The principal screening test for detecting maternal HBV infection is the serologic identification of HBsAg. Screening should be performed in each pregnancy, regardless of previous HBV vaccination or previous negative HBsAg test results.

A test for HBsAg should be ordered at the first prenatal visit. Women with unknown HBsAg status or with new or continuing risk factors for HBV infection (e.g., injection drug use or a sexually transmitted infection) should be screened at the time of admission to a hospital or other delivery setting.

Interventions to prevent perinatal transmission of HBV infection include screening all pregnant women for HBV, vaccinating infants born to HBV-negative mothers within 24 hours of birth, and completing the HBV vaccination series in infants by age 18 months.

The anal sphincters are responsible for closing the anal canal to the passage of faeces and flatus. The smooth muscle of the involuntary internal sphincter sustains contraction to prevent the leakage of faeces between bowel movements and is innervated by the pelvic splanchnic nerves, which are a branch of the spinal segment 4. The external sphincter is made up of skeletal muscle and can therefore contract and relax voluntarily. Its innervation comes from the inferior rectal branch of the pudendal nerve, and the perineal branch of S4 nerve roots.

Menorrhagia in a 45-year-old woman is most likely caused by an ovulation issue, most likely anovulatory cycles, particularly if the periods have grown irregular.

Endometrial carcinoma is a rare cause of menorrhagia that usually occurs after menopause.

Menorrhagia can be caused by fibroids, endometrial polyps, and adenomyosis, although the cycles are normally regular, and a dramatic change from normal cycles six months prior would be exceptional.
If fibroids or adenomyosis are the source of the menorrhagia, the uterus is usually enlarged.

Radiotherapy works on the principle of ionisation. In particularly that of water leading to the formation of free radicals, these radicals are highly reactive and they react with the DNA leading to damage and cell death.

The Pudendal nerve divides into inferior rectal, perineal and dorsal nerve of the clitoris (or penis in males). The dorsal nerve of clitoris supplies sensory innervation to the clitoris. The perineal branch supplies sensory innervation to the skin of the labia majora and minora and the vestibule.

Analysis of presentation shows the patient has developed hyperemesis gravidarum.
She is in early shock, presented as sinus tachycardia and hypotension, with ketonuria and requires immediate fluid resuscitation and anti-emetics. The first line fluid of choice is administration of normal saline 0.9%, and should avoid giving dextrose containing fluids as they can precipitate encephalopathy and worsens hyponatremia.

The most appropriate management of a pregnant patient in this situation is administration of metoclopramide as the first line and Ondansetron as second line antiemetic, which are Australian category A and B1 drugs respectively. The following also should be considered and monitored for:
1. More refractory vomiting.
2. Failure to improve.
3. Recurrent hospital admissions.

Steroids like prednisolone are third line medications which are used in resistant cases of hyperemesis gravidarum after proper consultation.

Different changes can occur during the menstrual cycle including an increased body temperature at the time of ovulation, thinning of the cervical mucus and few other changes, but it is the LH surge which is the most important factor necessary for ovulation.
Mittelschmerz is characterised by recurrent midcycle pain which occurs around the time of ovulation.

Gonorrhoea is a diplococcus bacteria known to infect the female genital tract. The bacteria is sexually transmitted and can cause an ascending infection in the uterus and fallopian tubes. According to the BASHH guidelines (British Association for Sexual Health and HIV), indication for therapy include confirmation of intracellular diplococci on microscopy or a confirmed positive NAAT. Treatment of gonorrhoea in pregnancy is as follows: Ceftriaxone 1g intramuscularly as a single dose with azithromycin 2g oral as a single dose. Pregnant individuals are not to be treated with quinolones or tetracyclines.

The WHO defines maternal death as female death from any cause related to pregnancy or its management, including childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. This is irrespective of the duration or site of the pregnancy.

Herpes simplex is a double stranded DNA virus. There are two viral types, HSV-1 and HSV-2. The majority of orolabial infections are caused by HSV-1. These infections are usually acquired during childhood through direct physical contact such as kissing. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection and is most commonly caused by HSV-2.

Fetal production of immunoglobulin begins early on at about 10 weeks gestation with the production of IgM antibodies. Maternal IgG, which is a key component of fetal immunity is passed on to the foetus through the placenta from 12 weeks of gestation. Secretory IgA is not produced until after birth, through breast milk.

The patient is presenting with classic symptoms of round ligament pain.
Round ligaments are structures which extends from the lateral portion of the uterus below to the oviduct and will travel downward in a fold of peritoneum to the inguinal canal to get inserted in the upper portion of the labium majus. As the gravid uterus grows out of pelvis during pregnancy, these ligaments will stretch, mostly during sudden movements, resulting in a sharp pain. Due to dextrorotation of uterus, which occurs commonly in pregnancy, the round ligament pain is experienced more frequently over the right side. Usually this pain improves by avoiding sudden movements, by rising and sitting down gradually, by the application of local heat and by using analgesics.

