View clinical trials related to Pregnancy.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to determine whether teens and young women would prefer the Nuvaring to oral contraceptive pills after having tried both methods.
The first part of this study will investigate the incidence of Hepatitis C in pregnant women attending an inner city health clinic in downtown Toronto. All women attending the clinic who give their consent to participate will be screened by a standardized questionnaire as well as by a blood test. Blood testing will tell us how many of these women have Hepatitis C. We will then be able to compare the specificities and sensitivities of targeted screening (risk behaviour questionnaires) versus universal screening (blood tests). In the second part of the study we will follow the pregnancies of those women who were identified as Hepatitis C positive on the screening test. Follow- up will include liver enzymes and viral load quantifications (amounts) in the first, second and third trimesters as well as during delivery and six weeks post-partum. We will also document pregnancy outcomes with regard to type of delivery and complications. Pregnancy outcomes will be compared to an age and race matched group of women who do not have Hepatitis C. Study Hypothesis: We expect a higher incidence of Hepatitis C in this inner city population compared to the general Canadian pregnant population (0.9%). We predict an HCV seroprevalence (rate) ranging between 2-6% in this population and we also predict that targeted screening by standardized questionnaire will fail to identify half of the Hepatitis C positive cases. By following this group of Hepatitis C positive women through pregnancy, we expect to lend further support to previous data showing significant decrease and/or normalization of serum transaminases as well as significant increase in HCV viral load by third trimester. We also expect to see no significant differences in pregnancy outcomes or obstetrical complications between HCV positive women and the HCV negative women.
Magnesium sulfate is used for seizure prophylaxis in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. There is debate as to how long to continue this therapy after delivery of the pregnancy. Different schemes have been offered to shorten the exposure to magnesium sulfate after delivery, with little data. We seek to investigate the effect of shortened magnesium sulfate therapy on the post-partum recovery phase of mild preeclampsia. Our hypothesis was that shortened therapy (12 hours versus the traditional 24 hours post-partum) has no effect on disease course, and will result in significantly shorter exposure to magnesium sulfate.
This is an observational, exposure-registration and follow-up study, to be conducted in the United States (US). The AMEVIVE® Pregnancy Exposure Registry is designed to monitor pregnant subjects and fetuses exposed to AMEVIVE® in order to detect any potential increase in the risk of major birth defects. The AMEVIVE® Pregnancy Exposure Registry is sponsored by Astellas Pharma Global Development and will be managed by INC Research. The Registry will be monitored by an independent Advisory Committee of external experts in relevant specialties of teratology, epidemiology, maternal and fetal medicine, and infectious disease medicine (external member details available upon request).
A major goal of modern perinatal and neonatal medicine is to reduce the rate of developmental disabilities, especially mental retardation. Cerebral palsy is frequently associated with neurologic abnormalities and mental retardation. Improvements in neonatal intensive care have resulted in improved survival of very low birthweight infants but also in an increased frequency of cerebral palsy. Prematurity is a leading risk factor for cerebral palsy. Two thirds of preterm neonates are born to mothers with preterm labor with intact membranes or preterm premature rupture of membranes. A growing body of evidence suggests that these conditions are heterogeneous. This is an observational cohort study designed to identify the mechanisms of disease in patients with preterm labor/contractions and preterm premature rupture of membranes and to describe the relationship between clinical, biochemical, histological, biophysical parameters and the development of infant neurological disorders.
Preterm labor is a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Several investigators have reported that ultrasound evaluation of the cervix can predict the risk of preterm delivery. Three-dimensional ultrasound may provide additional information about how to best counsel parents about the chances of premature birth. This technology has the capability for accurate volume measurements of irregular structures that is superior to conventional ultrasound. Therefore, it is possible that three-dimensional ultrasound methods may better characterize cervical changes and the risk for preterm delivery. Our protocol will attempt to identify prognostic indicators of adverse pregnancy outcome by three-dimensional ultrasound. A maximum of 680 pregnant women with the diagnosis of preterm labor will be prospectively studied to characterize cervical morphology and volume as predictors of preterm delivery risk. These results will be correlated with placental pathology and pregnancy outcome. We will also compare the performance of conventional two-dimensional endovaginal ultrasound with three-dimensional ultrasound findings. This information is expected to improve our understanding about the nature and timing of cervical volume changes in relation to pregnancy outcome.
