What’s new in Gynecology?

What’s new in Gynecology?

• Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat pregnant patients does not appear to be associated with stillbirth or infant mortality (1).
• The United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that all pregnant women receive the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during each pregnancy, optimally between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation, regardless of prior vaccination status, to increase the likelihood of optimal protection against pertussis for both the mother and her infant during the first few months of the infant’s life (2). Previously, Tdap was recommended only for pregnant women who had not previously received the acellular pertussis vaccine during adulthood.
• Vaccination during pregnancy substantially reduced the risk of a maternal influenza diagnosis (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.30) and was associated with a trend in reduction of fetal death. All women who are pregnant or will be pregnant during influenza season should receive the inactivated influenza vaccine, regardless of pregnancy trimester (3).
• A December 2012 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) committee opinion concluded that the decision to perform early versus delayed cord clamping in term deliveries should be based on patient-specific factors, particularly the infant’s risk of developing iron deficiency anemia (4). For preterm deliveries, they recommended delayed cord clamping given the significant reduction in intraventricular hemorrhage associated with this intervention (3).
• In a prospective study of mothers who used benzodiazepines (primarily lorazepam, clonazepam, and midazolam) while breastfeeding, central nervous system depression (defined as sleepiness, poor latching, limpness, or lack of response to stimuli) in infants was an infrequent finding (affecting 2 out of 124, or 1.6 percent) (5).

References

1. Stephansson O, Kieler H, Haglund B, et al. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth and infant mortality. JAMA 2013;309:48.

2. Updated Recommendations for Use of Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine (Tdap) in Pregnant Women — Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2012 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6207a4.htm?s_cid=mm6207a4_e (Accessed on February 21, 2013).

3. Håberg SE, Trogstad L, Gunnes N, et al. Risk of fetal death after pandemic influenza virus infection or vaccination. N Engl J Med 2013;368:333.

4. Rabe H, Diaz-Rossello JL, Duley L, Dowswell T. Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping and other strategies to influence placental transfusion at preterm birth on maternal and infant outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012;8:CD003248.

5. Kelly LE, Poon S, Madadi P, Koren G. Neonatal benzodiazepines exposure during breastfeeding. J Pediatr 2012;161:448.