As the patient is not experiencing any symptoms like fever or anorexia a diagnosis of appendicitis is not likely. Also in pregnant women appendicitis often presents as pain located much higher than the groin area as the growing gravid uterus pushes the appendix out of pelvis.

As the pain is localized to only one side of groin and is alleviated with a heating pad the diagnosis of preterm labor is unlikely. In addition, the pain would persist even at rest and not with just movement in case of labor.

As the patient has not reported of any urinary symptoms diagnosis of urinary tract infection is unlikely.

Kidney stones usually presents with pain in the back and not lower in the groin. In addition, with a kidney stone the pain would occur not only with movement, but would persist at rest as well. So a diagnosis of kidney stone is unlikely in this case.

The half-life of lidocaine is approximately 1.5 hours. It is a local anaesthetic and the maximum dose that can be given is 3mg/kg.

The cardiotocograph (CTG) is a continuous tracing of the fetal heart rate used to assess fetal wellbeing. The Doppler effect detects fetal heart motion and allows the interval between successive beats to be measured, thereby allowing a continuous assessment of fetal heart rate. The mother perceives the fetal movement by the 18-20 week of gestation and these increase until the 32 week. A mother should under go CTG if the fetal movements are reduced by the 28 week of gestation.

Varicella is a live vaccine. The recent RCOG green top guidelines suggest vaccine can be considered postpartum or pre pregnancy but NOT whilst pregnant. In the non-immune pregnant woman they should be advised to avoid contact with people with chickenpox or shingles and to contact a healthcare professional promptly if exposed. If they have a significant exposure VZIG should be offered as soon as possible.

This woman has mixed incontinence, which includes signs and symptoms of both stresses and urges incontinence. The urge, on the other hand, irritates her. Bladder training would be the most appropriate management approach to investigate first for women with urge incontinence as the most troublesome symptom. The objectives are:
– Using a bladder diary to establish a baseline
– Creating a voiding schedule
– Over a long period, gradually increase the voiding interval in increments of 2- 5 minutes, to void every 3 hours.
– Other important strategies to consider are lifestyle changes like reducing fluid intake, losing weight, and avoiding diuretics-producing foods and beverages (e.g., alcoholic beverages, caffeine, etc).

When urge incontinence does not respond to physical or behavioural therapy, anticholinergics along with ongoing bladder training are an alternative. A 4- to 6-week trial is employed. At six months, risk and benefit are weighed to see if treatment should be continued for those who react. Patients should be informed about anticholinergic side effects such as dry mouth and constipation, as well as how to control them.

Anterior colporrhaphy is a treatment for cystocele that involves repairing the front vaginal wall. It can help people with urine incontinence. If you don’t have a cystocele, bladder neck suspension is the best option.
Retropubic bladder suspension is a more intrusive surgery for treating stress urinary incontinence in patients who haven’t responded to less invasive treatments like pelvic floor exercise.

The most essential initial conservative therapy to explore for patients with real stress incontinence and mixed (both stress and urge) urine incontinence when stress incontinence is the more prominent symptom is pelvic floor muscle exercise (e.g. Kegel exercise). For urge incontinence, more difficult training can be applied.

In pregnancy, term refers to the gestational period from 37 to 41+6 weeks. Preterm births occur between 24 and 36+6 weeks. Only 1% of women who go into PROM have risk of having serious neonatal infections.

Management of PROM:
60% of patients with PROM will go into labour within 24 hrs
Induction is appropriate if >34 weeks gestation and more than 24 hours post rupture when labour hasn’t started.
If < 34 weeks, induction of labour should not be carried out unless there are additional obstetric indications e.g. infection

The occurrence of migraine in women is influenced by hormonal changes throughout the lifecycle. A beneficial effect of pregnancy on migraine, mainly during the last 2 trimesters, has been observed in 55 to 90% of women who are pregnant, irrespective of the type of migraine.

For treatment of acute migraine attacks, 1000 mg of paracetamol (acetaminophen) preferably as a suppository is considered the first choice drug treatment. The risks associated with use of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and ibuprofen are considered to be small when the agents are taken episodically and if they are avoided during the last trimester of pregnancy.

Paracetamol 500 mg alone or in combination with metoclopramide 10 mg are recommended as first choice symptomatic treatment of a moderate-to-severe primary headache during pregnancy.

Activation of Antithrombin III and inactivation of factor Xa is the primary mechanism of action of Heparin.

Cells adapt to external stressors in a variety of ways. A cell can either undergo hypertrophy or hyperplasia to overcome the stress, or atrophy if unable to overcome the stress. Metaplasia occurs when fully differentiated cell lines transform into another fully differentiated cell type to adapt to a new external environment. The replacement of columnar epithelium of the cervix to a stratified squamous epithelium occurs in the squamocolumnar transformation zone in response to the exposure of an everted ectocervix to the acidic pH of the vagina at puberty and first pregnancy. Carcinoma in situ is thought to involve the immature metaplastic cells in this region.

