Observations of parturition among captive patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas)

Six cases of labor and delivery by laboratory-housed patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) are described. Five of the births occurred during the daytime, and the sixth occurred just after the usual “lights out” time. Although it was impossible to determine the actual onset of labor, the final 1.5–0.5 hr before parturition were observed in all cases. Throughout labor, females tended to begin a contraction every 2–4 min and contractions usually lasted 35–60 sec. Females did not show common patterns of change in contraction frequency or duration as birth neared. It was not possible to describe patas monkey labor and delivery in terms of “stages.” Postpartum, females typically began cleaning their infants within 90 sec and picked them up within 5 min. Placental delivery times varied among females, as did the extent of placental consumption. One “mother-only” - reared female proved to be an inadequate mother.     

Physical and activity changes associated with pregnancy in captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The physical appearance and the behavior of five lowland gorilla females at two zoos were recorded before and during 14 pregnancies. Whereas only the quality of changes associated with pregnancy had been described previously, in this study the behavior of the females was recorded quantitatively and evaluated statistically. All females at Stuttgart showed distention of the abdomen three to four months before delivery and development of the breasts a few weeks before parturition. Milk was produced by the third month in one case, and in the sixth month or later in the others, sometimes after delivery. The female at Frankfurt stopped social play seven days after conception; the Stuttgart females, in general, stopped, in the first weeks of pregnancy. Social activity and locomotion decreased considerably within the first three months in all females and were significantly different between the pregnant and the nonpregnant state in all the Stuttgart females. In this study, as in others in the literature, behavioral changes were much more reliable signs of pregnancy than were physical changes. Thus the quantitative results confirm those obtained solely by qualitative observation.     

硬膜外麻醉无痛分娩、剖宫产和自然分娩对盆底组织功能的影响

摘要 目的：比较不同的分娩方法（自然分娩、无痛分娩、剖宫产）对产妇盆底组织功能的影响。方法：选择2019年10月～2020年11月在我院进行分娩的80例产妇,其中,自然分娩组15例,无痛分娩组26例、剖宫产组39例。记录自然分娩组和无痛分娩组第一、第二产程的疼痛程度和第一、第二产程所需时间,巨大儿、新生儿黄疸、低体重儿和新生儿窒息等母婴结局,Apgar评分、产时出血量和胎儿体重;且检查产妇的盆底肌力,记录自然分娩组、无痛分娩组、剖宫产组的尿失禁发生率。结果：无痛分娩组的第一、第二产程的视觉模拟评分法（Visual analog scales,VAS）评分和第一、第二产程所需时间明显低于自然分娩组(P<0.05);自然分娩组和无痛分娩组的巨大儿、新生儿黄疸、低体重儿和新生儿窒息率无明显差异(P>0.05);自然分娩组和无痛分娩组的Apgar评分、产时出血量和胎儿体重无明显差异(P>0.05);无痛分娩组的盆底肌力明显高于自然分娩组(P<0.05),剖宫产组的盆底肌力明显高于无痛分娩组(P<0.05);三组尿失禁的发生率对比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论：无痛分娩不但能减轻分娩疼痛程度,还能减轻对盆底组织功能的损伤,值得进行推广。     

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Background and Objectives

Existing data on pregnancy complications in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inconsistent. To address these inconsistencies, we investigated potential associations between IBD, IBD-related medication use during pregnancy, and pregnancy loss, pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery, Apgar score, and congenital abnormalities.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study in >85,000 Danish National Birth Cohort women who were pregnant in the period 1996-2002 and had information on IBD, IBD-related medication use (systemic or local corticosteroids, 5-aminosalicylates), pregnancy outcomes and potential confounders. We evaluated associations between IBD and adverse pregnancy/birth outcomes using Cox regression and log-linear binomial regression.

