At-Risk Drinking and Alcohol Dependence: Obstetric and Gynecologic Implications

Committee Opinion Number 496, August 2011

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Compared with men, at-risk alcohol use by women has a disproportionate effect on their health and lives, including reproductive function and pregnancy outcomes. Obstetrician–gynecologists have a key role in screening and providing brief intervention, patient education, and treatment referral for their patients who drink alcohol at risk levels. For women who are not physically addicted to alcohol, tools such as brief intervention and motivational interviewing can be used effectively by the clinician and incorporated into an office visit. For pregnant women and those at risk of pregna...

Avoiding Inappropriate Clinical Decisions Based on False-Positive Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Test Results

Committee Opinion Number 278, November 2002

Reaffirmed 2019

ABSTRACT: Clinically significant false-positive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test results are rare. However, some individuals have circulating factors in their serum (eg, heterophilic antibodies or nonactive forms of hCG) that interact with the hCG antibody and cause unusual or unexpected test results. False-positive and false-negative test results can occur with any specimen, and caution should be exercised when clinical findings and laboratory results are discordant. Methods to rule out the presence of interfering substances include using a urine test, rerunning the assay with serial ...

Carrier Screening for Genetic Conditions

Committee Opinion Number 691, March 2017

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 318, October 2005;
Committee Opinion Number 432, May 2009;
Committee Opinion Number 442, October 2009;
Committee Opinion Number 469, October 2010;
Committee Opinion Number 486, April 2011)
(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Carrier screening is a term used to describe genetic testing that is performed on an individual who does not have any overt phenotype for a genetic disorder but may have one variant allele within a gene(s) associated with a diagnosis. Information about carrier screening should be provided to every pregnant woman. Carrier screening and counseling ideally should be performed before pregnancy because this enables couples to learn about their reproductive risk and consider the most complete range of reproductive options. A patient may decline any or all screening. When an individual is ...

Carrier Screening in the Age of Genomic Medicine

Committee Opinion Number 690, March 2017

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Carrier screening, whether targeted or expanded, allows individuals to consider their range of reproductive options. Ultimately, the goal of genetic screening is to provide individuals with meaningful information that they can use to guide pregnancy planning based on their personal values. Ethnic-specific, panethnic, and expanded carrier screening are acceptable strategies for prepregnancy and prenatal carrier screening. Because all of these are acceptable strategies, each obstetrician–gynecologist or other health care provider or practice should establish a standard approach that i...

Counseling About Genetic Testing and Communication of Genetic Test Results

Committee Opinion Number 693, April 2017

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Given the increasing availability and complexity of genetic testing, it is imperative that the practicing obstetrician–gynecologist or other health care provider has a firm comprehension of the benefits, limitations, and risks of offering a specific genetic test, as well as the importance of appropriate pretest and posttest counseling. The purpose of this Committee Opinion is to provide an outline of how obstetrician–gynecologists and other health care providers can best incorporate these tests into their current practices and provide appropriate pretest and posttest counseling to p...

Dual Therapy for Gonococcal Infections

Committee Opinion Number 645, November 2015

(Reaffirmed 2018)

ABSTRACT: Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United States, with an estimated 820,000 new Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections occurring each year. Antimicrobial resistance limits treatment success, heightens the risk of complications, and may facilitate the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Neisseria gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to the sulfonamides, the tetracyclines, and penicillin. Dual therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin remains the only recommended first-line regimen for the treatment of gonorrhea in the U...

Guidelines for Diagnostic Imaging During Pregnancy and Lactation

Committee Opinion Number 723, October 2017

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 656, February 2016) (Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Imaging studies are important adjuncts in the diagnostic evaluation of acute and chronic conditions. However, confusion about the safety of these modalities for pregnant and lactating women and their infants often results in unnecessary avoidance of useful diagnostic tests or the unnecessary interruption of breastfeeding. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging are not associated with risk and are the imaging techniques of choice for the pregnant patient, but they should be used prudently and only when use is expected to answer a relevant clinical question or otherwise provid...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Committee Opinion Number 389, December 2007

(Reaffirmed 2015)

ABSTRACT: Because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection often is detected through prenatal and sexually transmitted disease testing, an obstetrician–gynecologist may be the first health professional to provide care for a woman infected with HIV. Universal testing with patient notification and right of refusal ("opt-out" testing) is recommended by most national organizations and federal agencies. Although opt-out and "opt-in" testing (but not mandatory testing) are both ethically acceptable, the former approach may identify more women who are eligible for therapy and may have public hea...

