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Introduction: Children born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at risk of metabolic disturbances such as diabetes mellitus and overweight. However, few have examined the outcome of children whose mothers were at risk of GDM. The aim of the study was to investigate how mothers' risk of developing GDM affects physical health and neurodevelopment of the children at 7 years of age. Material and methods: This is a secondary analysis of a follow‐up study of a multicenter randomized controlled trial including 855 pregnant women, carried out at St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, and Stavanger University Hospital in Norway from 2007 to 2009. Risk factors for developing GDM included age >40 years, diabetes in near family, previous child with birthweight ≥4500 g and pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2. Data on GDM risk factors were available for 750 women, who were divided into a risk group if they had one or more risk factors for developing GDM (n = 238) and a no risk (n = 512) group. At 7 years of age, 72 children born to mothers in the risk group and 194 children born to mothers in the no risk group participated. The children's height, weight and physical activity were reported by their parents. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed by using the Five‐to‐Fifteen questionnaire, which includes motor skills, executive functions, perception, memory, language, social skills, and emotional/behavioral problems. Results: Most women had only one risk factor for GDM, and pre‐pregnancy overweight was the most prevalent risk factor. Children of mothers in the risk group had higher birthweight and length. At the 7‐year follow‐up, they had a higher weight and BMI, and the odds ratio of being overweight was 3.0 (95% confidence interval 1.1–8.3). There was no group difference in the children's physical activity and their neurodevelopmental outcomes were similar. Conclusions: We found higher BMI and increased risk of overweight in children born to mothers with one or more risk factors for developing GDM. A focus on preventing pre‐pregnancy overweight should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's autonomy and an inclusive society for all individuals are highly valued in Norway. The Norwegian Biotechnology Act changed in 2020 allowing first‐trimester screening and cell‐free DNA for common trisomies to all pregnant women. However, implementing non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in a public antenatal care program is difficult, because many patients, politicians, and medical professionals do not consider trisomy 21 a severe medical disease. Screening for trisomies at an early gestation might inevitably lead to an increase in pregnancy terminations and making cost–benefit calculations is ethically challenging. Moreover, offering NIPT to all pregnant women is debatable because of the lower prevalence of fetal trisomies in younger women. Therefore, appropriate genetic pre‐test counseling is essential. Furthermore, organizing the service between private institutions and public hospitals poses another debate and challenges both quality and equal access to health services for women across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Stillbirth is a potentially preventable complication of pregnancy. Identifying women at high risk of stillbirth can guide decisions on the need for closer surveillance and timing of delivery in order to prevent fetal death. Prognostic models have been developed to predict the risk of stillbirth, but none has yet been validated externally. In this study, we externally validated published prediction models for stillbirth using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to assess their predictive performance.Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, DH-DATA and AMED databases were searched from inception to December 2020 to identify studies reporting stillbirth prediction models. Studies that developed or updated prediction models for stillbirth for use at any time during pregnancy were included. IPD from cohorts within the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) Network were used to validate externally the identified prediction models whose individual variables were available in the IPD. The risk of bias of the models and cohorts was assessed using the Prediction study Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool (PROBAST). The discriminative performance of the models was evaluated using the C-statistic, and calibration was assessed using calibration plots, calibration slope and calibration-in-the-large. Performance measures were estimated separately in each cohort, as well as summarized across cohorts using random-effects meta-analysis. Clinical utility was assessed using net benefit.Results: Seventeen studies reporting the development of 40 prognostic models for stillbirth were identified. None of the models had been previously validated externally, and the full model equation was reported for only one-fifth (20%, 8/40) of the models. External validation was possible for three of these models, using IPD from 19 cohorts (491 201 pregnant women) within the IPPIC Network database. Based on evaluation of the model development studies, all three models had an overall high risk of bias, according to PROBAST. In the IPD meta-analysis, the models had summary C-statistics ranging from 0.53 to 0.65 and summary calibration slopes ranging from 0.40 to 0.88, with risk predictions that were generally too extreme compared with the observed risks. The models had little to no clinical utility, as assessed by net benefit. However, there remained uncertainty in the performance of some models due to small available sample sizes.Conclusions: The three validated stillbirth prediction models showed generally poor and uncertain predictive performance in new data, with limited evidence to support their clinical application. The findings suggest methodological shortcomings in their