Early pregnancy is associated with numerous physiologic alterations - many of which are required to establish normal pregnancy outcome. Three-dimensional ultrasound may provide new opportunities to better characterize some of these early changes. This noninvasive method allows one to arbitrarily scan through a digital ultrasound volume data, visualize organs from different perspectives, and render anatomical features through computer processing. Retrospective measurement of distances and volumes are even possible in the physical absence of the patient. New information provided by three-dimensional ultrasound may lead to improved understanding about how to counsel parents regarding early pregnancy complications such as bleeding. For example, vaginal bleeding complicates approximately 15-20% of first trimester pregnancies. A common association is subchorionic hemorrhage which is associated with increased risk for miscarriage, preterm delivery, preterm premature rupture of membranes, stillbirth, and placental abruption. Several studies have attempted to characterize subchorionic hemorrhage by conventional two-dimensional ultrasound which is not particularly well-suited for accurate measurement of small irregular hematomas. Consequently, there has been considerable debate about the significance of this finding especially in asymptomatic women who undergo prenatal ultrasound examination for other reasons. This protocol will attempt to identify prognostic indicators of adverse pregnancy outcome. A maximum of 400 pregnant women up to 20 weeks' gestation with sonographically detected subchorionic hemorrhage will be serially studies to characterize sac volume, placental volume, hematoma volume, and placental blood vessel patterns by 3DUS techniques. These results will be correlated with pregnancy outcome, hormonal markers, and placental pathology. This information is expected to improve our understanding of the natural history of subchorionic bleeding and spontaneous miscarriages as well as prognostic factors influencing pregnancy outcome in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women.
This study will examine how women think and feel about prenatal testing (amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling), how those thoughts and feelings change over time, and how they contribute to the decision whether or not to undergo prenatal testing. Prenatal diagnostic testing is offered to pregnant women at increased risk of carrying a baby affected with a genetic or chromosomal abnormality. Although these tests are well established, standard-of-care procedures, much remains unknown about how best to ensure that women make decisions about whether or not to undergo testing that are consistent with their beliefs and values. This study will explore the extent to which women are ambivalent about prenatal testing and determine how they might benefit from counseling aimed at improving the quality of their decision-making. Women 18 years of age and older who are scheduled for a prenatal genetics visit at clinics in Baltimore, MD; Minneapolis, MN; Binghamton, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; Washington, DC; and Bellevue, WA, and are at increased risk for having a baby with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) may be eligible for this study. Participants complete two short questionnaires and a telephone interview about their thoughts and feelings regarding prenatal testing. The first two surveys examine the women's thoughts and feelings before and after prenatal counseling. Both are completed at the prenatal clinic-one before and one after the counseling session. The third survey is done by telephone a few weeks after the prenatal visit to find out if the participant did or did not have prenatal testing and learn about her thoughts and feelings regarding her decision.
This study will explore the decision-making experiences of women who are currently pregnant following a period of infertility on whether or not to undergo an invasive prenatal test (IPT) procedure, such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. Women who become pregnant after infertility often experience heightened anxiety regarding the outcome of the pregnancy. When choosing whether or not to have IPT they are faced with a complex decision, set in the unique context of a pregnancy that they often perceive as exceptionally precarious. Women who are pregnant with their first child after a period of infertility and have made a decision regarding whether or not to undergo IPT may be eligible for this study. Participants complete an online password-protected questionnaire that measures infertility and decision-making variables and explores women's perceptions of the impact of infertility on their IPT decision-making process. The questionnaire covers the following areas: - Subject's demographic information, such as age, marital status, number of children, education, race, ethnicity - Subject's infertility history - Subject's thoughts and feelings about infertility - Subject's thoughts and concerns about other people's (e.g., husband, doctor, other infertile women) opinions about IPT - Subject's decision about whether or not to have IPT and her feelings regarding the decision - The effect of subject's infertility history on her decision to have or not have IPT
This study will provide information regarding the optimal dose and duration of nicotine replacement using the nicotine patch for a smoking cessation study of pregnant African-American women. Previous studies have shown that pregnancy, race and ethnicity can affect the way people metabolize nicotine. The information from this study may help scientists develop ways to help pregnant African-American women quit smoking and not start smoking again after delivery. African-American women 18-30years of age who are in the second trimester of a healthy pregnancy, who are carrying only one baby and who smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination and urine test. They receive counseling to help them quit smoking. Those who cannot quit smoking within 7 to 10 days after receiving counseling may be invited to join the study. Participants are admitted to a private room in the Pediatric Clinical Research Center at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for 48 hours, during which time they are not permitted to smoke. After a "wash out" period, a nicotine patch will be applied according to these doses and schedules: - 21 mg patch for 24 hours - 21 mg patch for 16 hours - 14 mg patch for 24 hours - 14 mg patch for 16 hours An intravenous (IV) line is placed in the subject's arm and 12 blood samples are drawn through the line at intervals during the 48 hours. Twleve urine and saliva samples are also collected. Blood, urine, and saliva samples are analyzed for nicotine and cotinine (a product of nicotine metabolism) levels, and DNA will be collected studied for genes that are associated with nicotine and cotinine metabolism. Participants are interviewed about their urges to smoke, quality of sleep, etc.