View clinical trials related to Pregnancy.
Filter by:The primary purpose of this randomized clinical trial is to test the efficacy of motivational enhancement (ME) therapy combined with biologic feedback (fetal ultrasound) for increasing smoking quit rates among low-income pregnant women considered resistant smokers. We hypothesize that ME along with biofeedback will increase the rate of validated smoking cessation at 8 months gestation by at least 10 percentage points above that produced by "Best Practice" (BP) counseling alone. This study will also examine reduction of smoking among non-quitters and maintenance of smoking cessation through 6 weeks postpartum among women who quit. Prenatal smoking is the leading preventable cause of low birth weight in the US. Reduction in smoking during pregnancy could result in significant improvements in pregnancy outcomes and reducing the cost of health care. There is evidence that low-intensity pregnancy smoking cessation programs may be inadequate for women who are more addicted, and at educational and economic disadvantage. Motivational enhancement strategies have shown considerable promise in the treatment of addictive behaviors. Physiological feedback highlighting prenatal effects of smoking and benefits of cessation has been found to enhance prenatal smoking cessation counseling. An intervention that combines motivational enhancement counseling and physiological feedback may have powerful effects beyond low-intensity interventions or usual counseling.
The Study for Future Families is a multi-center study that is recruiting pregnant women and their partners in four US cities to look for differences between cities in several measures of reproductive health. These measures include how long it took couples to conceive as well as hormone levels and semen quality in the male partners. This study is modeled after a study in four European cities so that,when complete, data on the 300 couples in each of the eight cities can be compared.
This proposal is a pilot study to describe the variations of blood sugar in pregnant women with various degrees of glucose intolerance, and how they relate to standardized meals. Blood sugar control during pregnancy is important to prevent complications for the newborn. The variation and timing of the blood sugar measurements in gestational diabetics and how this relates to the baby's outcome is controversial. We will use an FDA approved device called Minimed Glucose Continuous Monitor, which is used in clinical practice for certain diabetics. It is very small, similar to a beeper, and is connected to the patient through a small plastic catheter subcutaneously. This measures blood sugar every five minutes for a total of 288 readings a day with minimum discomfort. The hypothesis of this study is that use of the Minimed glucose monitor will provide information about variations of blood sugar in gestational diabetics that is missed by capillary glucose monitors. Our conclusions will allow us to compare blood glucose trends among the groups. After the data is analyzed in this pilot study, we plan to design a bigger study involving more subjects to study the impact of the blood sugar variations in the outcome of the newborn, and to obtain generalizable results for the population in general.
The purpose of this study is to gain information about the course of uveitis (a type of eye inflammation) during pregnancy and the postpartum period (six months after delivery). Some reports have indicated the condition may improve or disappear without treatment during pregnancy and recur postpartum, requiring treatment. No systematic studies have been done, however, to examine a link between pregnancy and disease suppression. All medicines for uveitis have side effects-particularly for pregnant women, their unborn babies, and breast-feeding mothers. The information gained may help guide treatment decisions for these patients in the future. Women who are between 2 and 20 weeks pregnant and have had uveitis within 2 years of becoming pregnant will be followed monthly with an eye examination and blood tests until six months after giving birth. The eye examination will include dilation of the pupils to look at the back of the eye. Photos of the eye will be taken to record changes that occur due to uveitis. The blood tests will assess immune function and try to determine whether levels of hormones and cytokines are related to uveitis disease activity. Patients who develop an inflammation and significant vision loss may require treatment, possibly with eye drops or injections near the eye. Treatment will be decided in consultation with the patient's obstetrician.
