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Objective: Parity is a prognostic variable when considering trial of labor after cesarean section (TOLAC). This study aimed to determine whether grandmultiparous patients are at increased risk of poor TOLAC outcomes such as uterine rupture., Study Design: A retrospective cohort was conducted at a single university-affiliated medical center with approximately 10,000 deliveries per year. The study group included women post one cesarean section who attempted TOLAC carrying a singleton fetus in vertex presentation. We divided the cohort into three groups: group 1 - women who had a parity of 1; group 2 - parity of 2-4; group 3 - parity of 5 and above. The primary outcome was successful VBAC. Secondary outcomes included mode of delivery, uterine rupture, and combined maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, Chi-square test, ANOVA, and paired t -test., Results: Five thousand four hundred and forty-seven women comprised the study group: group 1 - 879 patients, group 2 - 2374 patients, and group 3 - 2194 patients. No significant between-group differences were found in gestational age at delivery. Rates of a successful VBAC were 80.6%, 95.4%, and 95.5%, respectively. Group 1 were more likely to have a failed TOLAC compared to group 2 (OR 5.02, 95% CI 3.9-6.5, p <.001) and group 3 (OR 5.17, 95% CI 4.0-6.7, p <.001). There was no increased risk of failed TOLAC when comparing groups 2 and 3 (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.8-1.4, p =.89). Operative delivery rate differed significantly between all three groups; 25.1%, 6.2%, and 3.6%, for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively ( p <.001). The rate of uterine rupture was significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2 (1.02% vs. 0.29% p =.02) and group 3 (1.02% vs. 0.2%, p =.01, respectively). There were no differences between group 2 and group 3 (0.29% vs. 0.2% p =.78)., Conclusions: Grandmultiparity is not associated with an increased risk of uterine rupture during TOLAC.

Aim: Demand for upper gastrointestinal contrast series (UGI) to investigate bilious vomiting (BV) has increased in recent years, mostly due to greater awareness of the need to rule out malrotation and midgut volvulus (MGV). We aimed to examine predictive value of clinical parameters in the management of healthy neonates presenting with BV and re-assess the role of UGI in their management., Methods: A retrospective cohort study including medical, imaging and surgical data of neonates who underwent UGI due to BV., Results: A total of 157 term neonates, eight neonates (5.1%) had confirmed surgical diagnosis of malrotation, five of them had malrotation with MGV, including two neonates who underwent extensive intestinal resection due to necrosis. Neonates with a combination of abnormal plain radiograph and abdominal distention had 10 times higher odds of malrotation diagnosis, adjusting for age at first BV (p = 0.017). Neonates with a combination of abnormal plain radiograph, abdominal distention and abdominal tenderness had 25 times higher odds of MGV (p = 0.002)., Conclusion: This study reaffirms the role of UGI as the current main diagnostic tool for malrotation and MGV. Physical examination and plain radiograph findings can help but cannot substitute UGI study., (© 2023 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica.)

The incidence of spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) increases up to 10% with decreasing gestational age (GA). We aimed to explore early biomarkers for predicting SIP in preterm infants. In this case-control study, neonates born at ≤34 weeks GA diagnosed with SIP were compared with GA and/or birth-weight-matched neonates diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Laboratory markers assessed prior and adjacent to the day of SIP or NEC diagnosis were evaluated. The cohort included 16 SIP and 16 matched NEC infants. Hyperlactatemia was less frequent in SIP than in NEC infants (12% vs. 50%, p = 0.02). The platelets count was lower in SIP than in NEC infants ( p < 0.001). Glucose levels strongly correlated with lactate levels ( p = 0.01) only in the NEC group. The odds of being diagnosed with SIP decreased as lactate levels increased (OR = 0.607, 95% CI: 0.377-0.978, p = 0.04). Our results suggest that a combination of laboratory markers, namely glucose and lactate, could help differentiate SIP from NEC at early stages so that, in the presence of an elevated blood glucose, an increase in blood lactate was associated with a decrease in the odds of being diagnosed with SIP.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) stimulate the growth of gut commensals, prevent the adhesion of enteropathogens and modulate host immunity. The major factors influencing variations in the HMO profile are polymorphisms in the secretor (Se) or Lewis (Le) gene, which affect the activity of the enzymes fucoslytransferase 2 and 3 (FUT2 and FUT3) that lead to the formation of four major fucosylated and non-fucosylated oligosaccharides (OS). This pilot study aimed to determine the HMO profile of Israeli breastfeeding mothers of 16 term and 4 preterm infants, from a single tertiary center in the Tel Aviv area. Fifty-two human milk samples were collected from 20 mothers at three-time points: colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk. The concentrations of nine HMOs were assessed using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectra chromatograms. Fifty-five percent of the mothers were secretors and 45% were non-secretors. Infant sex affected HMO levels depending on the maternal secretor status. Secretor mothers to boys had higher levels of FUT2-dependent OS and higher levels of disialyllacto-N-tetraose in the milk of mothers to girls, whereas non-secretor mothers to girls had higher levels of 3'-sialyllactose. In addition, the season at which the human milk samples were obtained affected the levels of some HMOs, resulting in significantly lower levels in the summer. Our findings provide novel information on the irregularity in the HMO profile among Israeli lactating women and identify several factors contributing to this variability.

