In 2018, researchers assessed the morbidity associated with continuing the second-stage duration of labor, weighing the probability of spontaneous vaginal birth without morbidity compared with birth with serious maternal or neonatal complications. Rates of spontaneous vaginal birth without serious morbidity steadily decreased for increasing second-stage duration except for the first half hour for nulliparous women. We did not observe an inflection point at a particular hour mark for either spontaneous vaginal delivery without morbidity or births with morbidity. Our findings will assist in the decision making for extending second-stage duration. (Grantz KL et al. Obstetrics and Gynecology 2018)Another area of research explored in 2017 was the relationship between racial disparities and neonatal morbidities and mortality in preterm births. Researchers found that risk of neonatal mortality was similar across racial ethnic groups, however, black infants were at significantly higher risk of adverse neonatal morbidities and perinatal death relative to white infants. This finding challenged the notion that black neonates have a survival advantage in the context of preterm birth and emphasized the need to understand underlying mechanisms responsible for racial/ethnic differences in risk of neonatal morbidities (Wallace et al, Am J Obstet Gynecol 2017. Collectively, this body of research continues to provide data useful for the ongoing development of clinical guidance regarding the management of contemporary pregnant women. The data is publicly available via the NICHD DASH website, https://dash.nichd.nih.gov/.
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