Objective: To evaluate the factors that contributes to the decision for termination of pregnancy in prenatally diagnosed fetal anomaly cases.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of all cases of prenatally diagnosed fetal anomaly who delivered between 1 January 2007 and 30 June 2009 in two tertiary hospitals in Malaysia.
Results: A total of seventy-two (72) prenatally diagnosed pregnancies with fetal anomalies were identified. Mean maternal age was 29.8 ± 5.5 years and mean parity 1.47 ± 1.8. 70.8% of patients were ethnic Malay, 15.3% Chinese and 12.5% ethnic Indian. 22 (30.6%) fetuses were lethally abnormal. The overall pregnancy termination rate was 29.2%. 50% of pregnancies with lethally abnormal fetuses were terminated compared to 20% of pregnancies with non-lethal abnormality (p
Women at the end of their reproductive age often complain of climacteric symptoms which can be quite debilitating at times. Physiological changes due to deficient oestrogen have received global attention in the search for an acceptable and safe measure to improve quality of life for women with these complaints. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to be the main treatment for menopausal symptoms. Lately there are concerns about its possible adverse effects of increasing risks of breast malignancy, heart diseases, etc. Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) plays a significant role in relieving these climacteric symptoms especially in women with contraindications to hormonal therapy and in those who are worried of its adverse effects. It is important for women to be aware of these CAM to provide them with options to improve their quality of life. This paper explores other pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures as alternatives to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to assess how useful and reliable they are according to available scientific evidence.
To compare the efficacy of two screenings methods for gestational diabetes mellitus, namely the universal screening using 50g Glucose Challenge Test to that of selective screening based on risk factors.