• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.276-283
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• 2011

Purpose: Prenatal depression is associated with potential negative consequences for the mother and infant. The purpose of this study was to examine pregnant women's stress, and depression and their impact on maternal-fetal attachment and fetal growth. Methods: Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and fetal sonogram from a convenience sample of 166 pregnant women. Results: Women who have a low educational level, poor health and are dissatisfied with their marriage showed low maternal-fetal attachment. Prenatal depression had significant correlations with length of pregnancy and level of stress. Even though correlation between maternal stress and fetal weight (r=-.15, p=.099) and correlation between maternal depression and maternal-fetal attachment (r=-.13, p=.095) were not statistically significant, the impact of the prenatal psychological state of mothers can not be ignored as it relates to fetal health. Conclusion: Maternal-fetal attachment and fetal growth can be affected by maternal emotional state, including stress or depression. These findings suggest that primary care nurses in hospitals and public health centers should provide prenatal depression screening and nursing intervention programs for management and prevention of prenatal stress and depression.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.240-244
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• 2021

Imperforate anus is an anomaly caused by a defect in the development of the hindgut during early pregnancy. It is a relatively common congenital malformation and is more common in males. Although there are cases of a solitary imperforate anus, the condition is more commonly found as a part of a wider spectrum of other congenital anomalies. Although urgent reconstructive anorectal surgery is not necessary, immediate evaluation is important and urgent decompressive surgery may be required. Moreover, as there are often other anomalies that can affect management, prenatal diagnosis can help in optimizing perinatal care and prepare parents through prenatal counseling. In the past, imperforate anus was diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography based on indirect signs such as bowel dilatation or intraluminal calcified meconium. Currently, it is diagnosed by directly checking the perineum with prenatal ultrasonography. Despite advances in ultrasound technology, accurate prenatal diagnosis is impossible in most cases and imperforate anus is detected after birth. Here, we present two cases of imperforate anus in female fetuses that were not diagnosed prenatally.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.36-46
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• 1976

