In this study to determine the harmful effect of abnormal pregnancy outcome on the immediately following pregnancy, 573 recently delivered women (with 2347 pregnancies) were interviewed. Data were recorded on their pregnancy outcomes (normal, abortion, stillbirth and congenital malformation), as well as on their interpregnancy intervals. A significant difference was found between the chances of having a spontaneous abortion following a normal outcome (5.5%) against that following a spontaneous abortion (31.1%). Also, the chances of a normal outcome following a normal outcome were 92.4%, compared with 63.9% following a spontaneous abortion. The delivery of a malformed baby is associated with a larger proportion of abortion and congenital malformation in the subsequent pregnancy, while stillbirth was followed by a larger proportion of abortion and stillbirth. A longer interpregnancy interval did not appear to have any protective effect on the subsequent pregnancy.

Urea clearance and disposition is studied in perfused human placenta in vitro using a novel perfusion technique of isolated placental lobules. The results on urea clearance compare well with published reports. The study shows the suitability of urea as a reference marker in placental perfusion studies. It is concluded that urea could serve as an effective reference marker in preference to antipyrine in clearance studies of molecules with membrane-limited transfer.

From January 1980 to December 1984, there were 86,483 deliveries and 25 emergency obstetric hysterectomies at the Maternity Hospital, Kuwait. The indications for hysterectomy were placental disorders (64%), uterine rupture (28%), and extension of the lower uterine scar during cesarean section (8%). The incidence of emergency hysterectomy increased with age and parity. Postoperative morbidity was higher with subtotal than with total hysterectomy. The commonest post-operative complication was urinary tract infection. There was one maternal death from consumptive coagulopathy associated with intra-uterine fetal death.

In 18 women with gestational diabetes the variables of an oral glucose tolerance test (fasting and 2-hour blood glucose values and area under the blood glucose curve) performed in the last trimester of pregnancy correlated significantly with the urinary C-peptide excretion during the first 12 hours of the life (r = 0.47, 0.71, and 0.60, respectively). In a combined group with 28 type II pregnant diabetic women there was also a significant correlation between the urinary C-peptide excretion of the infants and their skinfold. Assay of the urinary C-peptide excretion of the neonate, reflecting its insulin production, seems to be a sensitive parameter to study the influence of the maternal carbohydrate metabolism in the offspring.

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