Nurse Faculty Scholars - Pregnancy

First Trimester Dietary Intake, Biochemical Measures, and Subsequent Gestational Hypertension Among Nulliparous Women

kdeming — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 18:49:19 +0000

Published Date:

Tue, 2013-08-13 (All day)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between first-trimester dietary factors and biochemical measures and subsequent risk of gestational hypertension.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between first-trimester dietary factors and biochemical measures and subsequent risk of gestational hypertension.

Methods: This pilot study used a prospective design utilizing a convenience sample of nulliparous women enrolled at their first prenatal visit. A total of 57 women completed the study. Participants were divided into 2 groups for data analysis: normotensive pregnancy and gestational hypertension.

Persevering Through Postpartum Fatigue

nfs — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:57:23 +0000

Published Date:

Tue, 2007-01-30 (All day)

OBJECTIVE: To construct a substantive theory of postpartum fatigue. DESIGN: Grounded theory. SETTING: Participants were recruited in the hospital after delivery and interviewed in their homes. PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen primiparae (n=5) and multiparae (n=8) women between 2 and 5 weeks postpartum from diverse ethnic, age, obstetric, and financial contexts were theoretically sampled. RESULTS: Persevering was the central human process around which the grounded theory emerged. The process of persevering was explained through the relationships of influencing factors, postpartum fatigue, coping techniques, self-transcendence, and caregiving. Participants persevered in caregiving of infants and older children in spite of an overwhelming desire to rest and sleep using self-identified coping techniques in combination with the belief that their children brought purpose and meaning to their lives. CONCLUSIONS: The theory "Persevering Through Postpartum Fatigue" contributes a more complete understanding of the complex phenomenon of postpartum fatigue as it is expressed in the everyday lives of women during the postpartum period. The results may be used to develop and implement health-promoting nursing interventions to reduce postpartum fatigue and its health-related consequences.

A Depressive Symptoms Responsiveness Model for Differentiating Fatigue from Depression in the Postpartum Period

nfs — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:59:39 +0000

Published Date:

Fri, 2007-12-14 (All day)

Fatigue is both a symptom and a predictor of depression in women after childbirth. At the same time, postpartum fatigue is experienced by most non-depressed women. Health care providers experientially know that not all women who experience postpartum fatigue will manifest depression. However, while researchers agree that fatigue and depression are distinct concepts, they have not yet identified a means for describing or measuring this distinctness. A new model proposing how fatigue may be differentiated from depression after childbirth is presented. The Depressive Symptoms Responsiveness Model proposes that depression-related postpartum fatigue may potentially be differentiated from non-depression-related postpartum fatigue on the basis of whether depressive symptoms abate when fatigue is relieved. The ability to differentiate between fatigue and depression in postpartum women has the potential to improve women's health through improvements in practice and resource utilization. Furthermore, differentiation may lead to a better understanding of the role of fatigue in postpartum depression.

Preeclampsia: Exposing Future Cardiovascular Risk in Mothers and Their Children

nfs — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:14:58 +0000

Published Date:

Sat, 2006-10-14 (All day)

There is an increased risk for future cardiovascular disease in women who have had preeclampsia. In infants born to mothers with preeclampsia, there is growing evidence of increased risk for both cardiovascular disease and preeclampsia. Epidemiologic and experimental data provide a strong link between intrauterine exposure to preeclampsia and subsequent risk for the development of cardiovascular disease in women.

Mesenteric Vascular Responsiveness in a Rat Model of Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

nfs — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:08:39 +0000

Published Date:

Tue, 2006-03-14 (All day)

Reduced perfusion to the placenta in early pregnancy is believed to be the initiating factor in the development of preeclampsia, triggering local ischemia and systemic vascular hyperresponsiveness. This sequence of events creates a predisposition to the development of altered vascular function and hypertension. This study was designed to determine the influence of placental insufficiency on the responsiveness of mesenteric resistance arteries in an animal model of preeclampsia. Placental insufficiency was induced by reduction in uteroplacental perfusion pressure (RUPP) in experimental Sprague-Dawley rat dams. The uterine branches of the ovarian arteries and the abdominal aortae of pregnant rats were surgically constricted on gestational Day 14. Dams in the control group underwent a sham procedure. Rats were euthanized on gestational Day 20, followed by removal of the small intestine and adjacent mesentery. First-order mesenteric resistance arteries were mounted on a small vessel wire myograph and challenged with incremental concentrations of vasoconstrictors and vasorelaxants. Mesenteric arteries in dams with placental insufficiency demonstrated an increased maximal tension to phenylephrine (7.15 +/- 0.15 vs. 5.4 +/- 0.27 mN/mm, P < 0.001); potassium chloride at 60 mM (3.43 +/- 0.11 vs. 2.77 +/- 0.14 mN/mm, P < 0.01) and 120 mM (3.92 +/- 0.18 vs. 2.97 +/- 0.16 mN/mm, P < 0.01); and angiotensin II (2.59 +/- 0.42 vs. 1.51 +/- 0.22 mN/mm, P < 0.05). Maximal relaxation to endothelium-dependent relaxants acetylcholine and calcium ionophore (A23187) was not significantly reduced. Data suggest that placental insufficiency leads to hyperresponsiveness to vasoconstrictor stimuli in mesenteric arteries.