Background and Objectives: The occurrence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in children in Romania has been reported since 1989. This retrospective study was aimed at assessing clinical and biological risk factors for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in two HIV-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) Regional Centers (RCs), Constanta and Craiova in Romania. Materials and Methods: During the study period (2008–2019), 408 HIV-positive pregnant women, 244 from Constanta RC and 164 from Craiova RC who attended antenatal visits, were included. All HIV-positive pregnant women were under combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) during pregnancy and childbirth, being followedup with their infants up to 18 months after delivery. We investigated the clinical as well as biological risk factorsassociated with increased MTCT of HIV. Results: Comparing different variables of HIV-positive pregnant women from the two HIV-AIDS CRs, we find that there are significant differences between the mean value of hemoglobin, CD4 level, environmental area, marital and amniotic membranes status, and HIV patient stage in the last trimester of pregnancy (p < 0.05), but without any differences in mother’s mean age, education level, type of delivery, breastfeeding, the duration of cART administration, HIV viral load, and survival rate. Conclusions: In 408 HIV-positive pregnant women followed up at two HIV-AIDS RCs in Romania, the most important clinical and biological risk factors associated with increased MTCT of HIV are represented by anemia, CD4 level, and HIV patient stage.

Background: Although risk factors associated with maternal postpartum depression (PPD) have been recognized, it is still unknown how some newborn characteristics could influence the appearance of PPD. Aim: Our research aimed to unravel the impact of a newborn’s features on women with PPD. Methods: The study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at our University Emergency County Hospital, between August 2019 and April 2021. We included 904 women from the second day of the postpartum period, divided into two groups: women with PPD (n = 236) and control (i.e., women without PPD, n = 668), by using the Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale. Characteristic information on the newborns (i.e., the months in which they were born, premature delivery, birth weight, or sex) was evaluated. Results: Our results suggest that the winter season (i.e., December and January months, p = 0.01) births and male newborns (p = 0.02) were strongly related with the appearance of depressive symptoms during the postpartum period. Conclusions: Therefore, our study sustains that women who give birth to male newborns in the winter season are more prone to developing PPD. This should be analyzed by all public health care systems in order to prevent such a condition earlier in certain groups of women.

Background: Due to social behavior modulation contribution, synthetic oxytocin (synOT) has been routinely used to augment or induce labor. Aim: The present study examined the association between intrapartum synOT administration and maternal postpartum depression (PPD) using an observational prospective study on women who delivered in our department on the 2nd day postpartum. Methods: This study was conducted in our University Emergency County Hospital between August 2019 and April 2021. We included 904 women, of whom 609 (67.36%) received synOT and 295 (32.63%) did not receive synOT during the intrapartum period. Using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, we showed that 26.10% of women had PPD and 73.89% of women did not have PPD. Demographic participant characteristics (i.e., age, parity, ethnicity, delivery type, and postpartum hospitalization days) were assessed. Results: Our results show that the rate of PPD was lower in women with synOT administration in comparison with women without synOT administration (p < 0.001). Younger age and shorter hospitalization days of the women with synOT were statistically significant in comparison with women without synOT administration (p < 0.001). Further, primiparous women with spontaneous delivery were positively associated with synOT administration (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study sustained that synOT could represent a potential mediator on the PPD prevalence. These results suggest that intrapartum synOT administration may offer a potential benefit to mothers at risk of PPD.