Tag: miscarriage

Categories : Lab Tests and Imaging Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags : Leave a comment

Point-of-care Ultrasound Enhances Early Pregnancy Care, Cuts Emergency Visits by 81%

On By ModernMedia
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Published in Annals of Family Medicine, a University of Minnesota Medical School research team found that implementing point-of-care ultrasounds (POCUS) to assess the viability and gestational age of pregnancies in the first trimester enhanced care for pregnant patients and cut emergency visits by 81% for non-miscarrying patients.

Previously, early pregnancy care was provided through separate appointments for ultrasound, risk assessment and patient education. This new integrated approach allows patients who are under 14 weeks pregnant to receive comprehensive care during a single visit. This includes ultrasound-based pregnancy dating, immediate assessment of pregnancy viability, risk evaluation and on-site counselling – all based on real-time ultrasound results.

“Our study demonstrates that the use of point-of-care ultrasound provides meaningful benefit to the patients we serve by addressing early pregnancy problems at the time they are identified,” said Allison Newman, MD, an assistant professor at the U of M Medical School and family medicine physician at M Health Fairview Clinic. “POCUS in early pregnancy helps clinicians more efficiently and accurately diagnose problems without compromising the quality of needed first trimester assessments – saving time, money and stress for patients.”

The research team introduced this integrated approach at M Health Fairview Clinic – Bethesda in autumn 2022, allowing the clinic to quickly identify high-risk cases and offer timely intervention for issues such as miscarriage or abnormal pregnancies. They found:

  • The clinic saw an 81% reduction in emergency visits, urgent clinic appointments and first-trimester phone inquiries for non-miscarrying patients. 
  • Clinic implementation led to more timely diagnosis of abnormal pregnancies and improved education and support for all patients, including those who experience miscarriage. 
  • For miscarriage cases, the time from initial concern to diagnosis decreased from an average of 5.8 days to 1.7 days.

Suggested next steps include rolling out the process more widely within other family medicine practices and performing a wider study across multiple sites.

Source: University of Michigan

Categories : Diet and Nutrition Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

Processed Foods Increase Miscarriage Risk; Fruits Reduce it

On By ModernMedia

A preconception and early-pregnancy diet that contains lots of fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy, eggs and grain may be associated with reducing risk of miscarriage, suggests a new review of research in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

University of Birmingham researchers analysed 20 studies on eating habits in the months before and shortly after conceiving a baby to see whether these studies showed evidence of association with a lower or higher chance of miscarriage. The team conclude that there is evidence to suggest a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy products, eggs and grain reduces miscarriage risk.

Not surprisingly, these are foods which typically make up ‘healthy’ well-balanced diets, with previous evidence showing that eating a well-rounded diet which is rich in vitamins and minerals during pregnancy is important.

The research review found that, when compared to low consumption, high intake of fruit may be associated with a 61% reduction in miscarriage risk. High vegetable intake may be associated with a 41% reduction in miscarriage risk. For dairy products it is a 37% reduction, 33% for grains, 19% for seafood and eggs.

Led by Dr Yealin Chung, researchers also looked at whether pre-defined dietary types, such as the Mediterranean Diet or Fertility Diet could also be linked to miscarriage risk. They could not find evidence that following any of these diets lowered or raised risk.

However, a whole diet containing healthy foods overall, or foods rich in antioxidant sources, and low in pro-inflammatory foods or unhealthy food groups may be associated with a reduction in miscarriage risk for women.

A diet high in processed food was shown to be associated with doubling of miscarriage risk.

The studies included in the analysis focused on the peri-conception period, which is before and during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Data collected from a total of 63 838 healthy women of reproductive age was included, with information on their diets typically collected through food frequency questionnaires for each study.

Dr Chung explains:

“Miscarriage is common, with estimates suggesting 1 in 6 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and there are many known causes, from problems with the baby’s chromosomes to infections in the womb.

“Yet nearly 50% of early pregnancy losses remain unexplained and in the absence of a cause, parents often turn to their healthcare providers for guidance on the best ways to be as healthy as possible and reduce the risk of future miscarriages.

“There’s a growing body of evidence to show that lifestyle changes – including changes to diet, stopping smoking and not drinking alcohol – before conceiving and in your pregnancy’s early stages – may have an impact.”

Source: University of Birmingham

Categories : COVID Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

No Finding of Early Miscarriage Risk from COVID Vaccinations

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A new study has found no association between COVID vaccinations and risk of first-trimester miscarriages, providing further evidence of the safety of COVID vaccination during pregnancy. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Study co-author Dr Deshayne Fell said, “The study analysed several national health registries in Norway to compare the proportion of vaccinated women who experienced a miscarriage during the first trimester and women who were still pregnant at the end of the first trimester.”  Dr Fell, is Associate Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine and a Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute.

“Our study found no evidence of an increased risk for early pregnancy loss after COVID vaccination and adds to the findings from other reports supporting COVID vaccination during pregnancy,” the study authors wrote. 

“The findings are reassuring for women who were vaccinated early in pregnancy and support the growing evidence that COVID vaccination during pregnancy is safe.”

Dr Fell and colleagues found no relationship between the type of vaccine received and miscarriage. In Norway, the vaccines used included Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

“It is important that pregnant women are vaccinated since they have a higher risk of hospitalisations and COVID-complications, and their infants are at higher risk of being born too early. Also, vaccination during pregnancy is likely to provide protection to the newborn infant against COVID infection in the first months after birth,” the study authors stressed.

Source: University of Ottawa