Results

IBD was strongly and significantly associated with severe pre-eclampsia, preterm premature rupture of membranes and medically indicated preterm delivery in women using systemic corticosteroids during pregnancy (hazard ratios [HRs] >7). IBD was also associated with premature preterm rupture of membranes in women using local corticosteroid medications (HR 3.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-8.20) and with medically indicated preterm delivery (HR 1.91, 95% CI 0.99-3.68) in non-medicated women. Furthermore, IBD was associated with low 5-minute Apgar score in term infants (risk ratio [RR] 2.19, 95% CI 1.03-4.66). Finally, Crohn’s disease (but not ulcerative colitis) was associated with major congenital abnormalities in the offspring (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.06-3.21). No child with a congenital abnormality born to a woman with IBD was exposed to systemic corticosteroids in utero.

Conclusion

Women with IBD are at increased risk of severe pre-eclampsia, medically indicated preterm delivery, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and delivering infants with low Apgar score and major congenital malformations. These associations are only partly explained by severe disease as reflected by systemic corticosteroid use.     

低频神经和肌肉电刺激对产程、分娩方式、母婴结局的影响分析

目的:观察低频神经和肌肉刺激仪用于分娩镇痛对产程、分娩方式、产后出血、会阴完整度、母婴结局的影响.方法:随机选择2019年8月～2020年3月在我院分娩的足月妊娠产妇220名,根据第一产程是否应用低频神经和肌肉刺激仪分为观察组112例及对照组108例,两组均接受常规分娩护理,观察组为自愿接受低频神经和肌肉电刺激镇痛的产...     

Post-conception reproductive competition in cooperatively breeding common marmosets

Common marmosets are cooperatively breeding monkeys that exhibit high female reproductive skew. Subordinate females usually fail to breed as a consequence of ovulation suppression and inhibition of sexual behavior, and, even when they do breed, typically rear fewer infants than dominants. We evaluated possible mechanisms of post-conception reproductive competition by comparing hormonal profiles across pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, infant survivorship, and behavior in laboratory-housed families containing one (N=9) or two (N=7) breeding females. Breeding females in plurally breeding groups did not exhibit well-defined dominance relationships and rarely engaged in escalated aggression with one another. No significant differences were found among singly breeding mothers, plurally breeding mothers, and plurally breeding daughters in urinary chorionic gonadotropin or estradiol sulfate concentrations during pregnancy, fetal biparietal diameter, frequency of spontaneous abortion, frequency of stillbirths, number of live-born infants per litter, or infant mortality rates. When females gave birth while another female in the family was pregnant, however, their infants were highly likely to be killed. The perpetrator was definitively identified in only one family, in which a pregnant female killed her daughter's infant. These results are consistent with observations of free-living common marmosets and suggest that breeding females do not regularly influence one another's pregnancy outcomes, but that they may commonly kill each other's infants, especially during their own pregnancy. Our findings further suggest that infanticide by breeding females may have selected for the evolution of reproductive restraint in subordinate female marmosets.     

Role of pregnancy and parturition in induction of maternal behavior in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

In prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), most virgin females are infanticidal. To determine the onset of maternal responsiveness, female prairie voles were tested for maternal behavior as virgins and at different times throughout pregnancy. Female voles that were infanticidal as virgins by and large remained infanticidal throughout pregnancy. In contrast, about 30% of voles that were maternal as virgins became infanticidal during pregnancy. To test whether events associated with parturition facilitate the onset of maternal behavior, females had their litters delivered by Caesarean section within a day of expected delivery or were allowed to give birth naturally with sham surgery occurring shortly before or after birth. Females that gave birth naturally were fully maternal and did not attack unrelated pups, but females subjected to artificial delivery remained infanticidal. This suggests that events closely related to parturition are crucial for full development of maternal behavior in female prairie voles.     

