title: Prenatal care, screening, and complications.
abstract: Articles are reviewed that give the clinician new guidelines to diagnose neural tube defects without using amniocentesis. Cervical measurement using ultrasound as a tool to objectively evaluate and follow patients at risk for premature labor and incompetent cervix are reviewed. The utility of transabdominal versus transvaginal ultrasound is discussed. Two papers are presented that look at the use of aspirin in preeclampsia. One study looks at metabolic degradation of the prostaglandins associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension and shows that there is a heterogeneity in response to aspirin therapy. However, once the patient has pregnancy-induced hypertension, aspirin does not seem to be effective. A paper is presented that looks at the safety of autologous blood donation for both the mother and the baby and confirms its usefulness in obstetrics as in the nonpregnant patient.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-4283.
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006473:Postpartum Hemorrhage / Q000628:therapy; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000188:drug therapy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000592:standards; D002581:Uterine Cervical Incompetence / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D001241:Aspirin