Identification and Referral of Maternal Genetic Conditions in Pregnancy

Committee Opinion Number 643, October 2015

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Advances in the understanding of genetic conditions, reproductive technologies, and improved medical and surgical care have enabled an increasing number of women with genetic conditions to achieve a normal pregnancy outcome. However, management of certain genetic conditions during pregnancy is complex and may require a multidisciplinary approach from preconception through the postpartum period. Patients with certain genetic conditions, or those at risk of having a particular genetic condition, should have a preconception evaluation with their obstetrician–gynecologists, genetics spe...

Intimate Partner Violence

Committee Opinion Number 518, February 2012

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant yet preventable public health problem that affects millions of women regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or educational background. Individuals who are subjected to IPV may have lifelong consequences, including emotional trauma, lasting physical impairment, chronic health problems, and even death. Although women of all ages may experience IPV, it is most prevalent among women of reproductive age and contributes to gynecologic disorders, pregnancy complications, unintended pregnancy, and s...

Lead Screening During Pregnancy and Lactation

Committee Opinion Number 533, August 2012

(Reaffirmed 2018)

Abstract: Prenatal lead exposure has known adverse effects on maternal health and infant outcomes across a wide range of maternal blood lead levels. Adverse effects of lead exposure are being identified at lower levels of exposure than previously recognized in both children and adults. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the first guidelines regarding the screening and management of pregnant and lactating women who have been exposed to lead.

Management of Suboptimally Dated Pregnancies

Committee Opinion Number 688, March 2017

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists considers first-trimester ultrasonography to be the most accurate method to establish or confirm gestational age. Pregnancies without an ultrasonographic examination confirming or revising the estimated due date before 22 0/7 weeks of gestation should be considered suboptimally dated. This document provides guidance for managing pregnancies in which the best clinical estimate of gestational age is suboptimal. There is no role for elective delivery in a woman with a suboptimally dated pregnancy. Although guidelines for indicated...

Microarrays and Next-Generation Sequencing Technology: The Use of Advanced Genetic Diagnostic Tools in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Committee Opinion Number 682, December 2016

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 581, December 2013) (Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Genetic technology has advanced dramatically in the past few decades, and its applications and use in caring for and counseling pregnant women has been transformational in the realm of prenatal diagnosis. Two of the newer genetic technologies in the prenatal setting are chromosomal microarray and whole-exome sequencing. Chromosomal microarray analysis is a method of measuring gains and losses of DNA throughout the human genome. It can identify chromosomal aneuploidy and other large changes in the structure of chromosomes as well as submicroscopic abnormalities that are too small to ...

Reproductive Health Care for Incarcerated Women and Adolescent Females

Committee Opinion Number 535, August 2012

(Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: Increasing numbers of women and adolescent females are incarcerated each year in the United States and they represent an increasing proportion of inmates in the U.S. correctional system. Incarcerated women and adolescent females often come from disadvantaged environments and have high rates of chronic illness, substance abuse, and undetected health problems. Most of these females are of reproductive age and are at high risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Understanding the needs of incarcerated women and adol...

Screening for Perinatal Depression

Committee Opinion Number 757, November 2018

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 630, May 2015)

ABSTRACT: Perinatal depression, which includes major and minor depressive episodes that occur during pregnancy or in the first 12 months after delivery, is one of the most common medical complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period, affecting one in seven women. It is important to identify pregnant and postpartum women with depression because untreated perinatal depression and other mood disorders can have devastating effects. Several screening instruments have been validated for use during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist...

The Apgar Score

Committee Opinion Number 644, October 2015

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 333, May 2006) (Reaffirmed 2019)

ABSTRACT: The Apgar score provides an accepted and convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately after birth and the response to resuscitation if needed. The Apgar score alone cannot be considered to be evidence of or a consequence of asphyxia, does not predict individual neonatal mortality or neurologic outcome, and should not be used for that purpose. An Apgar score assigned during a resuscitation is not equivalent to a score assigned to a spontaneously breathing infant. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolog...