Maternal characteristics and infant and young child feeding in Benghazi

Two hundred [200] mothers consecutively attending Al-Fateh Paediatric Hospital, Benghazi in 1992 were interviewed. The majority of women were under 30 years of age, had primary or no education, were housewives, had no experience of pregnancy wastage or child loss, used no contraception, had one to three living children, had information about breast-feeding from the mother-in-law, a relative or a neighbour, considered breast-feeding a natural way, nutritionally superior and hygienic, and practised mixed feeding. The reasons for introducing artificial feeding were maternal in 49.7% of cases, filial [related to the baby] in 36.5% and due to social pressure in 13.8%. Measures for successful breast-feeding are emphasized

Candida albicans and Abortion

An abortion that occurs spontaneously is known as a miscarriage. Various effectors associated with abortion such as Genetic and uterine anomalies, Endocrinopathy, immunological dysfunctions, infectious agents, environmental contaminants, psychogenetic elements, and endometriosis. Maternal infections considered the main reason for pregnancy wastage in females with Bad Obstetric History (BOH). Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that can grow as yeast or filamentous cells and considered one of the limited species of the Candida genus that cause humans candidiasis. It is an opportunistic fungus that responsible for mucosal infections in the mouth and genital tract. Excessive growth of C. albicans will follow with Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). The incidence of VVC combined with chronic recurrent candidiasis is high in pregnancies than in healthy women. Several scientific researches showed the significance of VVC as an inducer of abortion, candida chorioamnionitis, subsequent preterm delivery, and immunosuppression.

Pregnancy Wastage Due to Fetal Congenital Malformations

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> To study the pattern of various congenital anomalies in rural Haryana.<br />STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective study conducted over 1 and ½ years (from January 2015 to June 2016) in a tertiary care center in Haryana, India.</p><p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Out of 11,178 births, 227 babies had gross congenital malformations 2.03%. In literature, the most common birth defect reported in western countries is cardiovascular anomalies while in India and eastern countries, it’s the neural tube defect. In our study also, neural tube defects were the most common congenital anomalies accounting for 64.31% of total anomalies. They were more common in unbooked patients (70%) and the rural population. So, the main cause appears to be a lack of awareness and illiteracy.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> There is a need for increased awareness and folic acid supplementation routinely in the periconceptional period to decrease the incidence of congenital anomalies.</p>

Epidemiological and serological profiles of TORCH infection in pregnancy

Background: Maternal infections caused by TORCH [Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV)] are the major causes of bad obstetric history. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of TORCH infections in pregnancyMaterials and Methods:The study included 109 pregnant women with unfavorable previous pregnancy. Serological evaluation for TORCH infections was carried out by IgM Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay method. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17.0 whenever necessary.Results: The IgM/ IgG sero-positivity to T. gondii, Rubella, CMV and HSV-2 was 26.6/9.2 %, 9.2/78.9%, 17.4/58.7%, and 4.6/35.8 % respectively. There was an increased percentage of CMV infection. There was increased number of recent Toxoplasma infection in comparison to other studies conducted.Conclusion: A previous history of pregnancy wastage and the serological reaction for TORCH infections during current pregnancy must be considered while managing BOH cases so as to reduce the adverse fetal outcome.Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2015) Vol. 5, 705-708