Concentrations of progesterone and estradiol-17 beta were determined throughout pregnancy in 6 to 10 bitches (exp. 1); in experiment 2 peripartal changes of estradiol-17 beta, estrone, progesterone, cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone were determined in 5 bitches; in experiment 3 total unconjugated oestrogens were determined by radioimmunoassay and radioreceptorassay in placental tissue from 25, 53, 60 and 64 days pregnant bitches. No pregnancy specific increase of estradiol-17 beta could be observed; estradiol-17 beta levels decreased prior to parturition concomitant with the decrease of progesterone, suggesting a likewise luteal origin of estradiol-17 beta in the pregnant and non pregnant dog. Cortisol and growth hormone concentrations were elevated at the time of parturition, prolactin concentrations remained unchanged but were higher in pregnant than in non pregnant dogs. No hints in respect to a specific placental oestrogen production were obtained when examining placental tissue. The hypothesis is put forward that the high sensitivity of the haematopoietic system of the dog to oestrogen was an important factor in respect to evolution of endocrine control of pregnancy and parturition in this species which-in respect to placental oestrogen production-seems to be different from most other domestic animal species.

No abstract

Our study showed an almost 2-fold increase in the risk of preterm delivery after LEEP treatment. Thus, women in their reproductive age should be informed about the increased risk of preterm delivery, if treated with LEEP.

In this nationwide survey, a significant decline in the prevalence of primiparous women who smoked during pregnancy was observed from 1997 to 2005. Despite of this, pregnancy-related smoking prevalence in Denmark is still higher than in the other Nordic countries. Furthermore, the proportion of pregnant smokers was highest among young women, and future smoking cessation programs should bring this subgroup of women into focus.

Objective: To study whether endometrial scratching in the luteal phase before ovarian stimulation increases clinical pregnancy rates in women with one or more previous implantation failures. Design: A nonblinded multicenter randomized clinical trial. Setting: Fertility clinics. Patient(s): Three hundred four eligible patients scheduled for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection were randomized. The intervention group (n ¼ 151) underwent endometrial scratching in the luteal phase before controlled ovarian stimulation, while no intervention was performed in the control group (n ¼ 153). Intervention(s): Endometrial scratching with a Pipelle de Cornier catheter in the luteal phase before ovarian stimulation. Main Outcome Measure(s): Clinical pregnancy rate and prenatal and birth data. Result(s): There was no overall significant improvement in clinical pregnancy rates between the control and intervention groups (38.5% vs. 44.4%; relative risk ¼ 1.15; confidence interval [0.86-1.55]). However, subgroup analyses revealed that women with three or more previous implantation failures had a significant increase in clinical pregnancy rate (31.1% vs. 53.6%; relative risk ¼ 1.72; confidence interval [1.05-2.83]) after scratching. No difference was seen as regards prenatal and birth data between the two groups. Conclusion(s): Endometrial scratching in the luteal phase before ovarian stimulation significantly enhances the clinical pregnancy rate in women with three or more prior implantation failures. This result seems to corroborate previous reports, which found that particularly women with repeated implantation failure seem to gain a positive effect from endometrial scratching. Importantly, there were no significant differences in prenatal data and birth data between the groups.