On-The-Fly Solving for Symbolic Parity Games

Differences in optimality index between planned place of birth in a birth centre and alternative planned places of birth, a nationwide prospective cohort study in The Netherlands: results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study

Objectives To compare the Optimality Index of planned birth in a birth centre with planned birth in a hospital and planned home birth for low-risk term pregnant women who start labour under the responsibility of a community midwife. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Low-risk pregnant women under care of a community midwife and living in a...

Wide differences mode of delivery within Europe: Risk-stratified analyses of aggregated routine data from the Euro-Peristat study

Objective To use data from routine sources to compare rates of obstetric intervention in Europe both overall and for subgroups at higher risk of intervention. Design Retrospective analysis of aggregated routine data. Setting Thirty-one European countries or regions contributing data on mode of delivery to the Euro-Peristat project. Population...

Authors' reply: Wide differences mode of delivery within Europe: risk-stratified analyses of aggregated routine data from the Euro-Peristat study

A trend analysis in referrals during pregnancy and labour in Dutch midwifery care 1988-2004

Objective To assess the trends and patterns of referral from midwives to obstetricians within the Dutch maternity care system from 1988 to 2004, and the differences in referral patterns between nulliparous and parous women. Design A descriptive study. Setting The Dutch midwifery database (LVR1), which monitored 74% (1988) to 94% (2004) of all...

Do differences in maternal age, parity and multiple births explain variations in fetal and neonatal mortality rates in Europe? - Results from the EURO-PERISTAT project

Perinatal mortality rates differ markedly between countries in Europe. If population characteristics, such as maternal age, parity or multiple births, contribute to these differences, standardised rates may be useful for international comparisons of health status and especially quality of care. This analysis used aggregated population-based data...

Prevalence, Neonatal Characteristics, and First-Year Mortality of Down Syndrome: A National Study

Objective: To determine the prevalence, neonatal characteristics, and first-year mortality in Down syndrome (DS) among children in the Netherlands. Study design: The number of DS births registered by the Dutch Paediatric Surveillance Unit (DPSU) in 2003 was compared with total live births (reference population) and perinatal registrations....

Alcohol intake and ovarian cancer risk: A pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies

Alcohol has been hypothesized to promote ovarian carcinogenesis by its potential to increase circulating levels of estrogen and other hormones; through its oxidation byproduct, acetaldehyde, which may act as a cocarcinogen; and by depletion of folate and other nutrients. Case-control and cohort studies have reported conflicting results relating...

Anthropometry of fetal growth in rural Malawi in relation to maternal malaria and HIV status

Objective: To describe fetal growth centiles in relation to maternal malaria and HIV status, using cross sectional measurements at birth. Design: A cross sectional study of pregnant women and their babies. Data on maternal socioeconomic status and current pregnancy, including HIV status and newborn anthropometry, were collected. Malaria...

Maternal factors and the probability of a planned home birth

Objectives: In the Netherlands, approximately one-third of births are planned home births, mostly supervised by a midwife. The relationship between maternal demographic factors and home births supervised by midwives was examined. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Dutch national perinatal registries of the year 2000. Population: All women...

Alcohol and ovarian cancer risk: Results from the Netherlands Cohort Study

Objective: To study alcohol consumption in relation to ovarian cancer risk in a prospective cohort study. Methods: The Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer was initiated in 1986. A self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits and other risk factors for cancer was completed by 62,573 postmenopausal women. Follow-up for cancer was...

Genetics of dizygotic twinning: A feasibility study for a biobank

To locate the genes that make a substantial contribution to variation in natural dizygotic twinning in humans, large-scale studies are needed. New studies should not stop at DNA genotyping, but collect material that allow gene-expression analysis, transcriptomics, proteomics and endocrinology. In this article we describe a pilot study to examine...

PERISTAT: Indicators for monitoring and evaluating perinatal health in Europe

Background: The PERISTAT project aimed to develop an indicator set for monitoring and describing perinatal health in Europe. The challenge was to define indicators that cover common concerns and have the same meaning within the different European health care systems. Methods: PERISTAT included i) a review of existing recommendations on perinatal...

An analysis of intra-uterine growth retardation in rural Malawi

Objective: (1) To describe the sex-specific, birth weight distribution by gestational age of babies born in a malaria endemic, rural area with high maternal HIV prevalence; (2) to assess the contribution of maternal health, nutritional status and obstetric history on intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) and prematurity. Methods: Information...

Frequentie en determinanten van episiotomie in de tweedelijnsverloskunde in Nederland [Frequency and determinants of episiotomy in Dutch gynaecologist-supervised deliveries]

Objective. To study factors that influence the probability of episiotomy in Dutch gynaecologist-supervised deliveries. Setting. Obstetric units of Dutch hospitals. Design. Observational study. Methods. Data of 65,313 gynaecologist-supervised, vaginal deliveries of live-born singletons registered in the Dutch National Obstetric Database of 1990,...

Reproductive and hormonal factors in male and female colon cancer

We analysed data from a case-control study in the Netherlands in order to investigate whether reproductive events and hormonal factors are similarly related to colon cancer risk in men and women after adjustment for dietary factors. In total, 232 colon cancer cases (102 women, 130 men) and 259 controls (123 women, 136 men) were interviewed about...