To examine the outcomes of preterm infants born to women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) at periviable gestational age. This is an observational retrospective cohort study analyzing data collected on singleton deliveries complicated by prolonged premature rupture of membranes occurring between 17 and 33 weeks of gestation. Neonatal outcomes including birth weight, Apgar score, retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, hearing impairment and mortality were evaluated. Ninety-four preterm infants who were born after a prolonged premature rupture of membranes of at least 7 days were included in the study. Median gestational week at onset of membrane rupture was 27.1 ± 4.2 weeks (range 17-33) and median latency period in days was 16 ± 21.8 (range 7-105). The cohort was stratified by gestational week (GW) at onset of PPROM (group 1: 17-23, group 2: 24-27, and group 3: 28-33). We found that the survival rate to discharge within neonates born after prolonged rupture of membrane at gestational week less than 24 weeks is 79.2% and 88.9% in group 2. These neonates did not show an increased rate of major morbidities compared to neonates born following membrane rupture at gestational week 24 to 27. We described a high survival rate to discharge without major morbidities following prolonged preterm membrane rupture of at least 7 days of latency before viability., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Reports on neonatal morbidity (NM) among refugees in developed countries remain inconsistent. We aimed to compare NM among infants of African refugees in Israel to the native population based on a large population sample., Design: A case-control study., Setting: A tertiary hospital in Israel., Participants: Data on hospital-based live births of refugee women and their newborns who were born in 2014 and 2017 were retrieved from medical records. Perinatal and neonatal data were compared between the refugee group and the native residents matched for gestational age and year of birth as well as within the refugee group., Primary Outcome: Prevalence of NM among African refugees in Israel., Results: Newborns delivered by 357 refugee women (mean age 30.2 years) and 357 controls (mean age 32.2 years) were analysed. Both groups were similar for the newborns' weight and gestational age. There were no significant differences in NM between the groups. A within-refugee comparison conducted between 2014 and 2017 yielded significant differences in birth weight (3051.4 vs 3373.6 gr, p<0.001, 95% CI (198.3 to 446.2), d=0.56), the number of twin deliveries (10 vs 4, p=0.002, Φ=0.173), the number of neonates evaluated as small for gestational age (15 vs 10, p=0.003, Φ=0.167) and the use of human milk (71% vs 93%, p<0.001, Φ=-0.298)., Conclusions: We conclude that NM among neonates born to refugee mothers was not higher than that of neonates born to native Israeli mothers. We suggest that successful implementation of health policies for refugees has improved their accessibility to mother-child health services., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: To determine factors associated with a successful twin trial of labor after Cesarean delivery (TOLAC)., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single medical center in a population highly motivated for TOLAC (> 80%). The effect of maternal demographic and obstetric characteristics on the likelihood of twin TOLAC success was analyzed. Maternal complications and combined adverse outcome (uterine rupture, Apgar < 7 at 5 min, and umbilical cord pH < 7.1) were compared between singleton and twin TOLAC groups., Results: Ninety-five women with a twin gestation and one previous Cesarean delivery comprised the study group. Five thousand seven hundred and three women with a singleton gestation and one previous Cesarean delivery comprised the control group. 30.5% and 83% of women with twin and singleton gestation, respectively, underwent a trial of labor. Women in the twin TOLAC group were significantly less likely to succeed and less likely to have a spontaneous unassisted vaginal delivery compared to women in the singleton TOLAC group. Maternal age less than 35 years, parity greater than two, and at least one previous VBAC increased the likelihood of TOLAC success. Statistically significant differences were found between the twin TOLAC and the singleton TOLAC group for uterine rupture, maternal complications, and for combined adverse outcome., Conclusions: Twin TOLAC is not common, even in parturients highly motivated for TOLAC. Our results demonstrate that even in a selected population, women undergoing twin TOLAC are less likely to have a successful spontaneous vaginal delivery and have a higher risk for uterine rupture, maternal complications, and combined adverse perinatal outcome than women undergoing TOLAC with a singleton gestation. Demographic and obstetric risk factors were identified which can aid the attending obstetrician in the counseling of these challenging cases., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)