Objectives To study the prevalence of myths regarding oral health care in pregnant women in North Indian population. Methods This cross‐sectional study used a self‐administered closed‐ended questionnaire to assess oral healthcare related beliefs and practices in 400 pregnant women who reported for prenatal checkup in a tertiary healthcare centre in North India. The questionnaire included questions to elicit information on socio‐demographic factors, beliefs and practices of oral hygiene during pregnancy, attitude towards dental problems occurring during pregnancy and the reasons associated with a specific belief. Prevalence of various myths was observed, and its associations with various socio‐demographic factors, adverse pregnancy outcomes and dental symptoms were analysed. Results 84.2% of the respondents harboured at least one oral healthcare related myth. 63.4% of respondents deferred brushing for many days after delivery. 36.6% of respondents avoided consumption of hot/cold food and drinks during pregnancy due to fear of tooth loss. 24.5% of respondents believed local anaesthesia could affect baby's developing organs, and 21.8% of the studied population believed tooth extraction might cause miscarriage. Females possessing more myths were more likely to experience severe oral health problems during pregnancy. Education was depicted as a significant negative predictor of the prevalence of myths. No significant correlation between myths prevalence and history of adverse pregnancy outcomes was found. Conclusion Neglect of oral health due to myths about oral hygiene practices and dental treatment during pregnancy is a serious concern. A very high prevalence of these myths is an obstacle to goal of optimal maternal and child health.

Background: The reported incidence of GTD varies widely worldwide, from a low of 23 per 100,000 pregnancies (Paraguay) to a high of 1,299 per 100,000 pregnancies (Indonesia). The reported incidence of GTD in India is inconsistent therefore we planned to do an analysis of the GTD at our institute which is a referral tertiary center of Haryana.Methods: Records of patients of GTD admitted from January 2014 to June 2016 were analyzed and incidence per 1000 deliveries was calculated. The demographic profile, clinical presentation, management and complications were studied.Results: There were 38 patients of GTD with an incidence of 2.3 per 1000 deliveries. Out of 38 patients 33 (86.8%) were of molar pregnancy and 5 (13.16%) had GTN. Out of 33 molar patients 27 (81.8%) had complete mole and 6 (18.2%) had partial mole. All cases of GTN were low risk and received single agent methotrexate based chemotherapy. The mean age was 23.02±2.96 years and 47.4% were primigravida. The mean gestational age of presentation was 13.84 ± 3.24 weeks. There were no mortalities and no recurrences. Education in more than half i.e. 57.1% patients was below primary and 7 of the 19 patients with GTD, who could be followed telephonically, were found to have not followed the contraceptive advice and conceived within 6 months of the treatment of molar pregnancies, 5 had vaginal deliveries of live babies one of which was preterm and rest 2 had spontaneous abortions.Conclusions: In view of poor reporting from developing countries there is a need for a nodal centre exclusively for GTD in each state. Poor compliance and contraceptive practice due to uneducated population especially in rural India, warrants a need for prophylactic chemotherapy in high risk cases.

India has witnessed a decline in sex ratio in the past few decades. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out to find out the attitude toward gender preference and knowledge as well as practice toward prenatal sex determination and female feticide among pregnant women. A majority (66.0%) of the pregnant women did not show any gender preference, followed by male preference (22.2%) and female preference (11.8%). A high proportion, i.e. 84.7% and 89.7%, of the total subjects were aware that prenatal sex determination and female feticide is illegal, respectively.

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