There is an association between 20 to 30% increase in the risk for developing pyelonephritis during later pregnancy and untreated cases of bacteriuria in pregnancy. This is due to the physiological changes occurring to urinary tract during pregnancy, it is also found that untreated bacteriuria can be associated with even preterm birth and low birth weight. Risk of symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) during pregnancy can be reduced by antibiotic treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria

The most common pathogen associated with asymptomatic bacteriuria is Escherichia coli, which accounts to more than 80% of isolates and the second most frequently cultured uropathogen is Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Other Gram-positive cocci, like group B streptococci, are less common. Gram-negative bacteria such as Klebsiella, Proteus or other Enterobacteriaceae are the other organisms involved in asymptomatic bacteriuria.

Although the context patient is asymptomatic, her urine dipstick shows positive nitrite and leukocyte, suggestive of urinary tract infection, so oral antibiotics like cephalexin or nitrofurantoin are advisable. Normally a five day course of oral antibiotic will be sufficient for the treatment of uncomplicated UTI or asymptomatic bacteraemia in pregnant women. As the patient is currently at her 38 weeks of gestation nitrofurantoin is contraindicated so it is best to prescribe her with Oral Cephalexin. This is because nitrofurantoin is associated with an increased risk of neonatal jaundice and haemolytic anaemia, so should not be used close to delivery, that is after 37 weeks of gestation or sooner if early delivery is planned.

Acute pyelonephritis should be treated with Intravenous antibiotic treatment, guided by urine culture and sensitivity reports as soon a available. A course of minimum of 10-14 days with IV + oral antibiotics is recommended as treatment for pyelonephritis, along with an increased fluid intake as intravenous fluids in clinically dehydrated patients. Even though urinary alkalisers are safe in pregnancy, prescription of urinary alkalisers alone is not recommended due to its low effectiveness compared to antibiotics, also as it can result in a loss of treatment efficacy urinary alkalisers should never be used in combination with nitrofurantoin.

At any stage of pregnancy, if Streptococcus agalactiae, a group B streptococcus [GBS], is detected in urine the intrapartum prophylaxis for GBS is usually indicated.

Oxytocin activates phospholipase C to produce inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), which releases Ca2+ from intracellular stores. There are thought to be other mechanisms by which myometrium is stimulated by Oxytocin including increased sensitisation of the myometrium and increased calcium entry into cells. cAMP and Protein Kinase A inhibit myometrial contractility.

The ovarian arteries are considered the main blood supply for the ovaries. The ovarian arteries usually arise from the lateral aspect of the abdominal artery, though in some instances they may arise from the renal or iliac arteries.

The diagnosis of functional ovarian cyst is made when the cyst measures more than 3 cm and rarely grows more than 10 cm. It appears as a simple anechoic unilocular cyst on USS. It is usually asymptomatic. If it is symptomatic then laparoscopic cystectomy should be performed.

There is marked elevation of FSH and LH in ovarian dysgenesis, produced by the pituitary.

Fibroids are a common gynaecological condition found in many women above the age of 35. They are however uncommon before puberty. They are most common in black women vs white women, and its prevalence increases from puberty to menopause. Risk factors for fibroids include increasing age, obesity and infertility. Protective factors, on the other hand, include pregnancy, as the risk of fibroids decreases with increasing numbers of pregnancies.

Uterine blood flow increases 40-fold to approximately 700 mL/min at term. The uterus is 50–60 g with a volume of approximately 10ml prior to pregnancy and 1000 – 1200 g with a volume of 5000ml by term.

The WHO recommends that tocolytics can safely be used to prolong pregnancy for up to seven days. The tocolytic drugs are used to suppress contractions to allow for more favourable conditions in the case of preterm labour, such as transfer to a better-equipped health care facility with a neonatal intensive care unit, or for those who have not yet completed a full dose of corticosteroids. It is not however associated with better neonatal outcomes in the imminent delivery of preterms. Examples of tocolytics include calcium channel blockers, magnesium sulphate, and oxytocin antagonists.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infections are the most common cause of sensorineural hearing loss in babies. Cytomegalovirus infection during the perinatal period can be transferred to the foetus especially if the primary infection is during pregnancy. Babies born with congenital CMV are either symptomatic or develop symptoms later in life. Some of the features of CMV infection include sensorineural hearing loss, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, microcephaly and seizures. Other causes of infective congenital sensorineural hearing loss include: Rubella, HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus, Measles, Varicella Zoster virus, Mumps and West Nile Virus.

Screening for gestational diabetes should be offered and performed between 24-28 weeks. It should be noted PCOS alone does not make screening essential. It is advised for PCOS patients who are overweight or if not overweight but has other risk factors (age >40, personal history of gestational diabetes or family history of type II diabetes). Screening is via a 2-hour post 75 g oral glucose tolerance test.