http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Pregnant women in Ghana who slept on their back (supine sleep) were at an increased risk of stillbirth compared to women who did not sleep on their back, according to new research led by a University of Michigan researcher. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-ghanaian-pregnant-women-stillbirth.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:39:20 EST news283448352 Advocates of planned home birth have emphasized its benefits for patient safety, patient satisfaction, cost effectiveness, and respect for women's rights. A clinical opinion paper published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology critically evaluates each of these claims in its effort to identify professionally appropriate responses of obstetricians and other concerned physicians to planned home birth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-advocacy-home-birth-patients.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:38:42 EST news272029105 After a series of Philadelphia hospitals started closing their maternity units in 1997, infant mortality rates increased by nearly 50 percent over the next three years. The mortality rates subsequently leveled off to the same rate as before the closures, but pediatric researchers say their results underscore the need for careful oversight and planning by public health agencies in communities experiencing serious reductions in obstetric services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-newborn-mortality-higher-years-large-scale.html Health Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:01:28 EST news268498878 A policy of single embryo transfer (SET) reduces the risk of perinatal mortality in infants born as a result of IVF and ICSI. The conclusion emerged from an analysis of more than 50,000 births recorded in the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Technology Database between 2004 and 2008, where the introduction of an SET policy has been associated with a reduction in overall perinatal mortality for IVF and ICSI babies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-embryo-perinatal-mortality-ivf.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 04 Jul 2012 03:47:27 EST news260592441 Induction of labour beyond 37 weeks of pregnancy can reduce perinatal mortality (death before, during or shortly after birth) without increasing caesarean section rates, finds a study published on BMJ today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-labor-birth-complications-cesareans.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Thu, 10 May 2012 18:30:02 EST news255885660 (HealthDay) -- The incidence of perinatal mortality appears to be higher in out-of-hospital births, according to a study conducted in Oregon and presented at the annual clinical meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, held from May 5 to 9 in San Diego. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-acog-perinatal-mortality-higher-out-of-hospital.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 08 May 2012 14:40:01 EST news255702883 An analysis of the UK Obstetric Surveillance System published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that uterine rupture—a serious complication of pregnancy in which the wall of the uterus (womb) tears during pregnancy or early labour—is rare but for women who have previously had a caesarean section, the risk of rupture increases with the number of previous caesarean deliveries, a short interval since the last caesarean section, and with induced labour. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-uterine-rupture-rare-uk-previous.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:00:05 EST news250875924