Objective: To investigate the relationship of pregnancy-related anxiety of pregnant women in second/third trimesters and autism-like behaviors in their offspring at 18 months of age. Methods: Based on a prospective cohort study design, we evaluated the situation of pregnancy-related anxiety of women during second and third trimesters through a Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire. Subjects under study were classified into three groups, 1) those with pregnancy- related anxiety during both trimesters, 2) those with pregnancy-related anxiety at one trimester and 3) those without pregnancy-related anxiety in either trimester. When their children were 18 months, autism-like behaviors (ALB) were evaluated, using the part A of Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-23, and then classified into three groups as non-ALB group, minor ALB group and major ALB group. Multi-nominal logistic Regression was used to analyze the relationship of pregnancy-related anxiety with autism-like behaviors. Results: Compared with non-ALB group, children whose mother with pregnancy-related anxiety during both trimesters presented significant higher risk on ALB than children whose mother without pregnancy-related anxiety in these two periods (relative risk, RR=2.43, 95% CI: 1.21-4.86, P=0.012), major factors as pregnant women's IQ and gestational diabetes mellitus, premature delivery and education levels of fosterers on these pregnant women were under control. Our results from the stratified analysis showed: when in the subgroup that mother was the main fosterer of the child, there was an significant increase of risk in children whose mothers with pregnancy-related anxiety during both trimesters (RR=4.22, 95%CI: 1.73-10.32, P=0.002). Conclusion: The association between pregnancy-related anxiety and autism-like behavior was not strong but influenced by the fosterer of the child.
Anxiety/psychology* ; Autistic Disorder/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mothers/psychology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/psychology* ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy Trimesters/psychology* ; Pregnant Women/psychology* ; Prospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Ovarian tumor in pregnancy is not rare and benign cystic teratoma is most common ovarian tumor in pregnancy. Most ovarian tumor in pregnancy is found at first and second trimester but sometimes found at third trimester and it is difficult to make a decision for management. Moreover physician should consider fetal age and mother's condition, and weigh outcome of operation for complicated ovarian tumor in pregnancy. Torsion of ovarian tumor is not an uncommon complication during first trimester of pregnancy and puerperium but rare occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy. We have experienced a case of torsion of benign cystic teratoma of ovary which occurred at 37 weeks gestation in a 25 year-old woman. So we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Adult ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Ovary* ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Teratoma*

Ovarian tumor in pregnancy is not rare and benign cystic teratoma is most common ovarian tumor in pregnancy. Most ovarian tumor in pregnancy is found at first and second trimester but sometimes found at third trimester and it is difficult to make a decision for management. Moreover physician should consider fetal age and mother's condition, and weigh outcome of operation for complicated ovarian tumor in pregnancy. Torsion of ovarian tumor is not an uncommon complication during first trimester of pregnancy and puerperium but rare occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy. We have experienced a case of torsion of benign cystic teratoma of ovary which occurred at 37 weeks gestation in a 25 year-old woman. So we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Adult ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Impetigo* ; Ovary ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Teratoma

PURPOSE: Appendicitis is the most common condition leading to an intra-abdominal operation for a non-obstetric problem in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to examine our experience and to analyze the clinical characteristics and the pregnancy outcomes for appendicitis during pregnancy that was reported in Korea. METHODS: We reported 25 cases of appendicitis during pregnancy that were treated at Good Moonhwa Hospital from January 2004 to March 2010. We also analyzed appendicitis during pregnancy reported in Korea between 1970 and 2008 by a review of journals. RESULTS: The incidence of acute appendicitis during pregnancy was one per 568 deliveries. The mean age was 27.92 years old, the gestational stage at the onset of symptoms was the first trimester in 10 patients (40%), the second trimester in 14 patients (56%), and the third trimester in 1 patient (4%). Among the 25 cases, 21 were treated with an open appendectomy and 4 with laparoscopic appendectomies. The postoperative complications were 2 wound infections and 1 spontaneous abortion. CONCLUSION: Our experience demonstrated that appendectomies on pregnant patients can be successfully performed at secondary hospitals.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Postoperative Complications ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Wound Infection

OBJECTIVE: To examine the pattern of gestational weight gain using maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: We used maternal weight data from 1,825 women who had noncomplicated pregnancy between Jan. 2002 and Aug. 2009. The rate of maternal weight gain in each trimester, the associations between gestational weight gain per trimester and maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes, and the relationship between maternal characteristics and trimester weight gain were analyzed. RESULTS: The average rate of weight gain (kg/week) was lowest during the first trimester (0.06+/-0.30), peaked during the second trimester (0.52+/-0.23), and slowed slightly in the third trimester (0.47+/-0.23). With the exception of infant sex, all six maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes included in the multivariate analyses (parity, maternal age, height, BMI, preeclampsia, gestational DM) were associated significantly with maternal weight gain in at least one trimester. The important maternal predictors of weight gain per trimester were prepregnancy BMI, height and age in the first trimester; prepregnacy BMI, parity and height in the second; and height, age and parity in the third. CONCLUSION: The pattern of gestational weight gain is associated with a number of maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes, and these relationships vary according to which trimester is being examined.
Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Maternal Age ; Multivariate Analysis ; Parity ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Weight Gain