哺乳期圈养雌性大熊猫圈舍转移及其育幼行为变化

<正>大熊猫(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)为我国特有珍稀濒危物种之一,被誉为"国宝"。经过科研人员多年努力,圈养大熊猫"配种难、受孕难、幼仔存活难"等问题已基本被成功解决,圈养大熊猫种群数量正在快速增加(张和民等,2013)。目前我国已经建立了四川卧龙、成都和陕西楼观台3个较大的圈养大熊猫种群繁育基地。截至2013年底,圈养大熊猫种群数量已经达到375只(谢钟,2013)。快速增加的圈养种群,导致现存可供使用     

The social grooming of captive female rhesus monkeys: Effects of the births of their infants

We observed the grooming interactions of 13 female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)before and for 12 weeks after the births of their infants. Mothers groomed for similar amounts of time before and after the birth of their infants, but after the birth, the grooming they directed to their infants may have been at the expense of that directed to other partners. Lactating females did not receive more grooming from other females but were approached more often, suggesting that they were more attractive. Mothers that groomed their infants most groomed others least, as if grooming time was limited for each mother or as if she was trying to compensate for avoiding interactions with other partners. Mothers of male infants groomed others more than mothers with female infants did, which might be due to mothers with daughters receiving more aggression and therefore avoiding interaction. Experienced and high-ranking mothers groomed their newborn infants considerably more than primiparous mothers did in the 24 hr following birth. Grooming was preferentially directed at close kin before the births of the infants. Mothers tended to groom higher-ranked partners more than they were groomed by them, and they tended to receive more grooming from lower-ranked partners than they gave, as suggested in models of rank attractiveness.     

Pregnancy,gestation and parturition in free-ranging tana river crested mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus galeritus)

Mean gestation for seven free-ranging Tana River crested mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus galeritus) is 180 days (SE = 4.49). All females showed postconception sexual swellings after the first 2 months of pregnancy, and two of the seven copulated with males at this time. One birth was observed; observations of a second infant began less than 1 hr after birth. Details of parturition are given, with responses of group members to the events. Adult and juvenile females showed more sustained interest in the new infants than adult or juvenile males.     

Maternal Overweight and Obesity and Risks of Severe Birth-Asphyxia-Related Complications in Term Infants: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Sweden

Background

Maternal overweight and obesity increase risks of pregnancy and delivery complications and neonatal mortality, but the mechanisms are unclear. The objective of the study was to investigate associations between maternal body mass index (BMI) in early pregnancy and severe asphyxia-related outcomes in infants delivered at term (≥37 weeks).

Methods and Findings

A nation-wide Swedish cohort study based on data from the Medical Birth Register included all live singleton term births in Sweden between 1992 and 2010. Logistic regression analyses were used to obtain odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs for Apgar scores between 0 and 3 at 5 and 10 minutes, meconium aspiration syndrome, and neonatal seizures, adjusted for maternal height, maternal age, parity, mother''s smoking habits, education, country of birth, and year of infant birth. Among 1,764,403 term births, 86% had data on early pregnancy BMI and Apgar scores. There were 1,380 infants who had Apgar score 0–3 at 5 minutes (absolute risk  = 0.8 per 1,000) and 894 had Apgar score 0–3 at 10 minutes (absolute risk  = 0.5 per 1,000). Compared with infants of mothers with normal BMI (18.5–24.9), the adjusted ORs (95% CI) for Apgar scores 0–3 at 10 minutes were as follows: BMI 25–29.9: 1.32 (1.10–1.58); BMI 30–34.9: 1.57 (1.20–2.07); BMI 35–39.9: 1.80 (1.15–2.82); and BMI ≥40: 3.41 (1.91–6.09). The ORs for Apgar scores 0–3 at 5 minutes, meconium aspiration, and neonatal seizures increased similarly with maternal BMI. A study limitation was lack of data on effects of obstetric interventions and neonatal resuscitation efforts.

