Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

13 results

  • 9 - CHALLENGING TRADITION: THE STORY OF EMBOLISM

  • James Owen Drife, University of Leeds, Gwyneth Lewis, University College London, James P Neilson, University of Liverpool, Marian Knight, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, Griselda Cooper, University of Birmingham, Roch Cantwell, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow
  • Book:
    Why Mothers Died and How their Lives are Saved
    Published online:
    05 April 2023
    Print publication:
    30 March 2023, pp 110-123

  • Summary

    Lying in after giving birth has a long tradition but carries a risk of thrombosis. Blood clots form in leg veins and may embolise to the lungs, causing death. Early CEMD Reports did not recognise the benefits of early ambulation but divided thromboembolism deaths into three groups – during pregnancy, after vaginal delivery and after caesarean section. The Reports identified risk factors including age, obesity and caesarean section, and found that warning symptoms were being ignored. Shorter hospital stay reduced the number of deaths after vaginal birth. Caesarean section rates rose and an Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (modelled on the CEMD) revealed the risk factors for post-operative thromboembolism. An 1995 an RCOG report advised on preventive measures including anticoagulants, previously avoided lest they cause bleeding. A sharp fall in deaths after caesarean section followed in 1997-9. By then thromboembolism was the leading Direct cause of maternal death and the benefits of guidelines had become clear. In 2004 the RCOG published a guideline on thromboprophylaxis in pregnancy and in 2006-8 thomboembolism fell to third place among causes of Direct death.

  • 2 - From Oldham and Cambridge to the Rest of the World

  • Fiona Kisby Littleton, University College London Institute of Education, Susan Bewley, Emeritus, King's College London, James Owen Drife, Emeritus, University of Leeds
  • Book:
    Presenting the First Test-Tube Baby
    Published online:
    23 February 2023
    Print publication:
    16 March 2023, pp 4-47

  • Summary

    This chapter outlines the background to the lecture by Edwards and Steptoe in January 1979. Littleton brings the Health Service and the 1970s research programme to life in the context of a town in Northern England. She describes the initial and subsequent coverage of the first ‘test-tube baby’ in print and broadcast media and sheds new light on the activities of Edwards and Steptoe in the period between the ending of their original Oldham research programme and the opening of their new clinic, Bourn Hall in Cambridgeshire, in autumn 1980 up until circa 1982. New material is included in the photographs and screengrabs taken from video of relevant archival material. New insights into the key characters and the reaction to their work are presented.

  • 1 - Introduction

  • Fiona Kisby Littleton, University College London Institute of Education, Susan Bewley, Emeritus, King's College London, James Owen Drife, Emeritus, University of Leeds
  • Book:
    Presenting the First Test-Tube Baby
    Published online:
    23 February 2023
    Print publication:
    16 March 2023, pp 1-3
    • Chapter
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation

  • Summary

    This chapter describes how the 1979 lecture was rediscovered in the RCOG Archives, why the project was initially conceived, and how it was brought to fruition.

  • Section 5 - Management and policy

  • Edited by Matthew W. Gillman, Lucilla Poston, King's College London
  • Book:
    Maternal Obesity
    Published online:
    05 August 2012
    Print publication:
    19 July 2012, pp -

  • Summary

    This chapter summarizes the clinical management of obesity in pregnancy, based on evidence where it exists, and highlights the areas where further research is needed. Obese women who are pregnant are recognized as a high-risk group by both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and should therefore be referred for appropriate antenatal care. All obese women should receive a dietary assessment and nutritional counseling. Obstetric ultrasound is used widely in the developed world for pregnancy dating, detection of higher order pregnancies and fetal anomaly, and estimation of fetal growth. Obesity is a well-recognised risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus, and pre-gestational diabetes is more prevalent in obese women. It has long been recognized that hypertensive disorders are more prevalent in the obese population. The anesthetist plays an important role in the care of the obese parturient.

