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Special Issue "Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes"

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Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Interests: mass spectrometry; metabolomics; proteomics; omics profiling; inborn errors of metabolism; biomarkers

Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia Porpora

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Department of Maternal Infantile and Urological Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Interests: adenomyosis; endometriosis; effects of environmental factors on women’s health infertility; minimally invasive gynecologic surgery; pelvic pain

Prof. Dr. Anna Locatelli

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1. Department of Mother and Child, ASST Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy
2. School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy
Interests: perinatal health; invasive prenatal diagnosis; foetal therapy; perinatal risk; obstetrics and gynaecology

Dr. Kedra Wallace

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1. School of Population Health, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
2. SOM-Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
3. Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
Interests: uterine fibroids; mental health; HELLP syndrome; preeclampsia; hypertension
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Collection titled “Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes”. This issue will be a collection of papers from researchers invited by the Editorial Board Members. The aim is to provide a venue for networking and communication between IJERPH and scholars in a wide range of fields such as social, behavioral and clinical areas. The collection will mainly focus on anything that may be important and crucial to improving the health and physical and mental well-being of mother and child and their relationship in everyday life, from educational strategies and nutrition intervention to the care and management of a disorder. Moreover, we will focus on innovation and disparities of care. All papers will be fully open access upon publication after peer review.

Dr. Claudia Rossi
Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia Porpora
Prof. Dr. Anna Locatelli
Dr. Kedra Wallace
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

mother and child
disorder
health
disparities
innovations

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Research

8 pages, 335 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficacy of N-Acetylcysteine on Endometriosis-Related Pain, Size Reduction of Ovarian Endometriomas, and Fertility Outcomes

Emanuela Anastasi

Sara Scaramuzzino

Maria Federica Viscardi

Valentina Viggiani

Maria Grazia Piccioni

and

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064686 - 07 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 11823

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent, inflammatory disease, whose pivotal symptoms are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Besides the usual medical treatments, recent evidence suggests there are potential benefits of oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on endometriotic lesions and pain. The primary objective of this prospective single-cohort study was to confirm the effectiveness of NAC in reducing endometriosis-related pain and the size of ovarian endometriomas. The secondary objective was to assess if NAC may play a role in improving fertility and reducing the Ca125 serum levels. Methods: Patients aged between 18–45 years old with a clinical/histological diagnosis of endometriosis and no current hormonal treatment or pregnancy were included in the study. All patients received quarterly oral NAC 600 mg, 3 tablets/day for 3 consecutive days of the week for 3 months. At baseline and after 3 months, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and CPP were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale score (VAS), while the size of the endometriomas was estimated through a transvaginal ultrasound. Analgesics (NSAIDs) intake, the serum levels of Ca125 and the desire for pregnancy were also investigated. Finally, the pregnancy rate of patients with reproductive desire was evaluated. Results: One hundred and twenty patients were recruited. The intensity of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and CPP significantly improved (p < 0.0001). The use of NSAIDs (p = 0.001), the size of the endometriomas (p < 0.0001) and the serum levels of Ca125 (p < 0.0001) significantly decreased. Among the 52 patients with reproductive desire, 39 successfully achieved pregnancy within 6 months of starting therapy (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Oral NAC improves endometriosis-related pain and the size of endometriomas. Furthermore, it decreases Ca125 serum levels and may improve fertility in patients with endometriosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes)

15 pages, 2083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy: Clues and Proof of Adverse Outcomes

Maria Federica Viscardi

Emanuela Anastasi

and

Maria Grazia Porpora

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2616; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032616 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1504

Abstract

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents one of the most threatening viral infections in the last decade. Amongst susceptible individuals, infected pregnant women might be predisposed to severe complications. Despite the extensive interest in SARS-CoV-2 research, the clinical course of maternal infection, the vertical transmission and the neonatal outcomes have not been completely understood yet. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, obstetric outcomes and vertical transmission. Methods: A prospective observational study was performed, enrolling unvaccinated pregnant patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cases) and matched with uninfected pregnant women (controls). Maternal and neonatal nasopharyngeal swabs, maternal and cord blood, amniotic fluid and placenta tissue samples were collected; blood samples were tested for anti-S and anti-N antibodies, and histologic examination of placental tissues was performed. Results: The cases showed a significant association with the development of some obstetric complications, such as intrauterine growth restriction and pregnancy-associated hypothyroidism and diabetes, as compared to controls; their newborns were more likely to have a low birth weight and an arterial umbilical pH less than 7. The viral genome was detected in maternal and cord blood and placental samples in six cases. Conclusions: Pregnant women positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection are more likely to develop severe obstetric outcomes; their newborns could have a low birth weight and arterial pH. Vertical transmission seems a rare event, and further investigation is strongly needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: Improving Maternal and Child Health Outcomes)

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