Conclusion

Risks of severe asphyxia-related outcomes in term infants increase with maternal overweight and obesity. Given the high prevalence of the exposure and the severity of the outcomes studied, the results are of potential public health relevance and should be confirmed in other populations. Prevention of overweight and obesity in women of reproductive age is important to improve perinatal health. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

The possibility of respiratory distress syndrome prevention of premature born children

Pregnant women and premature born children were classified into four groups. In each group there were thirty of them. The first group included the pregnant women with premature rupture of membranes and amniotic fluid effluxed for 72 hours before the delivery. The second group included the pregnant women with amniotic fluid effluxing less then 72 hours before the delivery. The third group included the pregnant women who were given corticosteroids. The forth group was a control group formed by those pregnant women (and their premature born children) whose amniotic fluid did not efflux long and those who weren't given corticosteroids during pregnancy. In all groups of pregnant women we observed: median age of pregnant women, the duration of pregnancy and mode of delivery (vaginal or cesarean section). In groups of premature born children we also observed: newborn birth weight, Apgar score in the first minute after delivery, Apgar score in the fifth minute after delivery, pH of the blood of umbilical cord, L/S ratio of amniotic fluid (lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio), RDS (neonatologist valuation in any degree of RDS developed et newborn child). Symptoms of RDS include tachypnoea, chest wall retraction and cyanosis and a zground glass' appearance of the chest on X-ray. Histopatological examinations of placentas compared the frequency of inflammatory or noninflammatory changes, also in all groups. No significant difference was found among groups of pregnant women for the following factors: the age of pregnant women, the duration of pregnancy and mode of delivery. No significant difference was found among the groups of children for the following factors: newborn birth weight, Apgar score in the fifth minute after delivery, blood pH of umbilical cord, L/S ratio of amniotic fluid. Significant difference was found among groups for the following factors: Apgar score in the first minute after delivery, the frequency of RDS and hystology of placentas. The prevention of premature delivery is the most important. All the pregnant women with symptoms of the premature delivery must be transported to the centers with the well developed unites of intensive neonatal care ("transport in utero").     

Changes in Social Behavior and Their Hormonal Correlates during Pregnancy in Pig-tailed Macaques

I conducted a longitudinal study of hormones and social behavior during pregnancy in 8 female pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) living in a captive social group. Females exhibited reduced grooming activity after the first month of pregnancy and reduced aggressiveness in the last month. Female-male hindquarter presentations and male-female foot-clasp mounts decreased steadily during pregnancy. The week before parturition was associated with lower involvement in all social activities. Monthly changes in plasma concentrations of estradiol and progesterone are correlated with some changes in sexual behavior and grooming performed by pregnant females. Altogether, the findings suggest that pregnancy does not bring about a major disruption of female social relationships with other group members and that the influence of pregnancy hormones on female affiliative and agonistic behavior is less marked than that previously observed for infant-directed behavior.     

Early pregnancy azathioprine use and pregnancy outcomes

BACKGROUND: Azathioprine (AZA) is used during pregnancy by women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), other autoimmune disorders, malignancy, and organ transplantation. Previous studies have demonstrated potential risks. METHODS: The Swedish Medical Birth Register was used to identify 476 women who reported the use of AZA in early pregnancy. The effect of AZA exposure on pregnancy outcomes was studied after adjustment for maternal characteristics that could act as confounders. RESULTS: The most common indication for AZA use was IBD. The rate of congenital malformations was 6.2% in the AZA group and 4.7% among all infants born (adjusted OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 0.98–2.04). An association between early pregnancy AZA exposure and ventricular/atrial septal defects was found (adjusted OR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.45–6.04). Exposed infants were also more likely to be preterm, to weigh <2500 gm, and to be small for gestational age compared to all infants born. This effect remained for preterm birth and low birth weight when infants of women with IBD but without AZA exposure were used as a comparison group. A trend toward an increased risk of congenital malformations was found among infants of women with IBD using AZA compared to women with IBD not using AZA (adjusted OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 0.93–2.18). CONCLUSIONS: Infants exposed to AZA in early pregnancy may be at a moderately increased risk of congenital malformations, specifically ventricular/atrial septal defects. There is also an increased risk of growth restriction and preterm delivery. These associations may be confounded by the severity of maternal illness. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Pre- and postpartum sex steroids in female marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii): is there a link with infant survivorship and maternal behavior?

