in the shear stress-induced lethality. The E2.5 (compacted eight-cell/early morula stage) embryo was more sensitive to shear stress than the E3.5 (early blastocyst stage) embryo. Additionally, zona pellucida removal significantly accelerated shear stress-induced lethality while having no lethal effect on embryos in the static control. In conclusion, preimplantation embryos sense shear stress, chronic shear stress is lethal, and the zona pellucida lessens the lethal and sublethal effects of shear stress. Embryos in vivo would not experience as high a sustained velocity or shear stress as induced experimentally here. Lower shear stresses might induce sufficient mitogen-activated protein kinase 8/9 phosphorylation that would slow growth or cause premature differentiation if the zona pellucida were not intact.

Infertility is rarely a consequence of myomas. However, a causal relationship may be suspected when other causes of infertility have been excluded. Uterine myomas have been reported in 27% of infertile women; 50% of women with unexplained infertility become pregnant after myomectomy. The objective of this study was to establish the impact of the surgical removal of myomas on fertility outcomes in women experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss or unexplained infertility. Fallopian tube, anovulatory disorders and male fertility factors had been appropriately excluded.This was a retrospective study in which we compiled data from the medical records of eight patients from 2003-2004 who underwent abdominal myomectomy for infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss. We calculated rates for subsequent spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, malpresentation and postpartum hemorrhage.There were two patients who were nulliparous premyomectomy, and six had recurrent pregnancy losses. There was a cumulative success rate of 75% (six live births in eight patients) following myomectomy. One had two subsequent pregnancies. There were no spontaneous abortions. Three (37.5%) patients failed to conceive postmyomectomy, one of which was found to have bilateral tubal occlusion. Of the six pregnancies achieved, two (33%, 95% CI 2.06, 3.14) were preterm deliveries, six (100%, 95% CI 1.74, 3.50) were delivered by cesarean section and three (50%, 95% CI 3.50, 1.73) were malpresentations (two breech, one transverse lie). One patient (16%, 95% CI 2.06, 3.30) had abruptio placentae and two patients (33%, 95% CI 2.06, 3.14) experienced postpartum hemorrhage.This study suggests that there may be a beneficial effect of surgical removal of myomas on enhancing fertility and successful pregnancy outcome. However, the sample was too small to achieve statistical significance.