Arri Coomarasamy

Quick starting contraception

Traditionally, contraception has always been started on the first of day of menstruation to guarantee that a woman is not pregnant, and therefore preventing a foetus from being exposed to artificial hormones. In nearly 50y of hormonal contraception, teratogenesis has not been observed in accidental exposure during pregnancy. It is estimated that around 70 000 foetuses per year in the US are exposed to oral contraceptives.

Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM)

Relevant to: ∑ Women with a live, singleton fetus with cephalic presentation between 22+0 and 36+6 weeks gestation with suspected prelabour rupture of membranes ∑ Sub-categories of preterm variously defined by gestational age as1: o Late preterm or near term (34+0 to 37+0 weeks) o Moderately preterm (32+0 to 33+6 weeks) o Very preterm (28+0 to 31+6 weeks) o Extremely preterm (less than 28+0 weeks)

Obesity in pregnancy

Obesity is commonly classified based on body mass index (BMI), defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2). The World Health Organization organizes BMI ranges into six categories to define underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity (Table 1). Based on the 2011–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the prevalence of obesity in women of reproductive age (20–39 years) in the United States is 31.8% and increases to 58.5% when the overweight and obese categories are combined (1, 2).