enerbol and Birth-Weight

Obstetricians face difficult decisions when the interests of fetus and mother conflict. An example is the problem of choosing the delivery method when labour begins prematurely and the fetus is breech. Vaginal delivery involves risks for the breech fetus of brain damage or death caused by umbilical cord compression and head entrapment. Caesarean section might avoid these dangers but involves risks for the mother, including infection, haemorrhage and even death in a small percentage of cases. If a caesarean section is performed the infant might die anyway, due to complications of prematurity. Thus, decisions about delivery method involve balancing the risks to mother and fetus. Uncertainty about the frequency of fetal injuries in vaginal breech deliveries adds to the difficulty of these decisions.

Topics: Beginning of Human Life; Birth Weight; Breech Presentation; Cesarean Section; Decision Making; Ethics, Medical; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Life; Maternal-Fetal Relations; Moral Obligations; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Patient Advocacy; Personhood; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Prognosis; Risk Assessment; Trial of Labor

A strong association between stress in pregnancy and small head circumference in infants at birth was reported in 1994. This important finding has never been replicated. In a follow-up study of 4211 participants with singleton pregnancies, information on life events was collected twice during pregnancy and head circumference measured shortly after birth following standard procedures. No association was found between experienced or perceived stress as a result of life events during pregnancy and head circumference in the infants. In conclusion, stress in pregnancy may influence foetal brain development in many ways, but we found no support for an effect on the size of the brain as measured by head circumference at birth.

Topics: Birth Weight; Cephalometry; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gestational Age; Head; Humans; Infant; Life; Life Change Events; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Risk Factors; Smoking; Stress, Psychological; Time Factors