Anemia ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic ; epidemiology ; Pregnancy Trimesters

Adult ; Extracorporeal Circulation ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular ; surgery ; Pregnancy Trimesters ; Thoracotomy ; methods

To increase both iron and enhancers for iron absorption through diets should be a basic strategy to sufficiently provide increased iron for pregnancy. Previous studies reported that iron intakes of Korean pregnant women were short and their iron status deteriorated as pregnancy progressed. However, there is little data about the bioavailability of dietary iron during pregnancy. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the changes of dietary iron intakes, its bioa-vailability and iron status during pregnancy longitudinally in Korean women. A total of 151 pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy voluntarily participated. Among them, 72 women finished the research protocol during the second trimester and 55 did it during the third trimester. Dietary intakes of total iron, both non-heme and heme iron, as well as enhancers, both MPF (meat, poulty, and fish) and vitamin C, increased significantly as pregnancy progressed. As the results, bioavailability of dietary iron and iron absorbed increased significantly as pregnancy progressed. However, the amount of iron absorbed at each trimester did not meet considerably the iron needed during pregnancy. All five indices examined in the study, Hb level, Hct, serum concentrations of ferritin and sTfR (soluble transferrin receptor), and sTfR:ferritin ratio, showed that iron status of the subjects deteriorated as pregnancy progressed. The rate of anemia of the subjects increased as pregnancy progressed although more than 80% of the subjects took iron supplements after the 20th week of pregnancy. These results imply that it is needed to provide more iron especially, heme iron and dietary enhancers to prevent the deterioration of iron status during pregnancy. Future research on bioavaila-blility of supplemental iron should be performed to determine the iron balance precisely.
Absorption ; Anemia ; Ascorbic Acid ; Biological Availability* ; Diet ; Female ; Ferritins ; Heme ; Humans ; Iron* ; Iron, Dietary* ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Transferrin

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a frequent cause of maternal or fetal morbidity and mortality. There have been many trials to use microalbuminuria as a predictor for preeclampsia, but the usefulness is controversial. Authors have studied the changes in urinary microalbumin excretion during normal pregnancy to help establish a reference interval in which physiologic alteration during pregnancy is reflected. METHODS: During the period from January to April 1999 and from December 1999 to January 2000, urinary albumin and creatinine levels were measured in the 151 spot urine samples from pregnant women visiting Hanyang University Kuri Hospital for prenatal care. They were free of hypertension, proteinuria, and renal diseases at the time of sampling for the medical records. A homemade ELISA and the Cobas Integra 700 were used to measure the urinary albumin and urinary creatinine levels. The analysis of the data was performed as urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (ACR). RESULTS: In the 146 urine samples from normotensive pregnant women, urine ACR was 1.36+/-1.72 g/mol (mean+/-standard deviation). The urine ACR was 0.83+/-1.12 g/mol in the first trimester, 1.06+/-1.38 g/mol in the second trimester, and 1.82+/-1.06 g/mol in the third trimester. The urine ACR of the third trimester was significantly different from that of the first or second trimester (3rd vs 1st, P=0.026 and 3rd vs 2nd, P=0.011). CONCLUSIONS: During the course of normal pregnancy, urinary microalbumin excretions increased significantly in the third trimester. It is necessary that the reference interval for urinary microalbumin excretions be established based on gestational weeks.
Creatinine ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Care ; Proteinuria

PURPOSE: To determine the means, medians and reference intervals for TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) and fT4 (free thyroxine) for each month of gestation and for three trimesters in Korean pregnant women. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 265 pregnant women with singleton gestation. Levels of TSH, fT4 were measured by immunoassay. After exclusion of subjects with positive antimicrosomal autoantibodies, the means, medians and reference intervals based on 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles for TSH, fT4 were determined. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 94 women in first trimester, 49 women in second trimester, and 122 women in third trimester. The trimester-specific reference intervals were: TSH (1st trimester: 0.03~2.72, 2nd: 0.27~2.29, and 3rd: 0.03~2.88 mIU/L), fT4 (1st trimester 4.50~19.75, 2nd: 4.70~12.98 and 3rd: 5.07~11.84 pg/mL). fT4 levels were significantly lower in the second and third trimesters. TSH levels were lower in the first trimester than second and third trimester, with gradual elevation in the second and third trimester. CONCLUSION: Levels of TSH, fT4 during pregnancy differ from those in non-pregnant women. Gestational age specific reference intervals will play a cental role in screening and diagnosis of thyroid disorders. Further studies for normal reference ranges during pregnancy are needed to create reference intervals in Korean pregnant women.
Autoantibodies ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Mass Screening ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnant Women ; Reference Values ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyrotropin