Pregnancy and Heart Disease

Practice Bulletin Number 212, May 2019

Critical Care in Pregnancy

Practice Bulletin Number 211, May 2019

(Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 170, October 2016)

Immune Modulating Therapies in Pregnancy and Lactation

Committee Opinion Number 776, April 2019

ABSTRACT: Because autoimmune conditions occur more often among women of childbearing age, continuation of these medications during pregnancy is often considered to optimize disease management in the woman and pregnancy outcomes, without placing the fetus at undue risk. Many commonly prescribed drugs can be used safely during pregnancy without risk of teratogenicity or pregnancy complications, whereas a few are strictly contraindicated. The decision to use any agent during pregnancy should be based on the clinical context, risks associated with individual medications, and gestational age. For ...

Nonobstetric Surgery During Pregnancy

Committee Opinion Number 775, April 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 696, April 2017)

ABSTRACT: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Obstetric Practice acknowledges that the issue of nonobstetric surgery during pregnancy is an important concern for physicians who care for women. Because of the difficulty of conducting large-scale randomized clinical trials in this population, there are no data to allow for specific recommendations. It is important for a physician to obtain an obstetric consultation before performing nonobstetric surgery and some invasive procedures (eg, cardiac catheterization or colonoscopy) because obstetricians are uniquely ...

Immunization Implementation Strategies for Obstetrician–Gynecologists

Committee Opinion Number 772, March 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 661, April 2016)

ABSTRACT: Immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases is an essential component of women’s primary and preventive health care. Many studies have shown that a recommendation from an obstetrician–gynecologist or other health care provider for a vaccine is one of the strongest influences on patient acceptance. Obstetrician–gynecologists and other health care providers should develop a standard process for assessing and documenting the vaccination status of patients and for recommending and administering vaccines. If allowed by state law, obstetrician–gynecologists and other health care pro...

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking

Committee Opinion Number 771, March 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 648, December 2015)

ABSTRACT: Since the first successful umbilical cord blood transplant in 1988, it has been estimated that more than 35,000 transplants have been performed in children and adults for the correction of inborn errors of metabolism, hematopoietic malignancies, and genetic disorders of the blood and immune system. Two types of banks have emerged for the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood: 1) public banks and 2) private banks. The benefits and limitations of public versus private umbilical cord blood banking should be reviewed with the patient because they serve different purposes. This ...

Obstetric Analgesia and Anesthesia

Practice Bulletin Number 209, March 2019

(Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 177, April 2017)

Thrombocytopenia in Pregnancy

Practice Bulletin Number 207, March 2019

(Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 166, September 2016)

Emergent Therapy for Acute-Onset, Severe Hypertension During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Committee Opinion Number 767, February 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 692, September 2017)

ABSTRACT: Acute-onset, severe systolic hypertension; severe diastolic hypertension; or both can occur during the prenatal, intrapartum, or postpartum periods. Pregnant women or women in the postpartum period with acute-onset, severe systolic hypertension; severe diastolic hypertension; or both require urgent antihypertensive therapy. Introducing standardized, evidence-based clinical guidelines for the management of patients with preeclampsia and eclampsia has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of adverse maternal outcomes. Individuals and institutions should have mechanisms in place to...

Approaches to Limit Intervention During Labor and Birth

Committee Opinion Number 766, February 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 687, February 2017)

ABSTRACT: Obstetrician–gynecologists, in collaboration with midwives, nurses, patients, and those who support them in labor, can help women meet their goals for labor and birth by using techniques that require minimal interventions and have high rates of patient satisfaction. Many common obstetric practices are of limited or uncertain benefit for low-risk women in spontaneous labor. For women who are in latent labor and are not admitted to the labor unit, a process of shared decision making is recommended to create a plan for self-care activities and coping techniques. Admission during the la...

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery

Practice Bulletin Number 205, February 2019

(Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 184, August 2010)

Avoidance of Nonmedically Indicated Early-Term Deliveries and Associated Neonatal Morbidities

Committee Opinion Number 765, February 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 561, April 2013)

ABSTRACT: There are medical indications in pregnancy for which there is evidence or expert opinion to support delivery versus expectant management in the early-term period. However, the risk of adverse outcomes is greater for neonates delivered in the early-term period compared with neonates delivered at 39 weeks of gestation. In addition to immediate adverse perinatal outcomes, multiple studies have shown increased rates of adverse long-term infant outcomes associated with late-preterm and early-term delivery compared with full-term delivery. A recent systematic review found that late-preter...

Fetal Growth Restriction

Practice Bulletin Number 204, February 2019

(Replaces Practice Bulletin No. 134, May 2013) (Reaffirmed 2019)

Medically Indicated Late-Preterm and Early-Term Deliveries

Committee Opinion Number 764, February 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 560, April 2013)

ABSTRACT: The neonatal risks of late-preterm and early-term births are well established, and the potential neonatal complications associated with elective delivery at less than 39 0/7 weeks of gestation are well described. However, there are a number of maternal, fetal, and placental complications in which either a late-preterm or early-term delivery is warranted. The timing of delivery in such cases must balance the maternal and newborn risks of late-preterm and early-term delivery with the risks associated with further continuation of pregnancy. Deferring delivery to the 39th week is not re...

Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy

Practice Bulletin Number 203, January 2019

Interpregnancy Care

Number 8, January 2019

ABSTRACT: Interpregnancy care aims to maximize a woman’s level of wellness not just in between pregnancies and during subsequent pregnancies, but also along her life course. Because the interpregnancy period is a continuum for overall health and wellness, all women of reproductive age who have been pregnant regardless of the outcome of their pregnancies (ie, miscarriage, abortion, preterm, full-term delivery), should receive interpregnancy care as a continuum from postpartum care. The initial components of interpregnancy care should include the components of postpartum care, such as reproduct...

Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia

Practice Bulletin Number 202, January 2019

Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request

Committee Opinion Number 761, January 2019

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 559, April 2013)

ABSTRACT: The incidence of cesarean delivery on maternal request and its contribution to the overall increase in the cesarean delivery rate are not well known, but it is estimated that 2.5% of all births in the United States are cesarean delivery on maternal request. Cesarean delivery on maternal request is not a well-recognized clinical entity. The available information that compared the risks and benefits of cesarean delivery on maternal request and planned vaginal delivery does not provide the basis for a recommendation for either mode of delivery. When a woman desires a cesarean delivery ...

Placenta Accreta Spectrum

Number 7, December 2018

(Replaces Committee Opinion No. 529, July 2012)

ABSTRACT: Placenta accreta spectrum, formerly known as morbidly adherent placenta, refers to the range of pathologic adherence of the placenta, including placenta increta, placenta percreta, and placenta accreta. The most favored hypothesis regarding the etiology of placenta accreta spectrum is that a defect of the endometrial–myometrial interface leads to a failure of normal decidualization in the area of a uterine scar, which allows abnormally deep placental anchoring villi and trophoblast infiltration. Maternal morbidity and mortality can occur because of severe and sometimes life-threaten...

Pregestational Diabetes Mellitus

Practice Bulletin Number 201, December 2018

(Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 60, March 2005)