This study was projected to provide basic data on prenatal care for future direction in maternity and child care, and also to investigate the diet of women during pregnancy and the period directly afterwards in order to offer to mothers appropriate advice for the improvement of nutritional standards. A clinical study on prenatal care was based on 1054 delivery cases. A nutritional survey was performed on 174 mothers admitted to the department of obstetrics at St. Mary's Hospital during the period of March, 1975 to February, 1976. The results obtained are summarized as follows; I. Clinical study on prenatal care 1) The age distribution showed 59.4% of the mothers were between the ages of 25 to 29 years old. 2) The gestational period was highest between the 37th and 40th gestational weeks. 33.7% of the mothers were primigravidae and 31.8% of them primiparae. 3) 41.3% of the mothers had not received prenatal care or had only received it once before. 4) Induced deliveries were 61.8% and spontantaneous deliveries 38.2%. 61.9% of the mothers had received prenatal care, while those without prenatal care accounted for 61.6% of the total induced deliveries. 5) Low birth weights were 7.7% and 5.0% of the mothers had received prenatal care, while 11.5% had no prenatal care. 6) There were 1.13% of still births, 0.32% of the mothers had prenatal care and the remainder did not have prenatal care. 7) Of those receiving prenatal care, 2.1% showed in the $0{\sim}3$ Apgar score group, 6.3% in the $4{\sim}6$ Apgar score group, and 91.6% in the $7{\sim}10$ Apgar score group. Among the non-prenatally cared for group 5.0% of the newborns were in the $0{\sim}3$ Apgar score group, 9.7% were in $4{\sim}6$ Apgar score group and 85.3% were in the $7{\sim}10$ Apgar score group. 8) Obstetrical complications were developed in 11.86% of the pregnant women when they were hospitalized. Among the group receiving the prenatal care 8.1% of the mothers had obstetrical complications. In the group without prenatal care 17.16% of the mothers had obstetrical complications. The most common obstetrical complication was malpresentation. 9) The first prenatal care was received between the 37th and 40th gestationl weeks. II. Food intake during pregnancy The following are the results from the questionnaires of the mothers concerning diets during pregnancy; 1) Main meals and snacks In 32.2% of the cases, their main meals during the diet amounted to more than was usually eaten at other times. In 67.8% of the cases, their main meals during the diet were the same as that usually eaten. In 22.4% of the cases, snacks during the diet amounted to more than usually eaten at other times. In 77.6% of the cases, snacks during the diet were the same as usually eaten. 2) Itemized list The mothers made a special effort to include certain items in their diets, the following is a breakdown of those items; a. egg, meat, fish 33.3% b. fruit, vegetables 32.2%. c. milk, fruit juice 18.4% d. cake, bread 2.9% e. nothing special 13.2% 3) Milk 44.8% of the mothers had at least one cup of milk everyday. 33.4% of the mothers had at least one cup of milk on occasion. 15.5% of the mothers did not have any milk. 4) Vitamins 39.7% of the mothers had vitamins everyday. 24.7% of the mothers had vitamins occasionally. 35.6% of the mothers did not have any vitamins. 5) Anemic symptoms 9.2% of the mothers very often had anemic symptoms during pregnancy. 39.1% of the mothers often had anemic symptoms during pregnancy. 51.7% of the mothers did not have anemic symptoms at all. 6) Taboos on food 23% of the mothers recognized 'taboos' on food during pregnancy 27% of the mothers displayed on uncertainty about the 'taboos' on food during pregnancy 50% of the mothers displayed indifference toward the taboos. III. Nutritional survey on the new mothers diet. 1) The diets for new mothers can be divided into four categories, such as general diet, low sodium diet, soft diet and liquid diet. 2) Cooked rice and seaweed soup were the main foods for the new mothers as has been the traditional diet for Korean mothers. 3) The average diet contained 1,783g. And the average consumption of the basic food groups per capita per day was 1,265g for cereals and grains, 456g for meats and legumes, 58g for fruits and vegetables, 0g for milk and fish and 4g for fats and oils. 4) In addition to the 1,783g of food in the main diet there was also 142.8g of food taken as snacks. 5) The average daily consumption of calories and nutrients was 2,697 Kcal and 123.4g for proteins, 44.9g for fats, 718.2mg for calcium, 14mg for iron, 2,101.4 I.U. for vitamin A, 0.43mg for thiamine, 1.02mg for riboflavin, 15.88mg for niacin, 5.26mg for ascorbic acid. When these figures are compared with the recommended allowances for new mothers in Korea, the calories and nutrients taken in were satisfactory. But the intake of minerals and vitamins was below the recommended allowance.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.252-264
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to identify pregnant women's needs for information on prenatal genetic diagnosis and screening. This study is consisted of two phases. In the first phase in December 2011, six blogs featuring questions and answers on prenatal genetic diagnosis and screening were selected from four major search engines in Korea by using the keywords "prenatal genetic diagnosis," "prenatal genetic screening", and "amniocentesis." An analyzing framework was constructed on the basis of 389 posts on six blogs between November 2006 and October 2011. In the second phase, the contents of the "MomsHolicbaby" blog posted from November 2010 to October 2011 were reviewed. Then, pregnant women's questions on prenatal genetic diagnosis and screening (100 questions) and amniocentesis (200 questions with 1,665 answers) were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Among posters who had ever been recommended to undergo amniocentesis, 56.5% described feelings of anxiety, 25.5% did not know the purpose of the test, and 33.9% refused to undergo the test. Among 295 posters answering questions about amniocentesis, 61.4% disagreed with undergoing the test. The results show that there is a need for healthcare professionals to provide more educational and emotional support to pregnant women considering prenatal genetic diagnosis and screening. Providing online health information can be integrated into prenatal genetic education for pregnant women as well as nurses. In addition, prenatal women's preferences about undergoing amniocentesis should be reflected in the current legal discussion on criteria for termination of pregnancy.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.72-78
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• 2018