development, including overfitting. Further research is needed to further validate these and other models, identify stronger prognostic factors and develop more robust prediction models. © 2021 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Current U.S. guidelines suggest that pregnant women should exercise regularly during pregnancy, and we examined the neurodevelopment of the children whose mothers had taken that advice. Methods This Norwegian study included 188 children whose mothers had followed a structured exercise protocol and 148 control children whose mothers had not. Their cognitive, language and motor skills were assessed at 18 months of age by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III and daily life functioning with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Results No significant differences were found between the two groups. Subgroup analyses revealed that the children whose mothers had exercised had a slightly lower motor composite score (mean: 97.6, 95% CI: 96.0-99.2) than the control group (mean: 100.0, 95% CI: 98.6-101.5) (p = 0.03). Boys in the intervention group had lower fine motor scores (mean: 10.6, 95% CI: 10.3-11.0) than boys in the control group (mean: 11.5, 95% CI: 11.0-11.9) (p = 0.01). Conclusion Our main finding was that regular moderate exercise during pregnancy does not adversely affect neurodevelopment in children. The lower motor scores in the subgroup analyses are probably clinically insignificant, but the lower fine motor scores for boys in the intervention group warrant further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To analyze the effect of intravenous ferrous sucrose compared with oral ferrous sulphate on hematological parameters and quality of life in women with postpartum anemia. Design. Open randomised controlled trial. Setting. Multicentre study comprising five obstetrical departments in Norway. Population. Hundred and twenty-eight postpartum women with hemorrhagic anemia (Hb between 6.5 g/100 ml and 8.5 g/100 ml). The intervention group (59 women) received 600 mg iron sucrose intravenously followed by 200 mg iron sulphate daily from week 5. The control group (70 women) were given 200 mg iron sulphate daily. Methods. Randomisation and start of treatment occurred within 48 hours of the delivery. Participants were followed up at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Main outcome measures. Hemoglobin, ferritin and quality of life assessed with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Fatigue Scale. Results. After 4 weeks the mean hemoglobin values in both groups were similar (11.9g/100ml vs. 12.3g/100ml, p=0.89). The mean serum ferritin value after 4 weeks was significantly higher in the intervention group with 13.7µg/L vs. 4.2µg/L in the control group (p<0.001). At 8 and 12 weeks the hematological parameters were similar. The total fatigue score was significantly improved in the intervention group at week 4, 8 and 12, whereas SF-36 scores did not differ. Conclusion. Women who received 600mg intravenous iron sucrose followed by standard oral iron after four weeks, replenished their iron stores more rapidly and had a more favorable development of the fatigue score indicating improved quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Prevention of lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy has been sparsely studied. One aim of this study was to assess if a 12-week training program during pregnancy can prevent and/or treat lumbopelvic pain. A randomized controlled trial was conducted at Trondheim University Hospital and three outpatient physiotherapy clinics. Three hundred and one healthy nulliparous women were included at 20 weeks of pregnancy and randomly allocated to a training group (148) or a control group (153). Methods. The outcome measures were self-reported symptoms of lumbopelvic pain (once per week or more), sick leave, and functional status. Pain drawing was used to document the painful area of the body. The intervention included daily pelvic floor muscle training at home, and weekly group training over 12 weeks including aerobic exercises, pelvic floor muscle and additional exercises, and information related to pregnancy. Results. At 36 weeks of gestation women in the training group were significantly less likely to report lumbopelvic pain: 65/148 (44%) versus 86/153 (56%) (p=0.03). Three months after delivery the difference was 39/148 (26%) in the training group versus 56/153 (37%) in the control group (p=0.06). There was no difference in sick leave during pregnancy, but women in the training group had significantly (p=0.01) higher scores on functional status. Conclusions. A 12-week specially designed training program during pregnancy was effective in preventing lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to investigate the clinical, biochemical and ultrasonographic characteristics of Scandinavian women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and to see whether there were any differences between eumenorrhoic and oligoamenorrhoic women. Eighty women aged between 18 and 40 years with PCOS were investigated in a prospective study. The inclusion criteria were polycystic ovaries (PCO), body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2 and at least one of the following: testosterone >2.5 nmol/L, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) <30 nmol/L, fasting C-peptide >1.0 nmol/L, oligoamenorrhea or hirsutism. Eumenorrhoic and oligoamenorrhoic women with PCOS did not differ in age, age at menarche, blood pressure, BMI, free testosterone index (FTI), insulin C-peptide or fasting glucose. A thicker endometrium and a smaller ovarian volume were found in eumenorrhoic compared to oligoamenorrhoic patients. There was linear association between BMI and the number of diagnostic criteria met. BMI was associated with the severity of the PCOS. There were no differences in basic clinical and biochemical parameters between eumenorrhoic and oligoamenorrhoic patients with PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]