Recent studies in primates have suggested that pre- and peripartum sex steroid hormones may be important determinants of maternal behavior and motivation, since higher levels of prepartum estrogen are associated with maternal competency and infant survivorship. To test the cross-species generality of this finding, we monitored excreted profiles of estradiol (E(2)), progesterone metabolites (pregnanediol glucuronide; PdG), and E(2):PdG ratios throughout pregnancy in black tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii). Additionally, we wanted to determine the extent to which variability in maternal carrying effort was related to hormonal factors and relative levels of maternal experience. For six females, hormonal profiles were determined by enzyme immunoassay for two pregnancies, one in which infants survived at least 2 weeks postpartum and one in which infants did not survive. Our within-subjects analyses revealed significant differences in mean prepartum E(2) levels for females in the different infant survival conditions. In contrast to previous findings, however, females exhibited significantly higher prepartum E(2) levels when their infants did not survive a minimum of 2 weeks postpartum, relative to when their infants did survive. Maternal carrying effort was also negatively and significantly correlated with prepartum E(2) levels. Unlike previous reports in callitrichid primates, then, our data suggest that high concentrations of prepartum E(2) in callitrichid primates are not necessarily associated with competent maternal behavior and may instead be associated with poor infant survivorship and inadequate maternal care. Further, our results appear to be convergent with research focusing on human mothers and may represent a common underlying mechanism linking prepartum estrogen and postpartum affect and behavior in some primates.     

Impact of Helminth Infection during Pregnancy on Cognitive and Motor Functions of One-Year-Old Children

ObjectiveTo determine the effect of helminth infection during pregnancy on the cognitive and motor functions of one-year-old children.MethodsSix hundred and thirty five singletons born to pregnant women enrolled before 29 weeks of gestation in a trial comparing two intermittent preventive treatments for malaria were assessed for cognitive and motor functions using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, in the TOVI study, at twelve months of age in the district of Allada in Benin. Stool samples of pregnant women were collected at recruitment, second antenatal care (ANC) visit (at least one month after recruitment) and just before delivery, and were tested for helminths using the Kato-Katz technique. All pregnant women were administered a total of 600 mg of mebendazole (100 mg two times daily for 3 days) to be taken after the first ANC visit. The intake was not directly observed.ResultsPrevalence of helminth infection was 11.5%, 7.5% and 3.0% at first ANC visit, second ANC visit and at delivery, respectively. Children of mothers who were infected with hookworms at the first ANC visit had 4.9 (95% CI: 1.3–8.6) lower mean gross motor scores compared to those whose mothers were not infected with hookworms at the first ANC visit, in the adjusted model. Helminth infection at least once during pregnancy was associated with infant cognitive and gross motor functions after adjusting for maternal education, gravidity, child sex, family possessions, and quality of the home stimulation.ConclusionHelminth infection during pregnancy is associated with poor cognitive and gross motor outcomes in infants. Measures to prevent helminth infection during pregnancy should be reinforced.     

Diminished maternal responsiveness during pregnancy in multiparous female common marmosets