Purpose: Physicians' attitudes may have a strong influence on women's decision regarding prenatal screening options. The aim of this study is to assess the physicians' attitudes toward prenatal screening for fetal aneuploidy including non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in South Korea. Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were distributed and collected at several obstetrics-gynecological conferences and meetings. The questionnaire included 31 multiple choice and 5 fill-in-the-blank questions. Seven questions requested physicians' demographic information, 17 questions requested information about the NIPT with cell-free fetal DNA, and 12 questions requested information about general prenatal screening practices. Results: Of the 203 obstetricians that completed the survey. In contrast with professional guidelines recommending the universal offering of aneuploidy screening, only 53.7% answered that prenatal aneuploidy testing (screening and/or invasive diagnostic testing) should be offered to all pregnant women. Physicians tended to have positive attitudes toward the clinical application of NIPT as both primary and secondary screening methods for patients at high-risk for fetal trisomy. However, for patients at average-risk for fetal trisomy, physicians tended to have positive attitudes only as a secondary screening method. Physicians with more knowledge about NIPT were found to tend to inform their patients that the detection rate of NIPT is higher. Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate expert opinion on prenatal screening in South Korea. Education of physicians is essential to ensure responsible patient counseling, informed consent, and appropriate management after NIPT.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1291-1296
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• 2007

The expressions of c-Fos and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) represent neuronal activity and play' a crucial role in the shaping of the development of brain. During the late pregnancy, stresses may influence neuronal activity of prenatal rats. In the present study, the effects of prenatal noise and music on the expressions of c-Fos and NOS in the hippocampus of rat pups were investigated. Exposure to the noise during pregnancy decreased c-Fos and NOS expressions in the hippocampus of rat pups, whereas exposure to music during pregnancy increased c-Fos and NOS expressions in the hippocampus of rat pups. The present results show that prenatal music stimulation may increase neuronal activity of rat offspring, whereas exposure to noise during pregnancy may reduce the neuronal activity of offspring. The present study suggests that prenatal stimuli including noise and music could affect the fetal brain development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.506-514
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• 2020

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that increasing dietary copper (Cu) to gravid ewes would enhance brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in their offspring. Methods: Twin-bearing ewes were assigned on d 70 of gestation to diets containing 3, 10, or 20 ppm dietary Cu (n = 8 per group). Twin lambs were assigned at birth to a cold (6℃) or warm (28℃) environmental chamber for 48 h. Blood was collected from ewes and from lambs and perirenal BAT was collected after 48 h in the environmental chambers. Results: Prenatal Cu exposure increased ewe plasma triiodothyronine (T₃) and thyroxine concentration (T₄) (p<0.01) but prenatal Cu exposure had no effect on lamb plasma concentrations of T₃, T₄, glucose, or nonesterified fatty acid concentration (p≥0.08). The high level of prenatal Cu exposure depressed 48-h rectal temperature (p = 0.03). Cold exposure decreased BAT norepinephrine (NE) and increased BAT dopamine (p≤0.01), but prenatal Cu exposure had no effect on BAT cytochrome C oxidase activity or BAT NE or dopamine (p≥0.07). However, BAT of lambs from high-Cu ewes maintained higher uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) gene expression than BAT of lambs from low- and medium-Cu ewes following warm or cold exposure in environmental chambers (p = 0.02). Cold exposure caused near depletion of BAT lipid by 48 h (p<0.001), increased BAT cytochrome c oxidase activity (p<0.01), and depressed plasma fatty acid concentrations (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although prenatal Cu exposure increased BAT UCP1 expression during warm and cold exposure, prenatal cold Cu exposure depressed 48-h rectal temperature. Cold exposure decreased BAT lipid content by over 80% and decreased lamb plasma fatty acid concentration by over 40%, indicating that fuel reserves for thermogenesis were nearly depleted by 48 h of cold exposure.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2015

