Our findings provide further understanding of the association between maternal hepatitis B or C carrier status and perinatal outcomes. Infants born to women with hepatitis C infection appear to be at risk for poor birth outcomes, including preterm birth, LBW and congenital anomaly.

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Objective To examine the association between obesity subtypes and risk of early and late pre-eclampsia.Design Population-based retrospective study.Setting State of Missouri maternally linked birth cohort files.Population All singleton live births in the state of Missouri from 1989 to 2005.Methods The body mass index (BMI) was used to classify women as normal weight (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ), class I obesity (BMI = 30-34.9 kg/m 2 ), class II obesity (BMI = 35-39.9 kg/m 2 ), class III obesity (BMI = 40-49.9 kg/m 2 ) or super-obesity (BMI ‡ 50 kg/m 2 ). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between obesity and the risk of pre-eclampsia were obtained from logistic regression models with adjustment for intracluster correlation.Results The rate of pre-eclampsia increased with increasing BMI, with super-obese women having the highest incidence (13.4%).Compared with normal weight women, obese women (BMI ‡ 30 kg/m 2 ) had a higher risk for pre-eclampsia (OR = 2.59, 95% CI = 2.87-3.01). This risk remained approximately the same for late-onset pre-eclampsia (preeclampsia occurring at 34 weeks or more of gestation) and was slightly reduced for early-onset pre-eclampsia (pre-eclampsia occurring at 34 weeks or less of gestation). Within each BMI category, the risk of pre-eclampsia increased with the rate of weight gain. Compared with normal weight mothers with moderate weight gain, super-obese women with a high rate of weight gain had the greatest risk for pre-eclampsia (OR = 7.52, 95% CI = 2.70-21.0).Conclusion BMI and rate of weight gain are synergistic risk factors that amplify the burden of pre-eclampsia among super-obese women.

Quality of life has emerged as an essential health component that broadens the traditionally narrow concerns focused on only morbidity and life expectancy. Although a growing number of tools to measure quality of life are in circulation, there is a lack of guidelines as well as rigorous assessment for their use with pregnant and postpartum populations. It is also unclear whether these instruments could validly be employed to measure patient-reported outcomes in comparative effectiveness research of maternal care interventions. This paper reviews articles cited in CINAHL, COCHRANE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, and PUBMED that addressed quality of life in pregnant and postpartum populations. Instruments used to measure quality of life in selected articles were assessed for their adherence to international guidelines for health outcomes instrument development and validation. The authors identified 129 articles that addressed quality of life in pregnant and/or postpartum women. Out of these, only 64 quality (generic and specific) scales were judged relevant to be included in this study. Analysis of measurement scales used in the pregnant and/or postpartum populations revealed important validity, reliability and psychometric inadequacies that negate their use in comparative effectiveness analysis in pregnant and post-partum populations. Valid, reliable, and responsive instruments to measure patient-reported outcomes in pregnant and postpartum populations are lacking. To demonstrate the effectiveness of various treatment and prevention programs, future research to develop and validate a robust and responsive quality of life measurement scale in pregnant and postpartum populations is needed.

Research investigating the role of paternal age in adverse birth outcomes is limited. This population-based retrospective cohort study used the Missouri maternally linked data set from 1989 to 2005 to assess whether paternal age affects fetal birth outcomes: low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), stillbirth, and small size for gestational age (SGA). We examined these outcomes among infants across seven paternal age-groups (<20, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-45, and >45 years) using the generalized estimating equation framework. Compared with infants born to younger fathers (25-29 years), infants born to fathers aged 40 to 45 years had a 24% increased risk of stillbirth but a reduced risk of SGA. A 48% increased risk of late stillbirth was observed in infants born to advanced paternal age (>45 years). Moreover, advanced paternal age (>45 years) was observed to result in a 19%, 13%, and 29% greater risk for LBW, PTB, and VPTB (very preterm birth) infants, respectively. Infants born to fathers aged 30 to 39 years had a lower risk of LBW, PTB, and SGA, whereas those born to fathers aged 24 years or younger had an elevated likelihood of experiencing these same adverse outcomes. These findings demonstrate that paternal age influences birth outcomes and warrants further investigation.