Maternal Health

A biotechnology company has announced it will begin two phase 2a clinical trials will begin this year to assess the effectiveness of oral allopregnanolone in social anxiety and postpartum depression, according to a press release.

Adverse events and outcomes are more common in pregnant patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and their infants, vs. those without rheumatic diseases, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Administering six vs. two doses of ketorolac for pain management after cesarean delivery was associated with fewer opioid orders within 72 hours postpartum, according to a presenter at The Pregnancy Meeting.

For women with preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes, treatment with cefuroxime- vs. ampicillin-roxithromycin was associated with longer pregnancy and less morbidity, according to a presenter at The Pregnancy Meeting.

There was a sustained decrease in pertussis cases among young infants in the years after maternal Tdap vaccination was introduced in the United States, according to the results of a CDC study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Compared with expectant management, inducing labor at 39 weeks’ gestation may be cost-effective for nulliparas with unfavorable cervical exams, according to data published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In 2017 and 2019, about 16% of pregnant people with past 30-day alcohol use were advised by a health care provider to quit or reduce their consumption, a recent study in MWWR found.

As a practicing obstetrician, I was struck by the irony of this year’s theme for Maternal Health Awareness Day, observed Jan. 23: “Know Why.”

Being infected with SARS-CoV-2 at any time during pregnancy was associated with greater risks for maternal death, severe maternal morbidity and neonatal morbidity, according to the findings of an international meta-analysis.

Expanded Medicaid coverage was associated with a reduction in postpartum hospitalizations in the 6 months — particularly in the first 60 days — after delivery, according to data published in Health Affairs.