Purpose: Conventional methods for the prenatal detection of fetal RhD status involve invasive procedures such as fetal blood sampling and amniocentesis. The identification of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma creates the possibility of determining fetal RhD status by analyzing maternal plasma DNA. However, some technical problems still exist, especially the lack of a positive control marker for the presence of fetal DNA. Therefore, we assessed the feasibility and accuracy of fetal RHD genotyping incorporating the RASSF1A epigenetic fetal DNA marker from cffDNA in the maternal plasma of RhD-negative pregnant women in Korea. Materials and Methods: We analyzed maternal plasma from 41 pregnant women identified as RhD-negative by serological testing. Multiplex real-time PCR was performed by amplifying RHD exons 5 and 7 and the SRY gene, with RASSF1A being used as a gender-independent fetal epigenetic marker. The results were compared with those obtained by postnatal serological analysis of cord blood and gender identification. Results: Among the 41 fetuses, 37 were RhD-positive and 4 were RhD-negative according to the serological analysis of cord blood. There was 100% concordance between fetal RHD genotyping and serological cord blood results. Detection of the RASSF1A gene verified the presence of cffDNA, and the fetal SRY status was correctly detected in all 41 cases. Conclusion: Noninvasive fetal RHD genotyping with cffDNA incorporating RASSF1A is a feasible, reliable, and accurate method of determining fetal RhD status. It is an alternative to amniocentesis for the management of RhD-negative women and reduces the need for unnecessary RhIG prophylaxis.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2020

Purpose: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common lethal muscular dystrophy and is caused by the genetic variants of DMD gene. Because DMD is X-linked recessive and shows familial aggregates, prenatal diagnosis is an important role in the management of DMD family. We present our experience of prenatal molecular diagnosis and carrier detection based on multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), and linkage analysis. Materials and Methods: During study period, 34 cases of prenatal diagnosis and 21 cases of carrier detection were performed at the Seoul National University Hospital. Multiplex PCR and MLPA was used to detect the exon deletions or duplications. When the DMD pathogenic variant in the affected males is unknown and no DMD pathogenic variant is detected in atrisk females, linkage analysis was used. Results: The prenatal molecular diagnosis was offered to 34 fetuses. Twenty-five fetuses were male and 6 fetuses (24.0%) were affected. Remaining cases had no pathogenic mutation. We had 24 (80.0%) cases of known proband results; exon deletion mutation in 19 (79.2%) cases and duplication in 5 (20.8%) cases. Linkage analysis was performed in 4 cases in which 2 cases (50.0%) were found to be affected. In the carrier testing, among 21 cases including 15 cases of mother and 6 cases of female relative, 9 (42.9%) cases showed positive results and 12 (57.1%) cases showed negative results. Conclusion: Prenatal molecular diagnosis and carrier detection of DMD are effective and feasible. They are useful in genetic counseling for DMD families.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to describe prenatal nursing intervention studies on pregnant women and their families published in Korean nursing journals to identify research trends and to analyze the characteristics of intervention studies. This scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework. We identified a research question and searched six domestic electronic databases for relevant articles. Forty-five references that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were finally selected. We extracted the data using an analytic framework, and then collated and summarized the characteristics of the intervention studies. The most frequently used research designs were non-randomized controlled trials (91.1%), and only a few studies applied a specific theoretical framework (24.4%). The participants were mainly pregnant women only (64.4%) during the third trimester (35.6%) of pregnancy. Prenatal education was the most common type of intervention (48.9%), followed by complementary therapy (37.8%) and psychosocial support programs (13.3%). The most commonly used outcome variables were drawn from the psychological domain (44.5%), although distinct types of outcome variables-especially from the psychological and physical domains-were used to measure the effectiveness of different types of prenatal interventions. This review suggests that further prenatal nursing intervention studies in Korea should expand the study participants to include pregnant women's family members, high-risk and vulnerable groups, and women throughout entire pregnancy. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop integrative prenatal nursing interventions that promote family support and participation by facilitating partnerships among women, families, and nurses before, during, and after pregnancy.