  • CHAPTER 6 - Antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy

  • Edited by Tahir Mahmood, Philip Owen, Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, Charnjit Dhillon
  • Book:
    Models of Care in Maternity Services
    Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    01 November 2010, pp 59-65

  • Summary

    Antenatal care for women with a low-risk pregnancy is predominately provided by midwives supported by maternity support workers and other professionals. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on the routine care of the healthy pregnant woman, outlining a schedule of appointments and the type of screening available. The care pathway provides details of antenatal care for women with an uncomplicated pregnancy. The establishment of Maternity Direct under the aegis of NHS Direct in certain parts of the country has led to a reduction in antenatal admissions. Midwives are the specialists of normality, and are trained to diagnose pregnancy and assess and monitor women holistically throughout the antenatal period. The majority of maternity services are using the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) Maternity Dashboard. Maternity services should audit the percentage of women who booked by the 12th completed week of pregnancy.

  • CHAPTER 22 - Key indicators

  • Edited by Tahir Mahmood, Philip Owen, Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, Charnjit Dhillon
  • Book:
    Models of Care in Maternity Services
    Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    01 November 2010, pp 211-218

  • Summary

    The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published its document Standards in Maternity Care in 2008 which is being used widely by commissioners, providers and policy makers. The document sets out the principles of quality-assured maternity services. This chapter identifies some key indicators as exemplars, although it is recommended to make use of the whole document. Prepregnancy care for women with social needs is essential. Prepregnancy care can improve outcomes in high-risk pregnancies regardless of whether the high-risk status is of medical or social aetiology. From a public health perspective, the identification of anomalies can improve perinatal morbidity and mortality, as conditions may be identified early in pregnancy and managed accordingly. Current approaches for the prevention of hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy include antenatal identification and monitoring of fetal growth restriction and electronic fetal monitoring accompanied by intrapartum fetal blood sampling.

  • 27 - Reproductive ageing and the RCOG

  • from SECTION 7 - REPRODUCTIVE AGEING AND THE RCOG: AN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
  • Edited by Susan Bewley, William Ledger, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Dimitrios Nikolaou
  • Book:
    Reproductive Ageing
    Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 287-290

  • Summary

    This chapter presents a discussion between Sean Kehoe, Donna Dickenson, Diana Mansour, Maya Unnithan, and Peter Braude. Each participant discusses points on reproductive ageing and the society's perceptions between men and women, commercialization of the HER2, BRCA1, and BRCA2 genes, and the role of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). People often think STIs [sexually transmitted infections] are infections only of the young women. According to Braude, we are working towards bringing in stem cell coordinators, who will help reach an agreement on what kind of things would be reasonable to do - and that is not only about women. What RCOG can do is to look with a 'gender lens' - because it will bring up other lenses around social justice. Dickenson says that we should oppose body shopping for both sexes and can act together and have a stronger chance of success.

  • CHAPTER 1 - Setting the scene

  • Edited by Tahir Mahmood, Allan Templeton, University of Aberdeen, Charnjit Dhillon
  • Book:
    Models of Care in Women's Health
    Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 1-5

  • Summary

    The purpose of setting standards for overall patient care is to address variations in care, to prevent inappropriate care and to address issues of inequity which have been reported in the past. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) takes a lead in developing evidence-based service standards to support local implementation protocols in all areas of gynaecological practice. Implementation of these standards should be supported by undertaking a constantly evolving audit cycle and by having multidisciplinary involvement to measure performance. The direction of travel of the National Health Service (NHS) is now for a patient-focused and quality-assured service, where patients' experience will influence service delivery models. The authors understand that professional bodies and NICE will be working together in developing a framework for service accreditation using some of the evidence used in their standards document.