Endometrium is the lining of the uterus. It is where the fertilized egg normally implants during pregnancy. This study was designed to better understand the way(s) that female sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) cause the uterus to grow and develop. It is known that these hormones are necessary to prepare the uterus for pregnancy, but the way the hormones work is unknown. Researchers would like to identify the genes that are affected by female sex hormones by using a variety of tests (in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and culture of human endometrium). Researchers will select women who have regular monthly menstrual cycles and study them for two cycles; 1. <TAB>The first cycle (PRE-BIOPSY CYCLE) will include daily measurements of the patient's body temperature and progesterone measurements during the last 14 days (luteal phase) of the menstrual cycle. 2. <TAB> The second cycle (BIOPSY CYCLE) will include measurements of urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) to determine the day of the LH surge. Luteinizing hormone is the hormone that causes the ovary to release the developed egg. Ovarian ultrasounds will be performed before the biopsy to determine development of the egg. Blood tests will be taken on the day of the biopsy to have an overall idea of the hormones circulating in the patient's blood. An endometrial biopsy will be taken at one of three possible times to identify endometrial products under conditions of estrogen, estrogen/progesterone, or steroid hormone withdrawal.<TAB>
This study is designed to evaluate blood Th1 and Th2 immunoregulatory cytokine production and hormonal levels associated with the third trimester of pregnancy and the postpartum state. Cytokine and hormone levels will be assessed in blood specimens obtained from healthy pregnant and postpartum females and compared to levels from premenopausal non-pregnant and non-postpartum females. Blood samples obtained at 30-36 weeks of gestation and 2-6 weeks postpartum will be the primary study points. Samples will also be obtained from pregnant, postpartum, and non-pregnant, non-postpartum, premenopausal female patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Additional data will be generated from samples from normal males, which will be compared with data from females. We expect to find that pregnancy is associated with enhanced Th2 cytokine expression and that the postpartum state is associated with enhanced Th1 cytokine expression. We expect to see differences in cytokine expression between males and females as well. We seek to gather data supporting the view that distinct hormonal environments regulate these contrasting immunological states.
The purpose of this study is to see if giving the anti-HIV drug nevirapine (NVP) to HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants can help reduce the chance that a mother will give HIV to her baby during delivery. NVP is a promising medication for blocking HIV transmission from HIV-positive mothers to their infants. NVP is inexpensive and is easily absorbed by the mother and transferred to the infant. It is thought that even a single dose to the mother and infant may provide enough protection to the baby during the time of exposure to HIV at birth.
AMENDED: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered AZT to HIV-1 infected pregnant women in labor; to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and urinary excretion of AZT and its metabolites in newborns of HIV-1 infected mothers who receive IV AZT only during labor; to evaluate the safety of IV AZT administered by continuous infusion to HIV-1 infected laboring women and their infants. Original design: To determine the distribution and elimination of zidovudine (AZT) in the body as well as its safety in the treatment of pregnant women and their unborn children. The information derived from this study is required in order to design a future study that will assess the efficacy of AZT in reducing the transmission rate of HIV-1 from seropositive women to their fetus by treating them during the third trimester of pregnancy. An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent infected pregnant women risk transmission of HIV-1 to their infants, whether they be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Zidovudine (AZT) has previously demonstrated its effectiveness as a potent inhibitor of HIV replication in vitro and in adult patients; benefits of treatment include decreased mortality rate, decreased incidence of opportunistic infections, and increased number of CD4 cells. Phase I AZT studies in children, however, have resulted in uncontrolled information regarding clinical efficacy. The present study, therefore, will investigate the safety and pharmacokinetics of intravenous (IV) and oral AZT administration to HIV-1 infected pregnant women in the 3rd trimester, as well as the safety and efficacy of such treatment in their newborns. It is hoped that the results will be instrumental in designing future studies to assess the efficacy of AZT in reducing the transmission risk of HIV-1.
PRIMARY: To evaluate the short-term safety of rgp120/HIV-1SF2 vaccine versus MF59 placebo administered to HIV-infected pregnant women. SECONDARY: To evaluate the immunogenicity and long-term safety of rgp120/HIV-1SF2 in HIV-infected pregnant women who received the vaccine during pregnancy only or during pregnancy and postpartum. To evaluate immunogenicity and safety in the infant through 18 months of age following maternal immunization with the vaccine during pregnancy. Active immunization of HIV-infected women during pregnancy may slow the progression of maternal disease, reduce the titer of virus in maternal plasma, and increase the titer of epitope-specific antibody. Also, active immunization has the potential to induce primary immunity in the fetus and to boost both T-cell and humoral immune responses to HIV in the mothers.
To evaluate the safety of rgp120/HIV-1MN vaccine in HIV-1 infected pregnant women with CD4 counts >= 400 cells/mm3. To evaluate the immunogenicity of this vaccine in pregnant women and the passive acquisition of vaccine-specific antibody in their infants. To evaluate the induction or augmentation by rgp120/HIV-1MN vaccine of mucosal immune response in the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts during pregnancy. To isolate and genetically characterize the HIV-1 present in cervicovaginal fluid specimens of pregnant women and compare it to that present in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells and to that of their infected infants. Evidence suggests that an advanced stage of disease with high plasma viremia is associated with increased transmission of HIV-1 to the fetus. Slowing the progression of disease, reducing the titer of virus in plasma, and increasing the titer of epitope-specific antibody are potentially attainable goals through active immunization of the mother during pregnancy.