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Purpose Of the Study: to examine whether women's and men's infertility-related stress, and specifically its sexual concerns aspect, is related to their and their partner's sexual satisfaction.Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 94 couples experiencing infertility filled out the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale and Fertility Problem Inventory, which measures infertility-related stress with dimensions of social, sexual and relationship concerns, rejection of childfree lifestyle, and need for parenthood. Dyadic analyses were performed following the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM).Results: The dyadic analysis revealed that women's and men's greater infertility-related stress contributed to their lower levels of sexual satisfaction (actor effect). Moreover, women's and men's greater sexual concerns (as the aspect of infertility-related stress) contributed to their own and their partner's lower levels of sexual satisfaction (actor and partner effect).Conclusions: The findings suggest that both individual and relational processes are important in the association between the specific dimension of infertility-related stress and sexual satisfaction. These findings could guide the psychosocial support for couples experiencing infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim To assess the effect of maternal physical activity during pregnancy on abnormal fetal growth. Methods The study group of 166 women in gestational week 6-8 exercised regularly three days per week at submaximal intensity during their entire pregnancy and the control group of 168 women received standard antenatal care. The main outcomes were macrosomia and intrauterine growth restriction. Results The study group had a lower frequency of macrosomia in newborns (6.0% vs 12.5%, P = 0.048) and gestational diabetes (1.8% vs 8.3%, P = 0.008) than the controlgroup, but there was no significant difference in intrauterine growth restriction (7.2% vs 6.5%). There was also no significant differences in other perinatal outcomes. Conclusions The beneficial effect of maternal physical activity on fetal growth may be caused the impact of aerobic exercise on glucose tolerance. Fitness trainers and kinesiologists, as well as health care providers, should be educated on the benefits of regular exercise during pregnancy and safe physical exercise for pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to analyze retrospectively the safety and success rates of single- and two-dose methotrexate (MTX) protocols for the treatment of hemodynamically stable cases of ectopic pregnancy at University Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Zagreb University Hospital Center, during a five-year period. The study evaluated MTX treatment efficacy in 35 women with ectopic pregnancies in relation to the initial levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and progesterone. Successful treatment was recorded in 32/35 women, 24/25 on single dose MTX and 8/10 on double dose MTX, whereas 3/35 patients underwent laparoscopy. The mean initial hCG level in all 35 patients on day 0 was 657.54 +/- 592.4 IU/L; 572.99 +/- 488.10 IU/L in those successfully treated with MTX and 1560.30 +/- 890.70 IU/L in those requiring additional laparoscopy (p < 0.005). The mean initial hCG level was 393.10 +/- 305.9 IU/L in patients successfully treated with a single dose of MTX and 973.5 +/- 722.40 IU/L in those with an additional dose of MTX (p < 0.002). The mean initial progesterone level was 16.36 +/-10.70 nmol/L in 35 MTX-treated ectopic pregnancy patients, 13.64 +/- 8.89 nmol/L in those with treatment success and 28.45 +/- 11.32 nmol/L in cases of treatment failure (p < 0.05). The mean level of progesterone on day 0 was 12.74 +/- 830 nmol/L in patients successfully treated with a single dose of MTX and 26.10 +/- 18.80 nmol/L in patients treated with double-dose MTX (p < 0.006). It is concluded that pretreatment values of hCG and progesterone are inversely related to medicamentous treatment success in selected cases ofhemodynamically stable patients, thus they may be used as an important predictor in the management of ectopic pregnancy treated with MTX.

Heterotopic pregnancy is a rare event that occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, especially when complicated with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. We report a case of a 31-year-old woman in the 6th gestational week of pregnancy achieved after in vitro fertilization, who was complaining of acute lower abdominal pain and distension, breathing difficulties and vaginal spotting. Transvaginal ultrasound examination and laboratory tests confirmed the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in the presence of two viable gestational sacs. The patient's condition worsened five days later with sudden onset of sharp abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, along with impaired laboratory test values. Laparoscopy was attempted, but enlarged ovaries and adhesions prevented further procedure, which was then converted to mini-laparotomy. Operative removal of the right tubal pregnancy resulted in uncomplicated course of the intrauterine twin pregnancy and delivery of two healthy neonates by cesarean section at 37 weeks of gestation. Clinicians need to be aware of this rare complication where ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome coexists with heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedure. Enlarged ovaries may mask accurate ultrasound diagnosis, but timely surgical intervention can prevent fatal consequences and result in normal course and outcome of intrauterine pregnancy.