Common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) live in small groups in which, usually, only a single female breeds and all group members provide infant care. When two females breed concurrently, however, they may commonly kill one another's infants, especially during the peripartum period. To investigate the mechanisms underlying infanticide by breeding females, we characterized responses of multiparous females to infants and determined circulating hormone levels in adult females during early pregnancy, late pregnancy, and the early postpartum period. Additionally, we compared the responses of postpartum females to their own infants and infants of other females (unfamiliar infants). Postpartum females were highly maternal toward both their own and unfamiliar infants, and showed no differences in their behavioral or hormonal responses to the two. During both early and late pregnancy, however, these females exhibited longer latencies to initially approach unfamiliar infants and spent less time carrying unfamiliar infants. Moreover, females spent less time carrying unfamiliar infants during late pregnancy than early pregnancy. Most late pregnant females never carried infants, and those that did rejected them quickly. Prolactin concentrations were higher and progesterone concentrations lower postpartum than in early or late pregnancy, while estradiol concentrations, the estradiol-to-progesterone ratio, and cortisol levels were higher during late pregnancy. Within reproductive conditions, however, maternal behaviors were not correlated with hormone levels. These results suggest that maternal responsiveness in marmosets may be attenuated during pregnancy, especially late pregnancy, and this may contribute to infanticide by breeding females.     

Peripartum cortisol levels and mother-infant interactions in Japanese macaques

As evidence accumulates regarding the influence of hormones and stress-related conditions on maternal behavior, it becomes critical to better understand the relationship between physiological stress and the ability to cope with infants. Eight Japanese macaque females were observed 3 hr per week during the first 12 weeks after parturition; fecal samples were collected twice a week from each mother, starting 4 weeks before parturition and ending 4 weeks after parturition. Time spent in contact, maternal responsiveness, latency of response, and maternal rejection were measured and correlated with peripartum excreted cortisol and estradiol metabolite levels. Two indices of peripartum hormonal status were also tested against behavior: the postpartum stress index, and the postpartum cortisol/prepartum estradiol ratio (F/E). Postpartum cortisol levels showed a positive correlation with maternal rejection. The cortisol/estradiol ratio was positively correlated with rejection and latency of response, and negatively correlated with maternal responsiveness. Prepartum cortisol levels and the postpartum stress index did not correlate with any aspect of maternal behavior. Our findings suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity per se is not enough to predict the quality of interaction between mother and infant. Only when cortisol is high relative to estradiol could it be symptomatic of a possible negative feedback response involving stress, adrenal activity, and the ability of mothers to cope with the additional problems imposed by newborns.     

Perinatal outcome of pregnancies in women aged 40 and over

Perinatal outcome of pregnancies at forty and over was analyzed starting from the diagnosis of pregnancy to seven days following delivery. Retrospectively, pre-gestational health and reproduction status were dealt with, as well as the course of pregnancy, deliveries, and newborn children (study group). The control group was composed of pregnant women aged 20 to 29, who were identical to study group in terms of parity. Statistical data processing was done by means of chi2-test, and contingency 2 x 2 tables. The difference was significant if p < 0.05. Out of 2,099 diagnosed wanted pregnancies at forty and over, 415 (19.8%) had a miscarriage, in 33 (1.6%) an artificial abortion was performed after determining the fetus karyotype and 1,651 (78.2%) of pregnant women delivered. In 66.2% of pregnancies the fetus karyotype was determined and in 33 (2.5%) fetuses chromosomal abnormalities were found Incidence of deliveries at 40 and over is 1.38%, which is a 35.6-percent increase in the last ten years. Nullipara and pluripara had an increase, and multipara had a decrease. Pre-gestational health and reproduction status in study group is lower than in control group. Complications during pregnancy: threatened abortion, EPH gestosis, placenta praevia, gestational diabetes, late fetal death are more frequent than in control group (p < 0.05). In intrapartal terms, more frequent were induction of delivery, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, fetal distress, operative vaginal deliveries, and Cesarean section (p < 0.05). In neonatal outcome there are more premature infant, there are more VLBW, LBW, SGA, newborn with low Apgar index values, and the total perinatal death is greater than in the control group (p < 0.05). In perinatal terms, (from the diagnosis to the seventh day following delivery) 1,617 children survived (77.0%), meaning that perinatal loss was 482 (23.0%). Authors conclude that pregnancy at 40 and over is a high-risk pregnancy. There is a high risk of pre-gestational and gestational complications, and perinatal loss is high. Therefore, those pregnancies are not desirable from the medical point of view.