  • 10 - Male reproductive ageing

  • from SECTION 2 - BASIC SCIENCE OF REPRODUCTIVE AGEING
  • Edited by Susan Bewley, William Ledger, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Dimitrios Nikolaou
  • Book:
    Reproductive Ageing
    Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 95-104

  • Summary

    Age-related changes in sperm output develop gradually without any evidence of sudden onset. Female fecundity starts to decline after 30 years of age and is greatly reduced after age 40 years. The effect of male age on fecundity remains controversial and few studies show a similar trend in men. The effect of ageing of the male partner on the risk for miscarriage has been studied extensively, although many studies are retrospective, span long observational periods and fail to control properly for maternal age effects, or have small sample sizes. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) recommends the British Andrology Society guideline of limiting the age of sperm donors to 40 years. Paternal ageing does not affect the risk of miscarriage, and increased paternal age on its own is not an indication for prenatal diagnosis since the absolute risk for genetic anomalies in offspring is low.

  • CHAPTER 13 - Laparoscopic surgery

  • Edited by Tahir Mahmood, Allan Templeton, University of Aberdeen, Charnjit Dhillon
  • Book:
    Models of Care in Women's Health
    Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 121-130

  • Summary

    Gynaecological operative laparoscopy has progressed significantly over the past two decades. The process of laparoscopic surgery should be based on an appropriate risk management system that allows for improved quality of care. Regarding women with severe endometriosis, specialist referral centres should be developed. Units performing laparoscopic surgery should adopt recommendations and guidelines from scientific bodies (RCOG, NICE, BSGE) and should benchmark their audited activity against the national standards. The main components for consideration when developing models of service in laparoscopic surgery include: gynaecology outpatients, pre-operative preparation, operative and post-operative. Laparoscopic training can be developed and augmented with the use of simulators or laparoscopic trainers. Laparoscopic surgery necessitates a team approach between surgical, nursing and technical support staff. Audit of length of stay, analgesia requirement, complication rate and re-admission rate help to redesign and configure the service.

  • 36 - Consensus views arising from the 56th Study Group: Reproductive Ageing

  • from SECTION 10 - CONSENSUS VIEWS
  • Edited by Susan Bewley, William Ledger, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Dimitrios Nikolaou
  • Book:
    Reproductive Ageing
    Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 353-356

  • Summary

    Reproductive ageing in women is caused by declining number and quality of oocytes. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) should promote the view of a shared responsibility in addressing the problems associated with reproductive ageing and encourage an acknowledgement that personal and social circumstances play a role rather than placing blame on individuals. The RCOG should urge greater transparency and accuracy in depicting assisted reproductive technology success rates, including the cost and clinical efficiency of full cycles (full cycle implies cryopreservation of embryos). There are no contraceptive methods contraindicated by age alone. Older women may use combined hormonal contraception unless they have co-existing diseases or risk factors. Further research is needed into characterisation of existing and novel ovarian biomarkers to provide clinically useful prediction of current and future fertility. National data collection covers live births and terminations of pregnancy but should be expanded to include information about miscarriage.

  • 26 - What should be the RCOG's relationship with older women?

  • from SECTION 7 - REPRODUCTIVE AGEING AND THE RCOG: AN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
  • Edited by Susan Bewley, William Ledger, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Dimitrios Nikolaou
  • Book:
    Reproductive Ageing
    Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    01 June 2009, pp 277-286

  • Summary

    Reproductive rights remain one of the most important issues for different kinds and different phases of women's movements, but they do not exhaust the ethical concerns of moral philosophers concerned about women's position, any more than they do the range of concerns proper to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). The RCOG should lobby for a lower breast cancer screening age and for genetic testing enabling a more targeted approach, while opposing the growing commercialisation of genetic testing, and oppose genetic patents that particularly affect women, for example patents on the BRCA1, BRCA2 and HER2 genes. The RCOG should back a safe sex campaign and more funding for sexual health clinics aimed at women over reproductive age. It is neither patronising nor paternalistic for the RCOG to use its specialist knowledge, legitimacy and clout to prevent the 'lady from vanishing'.