Tailored Intervention for Smoking Reduction and Cessation for Young and Socially Disadvantaged Women During Pregnancy

Rates of smoking during pregnancy remain high in Canada, and cessation rates are low among women who are younger than 24 years and who are socially disadvantaged, that is, have few social and economic resources because of poverty, violence, or mental health issues. On the basis of findings from literature reviews and consultation with policy makers, we developed and operationalized four approaches that can be used by health care providers to tailor interventions for tobacco use in pregnancy. These four approaches are woman centered, trauma informed, harm reducing, and equitable. Public health initiatives that address smoking in young and socially disadvantaged women could be more sharply focused by shifting to such tailored approaches that are grounded in social justice aims, span pre- and postpregnancy periods, and can be used to address women’s social contexts and concerns.     

Ethical issues in preconception genetic carrier screening

Population-based preconception genetic carrier screening programmes (PCS) with expanded panels are currently being developed in the Netherlands. This form of genetic screening for recessive traits differs from other forms of genetic testing and screening in that it is offered to persons not known to have an increased risk of being carriers of genetic traits for severe recessive diseases and in that they include tests for a large number of traits, potentially several hundred. This raises several ethical issues around justice, consequences, and autonomy. It will be argued that most of these ethical problems call for cautious reflection when setting up PCS and similar programmes within preconception care. It is moreover argued that it is ethically problematic to have an official aim and failing to mention possibly legitimate public aims that actually drive the development of PCS.     

中医体质辨识在孕前优生优育保健模式中的研究和应用

目的：了解计划妊娠妇女体质类型分布情况,探讨将中医体质辨识融入孕前保健管理中的意义,为中西医结合孕前优生优育保健模式的建立提供依据。方法选取2013年1至10月在闸北区妇幼保健所前来孕前优生优育检查的妇女726例为研究对象,通过体质辨识评估问卷（王琦量表）展开调查。结果收集有效问卷706份,有效回收率96．98％。根据问卷调查结果,计划妊娠妇女平衡体质（平和质、基本平和质）318例,占45．04％,偏颇体质388例,占54．96％,其中单一偏颇体质160例,兼夹体质228例。计划妊娠妇女相信中西医结合保健有利于优生优育者占87．07％,对中西医结合孕前优生优育干预支持率89．66％。结论计划妊娠妇女偏颇体质比例高于平和体质,建议在常规孕前优生优育模式的基础上,对计划妊娠妇女进行中医体质辨识,运用辨体施养、辨体施膳、辨体施治等综合性干预措施,进一步促进其身心健康,达到优生优育目的。     

Recurrent gestational diabetes: risk factors, diagnosis, management, and implications

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) should be regarded as a sentinel event in a woman's life that presents challenges and disease prevention opportunities to all providers of health care for women of reproductive age. Prediabetic risk factors are rising in prevalence and include dietary and lifestyle habits, which when superimposed on genetic predisposition contribute to the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes and GDM. There is growing evidence that treatment of GDM matters, with a continuum of adverse pregnancy outcome risks proportional to degrees of maternal glucose intolerance. GDM in an index pregnancy increases the risk of recurrent GDM in subsequent pregnancies, and recurrence rates of up to 70% have been reported. GDM recurrence rates are influenced by maternal health characteristics and past pregnancy history. The risk of later metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes is increased in women with a history of GDM and women should be screened for postpartum glucose intolerance. Opportunities to prevent recurrent GDM and later type 2 diabetes require attention to risk factors and plasma glucose status with identification of impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance.     

Male preconception antioxidant supplementation may lower autism risk: a call for studies

Current research indicates that a sizable number of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases arise from de novo mutations (DNMs) occurring within the paternal germline, usually in an age-dependent manner. Andrologists have reported that somatic cells and gametes share the same pathologies that generate these DNMs—specifically, DNA hypomethylation caused by oxidative nucleoside base damage. Because many ASD researchers seek to identify genetic risk factors, teams are developing methods of assessing aberrant DNA patterns, such as parental gonadal mosaicism. Several studies propose antioxidant supplementation as a strategy to lower autism risk, and/or suggest connections between childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and paternally-derived DNMs. Actual data, however, are currently not available to determine whether male preconception antioxidant supplementation effectively lowers autism risk. The purpose of this paper is to (1) explore the mechanisms causing DNMs, specifically DNA hypomethylation; (2) explain how antioxidant supplementation may lower the risk of having a child with ASD; and, (3) advocate for the implementation of large prospective studies testing (2). These studies may very well find that male preconception supplementation with antioxidants prevents neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, in much the same way that female prenatal consumption of folate was found to decrease the risk of birth defects. If this is indeed the case, the alarming rise in autism prevalence rates of the past few decades will slow—or even cease—upon the initiation of public awareness campaigns.     

某地区5306例生育前精液质量与解脲脲原体感染情况探讨

目的探讨上海地区生育前精液质量现状及解脲脲原体(UU)对精子质量的影响。方法收集2014年1月至2015年11月符合标准的5 306例生育前男性行精液检查,按照年龄、UU感染情况进行分组,分析比较各组精液指标。结果精液pH值(7.27±0.14),精液量(3.15±1.42)mL,精子浓度(57.51±40.22)×106/mL,精子总数(172.83±134.90)×106,A级与B级精子总和(38.50±17.54)%,总活力(46.36±20.08)%,活动精子总数(89.86±92.82)×106。20~29岁年龄组男性精子总活动力为(49.60±20.70)%,活动精子总数为(93.40±95.83)×106,大于其余各组。2 311例(43.55%)UU阳性,UU阳性组精子总数、活动精子总数、精子浓度、A级精子率、A+B级精子率、精子总活力、精浆酸性磷酸酶、精浆α-糖苷酶及精浆果糖明显低于UU阴性组(P0.01),UU阳性组精液酸碱度及精浆锌明显低于UU阴性组(P0.05)。结论上海地区生育前男性精液质量不良,UU在生育前检查具有重要的作用。     

The dietary beliefs and attitudes of women who have had a low-birthweight baby: a retrospective preconception study

Background and aims A poor diet in the preconception period is believed to lead to an increased chance of the subsequent baby being born with a low birth weight (LBW) and in particular symmetrically growth retarded (where both the head and the body are proportionately small). The aim of this study was to determine whether a woman's diet, social background and attitude towards diet has any bearing on the incidence of LBW.
Method A questionnaire was administered to 31 mothers who had had a LBW baby and 29 age-matched controls who had normal birthweight babies (NBW) in order to discover whether there were differences between their diets and beliefs and attitudes to healthy eating.
Results The LBW group were significantly more likely to have lost weight prior to conception (3–6 months before) while the NBW mothers were more likely to have gained weight prior to conception. The LBW group were more likely to have had a previous LBW baby. Only 9% of mothers changed their diet in anticipation of pregnancy with only 7% of mothers having taken folic acid prior to conception (although most of the questionnaires were administered prior to the folic acid campaign).
Conclusion and recommendations The majority of mothers welcomed more information on nutrition in relation to preconception care and indicated that booklets would be the most appreciated form of receiving this information. This may encourage mothers to make appropriate changes to their diet before conception, including taking folic acid. It is proposed that a nationwide booklet be made widely available to all women of reproductive age which highlights the important preconception points.     

Developing a Reproductive Life Plan

The purpose of this article is 2‐fold: to emphasize the importance of a reproductive life plan and to define its key elements. We review the 2006 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding ways to improve the delivery of preconception health care to women in the United States, with particular focus on encouraging individual reproductive responsibility throughout the life span and on encouraging every woman to develop a reproductive life plan. We propose recommendations for the content of a reproductive life plan and explore ways to incorporate the guidelines from the CDC into clinical practice. By encouraging women to consider their plans for childbearing before they become pregnant, clinicians have the opportunity to influence behavior before pregnancy, which may decrease the incidence of unintended pregnancies and adverse pregnancy outcomes.