Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of mortality worldwide, with most deaths occurring in low-income countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘5 Moments for Hand Hygiene’ poster has been used to reduce hospital-acquired infections, but there is no similar tool to prevent community-acquired newborn infections in low-resource settings. This assessment, part of the BabyGel Pilot study, evaluated the acceptability of the ‘Newborn Moments for Hand Hygiene in the Home’ poster. This was an educational tool which aimed to remind mothers in rural Uganda to clean their hands to prevent neonatal infection. The BabyGel pilot was a cluster randomised trial that assessed the post-partum use of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) to prevent neonatal infections in Mbale, Uganda. Fifty-five women in 5 village clusters received the ABHR and used it from birth to 3 months postnatally, with use guided by the new poster. Following the study, 5 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted consisting of 6–8 purposively sampled participants from intervention villages. FGDs were audio-recorded, transcribed then translated into English. Transcripts were inductively coded using ATLAS.ti® and qualitatively analysed using thematic content analysis. Most mothers reported that they understood the message in the poster (“The picture shows me you must use these drugs to keep your baby healthy”) and that they could adhere to the moments from the poster. Some participants used the information from the poster to encourage other caregivers to use the ABHR (“after explaining to them, they liked it”). Other potential moments for hand hygiene were introduced by participants, such as after tending to domestic animals and gardening. The poster was well-received, and participants reported compliance with the moments for hand hygiene (although the full body wipe of the baby has since been removed). The poster will be adapted into a sticker format on the ABHR bottle. More focus could be put into an education tool for other caregivers who wish to hold the baby. Overall, the study demonstrated the acceptability of an adapted version of the WHO Moments for Hand Hygiene poster in the introduction of an intervention in the community. ISRCTN67852437 , registered 02/03/2015. Medical Research Council/ Wellcome Trust/ DfID (Global Health Trials Scheme).

Maternal obesity is associated with increased birthweight, and obesity and premature mortality in adult offspring. The mechanism by which maternal obesity leads to these outcomes is not well understood, but maternal hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance are both implicated. We aimed to establish whether the insulin sensitising drug metformin improves maternal and fetal outcomes in obese pregnant women without diabetes. We did this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in antenatal clinics at 15 National Health Service hospitals in the UK. Pregnant women (aged ≥16 years) between 12 and 16 weeks' gestation who had a BMI of 30 kg/m(2) or more and normal glucose tolerance were randomly assigned (1:1), via a web-based computer-generated block randomisation procedure (block size of two to four), to receive oral metformin 500 mg (increasing to a maximum of 2500 mg) or matched placebo daily from between 12 and 16 weeks' gestation until delivery of the baby. Randomisation was stratified by study site and BMI band (30-39 vs ≥40 kg/m(2)). Participants, caregivers, and study personnel were masked to treatment assignment. The primary outcome was Z score corresponding to the gestational age, parity, and sex-standardised birthweight percentile of liveborn babies delivered at 24 weeks or more of gestation. We did analysis by modified intention to treat. This trial is registered, ISRCTN number 51279843. Between Feb 3, 2011, and Jan 16, 2014, inclusive, we randomly assigned 449 women to either placebo (n=223) or metformin (n=226), of whom 434 (97%) were included in the final modified intention-to-treat analysis. Mean birthweight at delivery was 3463 g (SD 660) in the placebo group and 3462 g (548) in the metformin group. The estimated effect size of metformin on the primary outcome was non-significant (adjusted mean difference -0·029, 95% CI -0·217 to 0·158; p=0·7597). The difference in the number of women reporting the combined adverse outcome of miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, stillbirth, or neonatal death in the metformin group (n=7) versus the placebo group (n=2) was not significant (odds ratio 3·60, 95% CI 0·74-17·50; p=0·11). Metformin has no significant effect on birthweight percentile in obese pregnant women. Further follow-up of babies born to mothers in the EMPOWaR study will identify longer-term outcomes of metformin in this population; in the meantime, metformin should not be used to improve pregnancy outcomes in obese women without diabetes. The Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research partnership.

This prospective, observational study investigated the utility of Fibtem A5 and Clauss fibrinogen as predictors of progression of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). A consecutive cohort of 356 women experiencing 1000 to 1500 mL PPH was recruited. Fibtem and fibrinogen were measured and subsequent transfusions, invasive procedures, and bleed volume recorded. Women progressing to 8 U blood products (red blood cells [RBCs] + fresh frozen plasma [FFP] + platelets) had a median (interquartile range) fibrinogen and Fibtem A5 of 2.1 (1.8-3.4) g/L and 12 (7-17) mm, respectively, compared with 3.9 (3.2-4.5) and 19 (17-23) for those not progressing. On multivariate analysis, Fibtem was an independent predictor for progression to bleeds >2500 mL (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 [0.77-0.95]). Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (95% CI) for progression to RBC transfusion was 0.67 (0.60-0.74) for fibrinogen and 0.61 (0.54-0.68) for Fibtem, and progression to >2500 mL was 0.71 (0.61-0.81) and 0.75 (0.66-0.85) for fibrinogen and Fibtem, respectively. Fibtem A5 <10 mm was associated with more prolonged bleeds (median [95% CI], 127 [44-210] compared with 65 [59-71] minutes; P = .018) and longer stay in the high-dependency unit (23.5 [18.4-28.5] compared with 10.8 [9.7-11.8] hours). Fibtem is a rapidly available early biomarker for progression of PPH.

Background Active management of the third stage of labour involves giving a prophylactic uterotonic, early cord clamping and controlled cord traction to deliver the placenta. With expectant management, signs of placental separation are awaited and the placenta is delivered spontaneously. Active management was introduced to try to reduce haemorrhage, a major contributor to maternal mortality in low‐income countries. Objectives To compare the effectiveness of active versus expectant management of the third stage of labour. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Trials Register (15 February 2011). Selection criteria Randomised and quasi‐randomised controlled trials comparing active versus expectant management of the third stage of labour. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed the studies for inclusion, assessed risk of bias and carried out data extraction. Main results We included seven studies (involving 8247 women), all undertaken in hospitals, six in high‐income countries and one in a low‐income country. Four studies compared active versus expectant management, and three compared active versus a mixture of managements. We used random‐effects in the analyses because of clinical heterogeneity. There was an absence of high quality evidence for our primary outcomes. The evidence suggested that for women at mixed levels of risk of bleeding, active management showed a reduction in the average risk of maternal primary haemorrhage at time of birth (more than 1000 mL) (average risk ratio (RR) 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14 to 0.87, three studies, 4636 women) and of maternal haemoglobin (Hb) less than 9 g/dL following birth (average RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.83, two studies, 1572 women). We also found no difference in the incidence in admission of infants to neonatal units (average RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.11, two studies, 3207 women) nor in the incidence of infant jaundice requiring treatment (0.96, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.68, two studies, 3142 women). There were no data on our other primary outcomes of very severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) at the time of birth (more than 2500 mL), maternal mortality, or neonatal polycythaemia needing treatment. Active management also showed a significant decrease in primary blood loss greater than 500 mL, and mean maternal blood loss at birth, maternal blood transfusion and therapeutic uterotonics during the third stage or within the first 24 hours, or both and significant increases in maternal diastolic blood pressure, vomiting after birth, after‐pains, use of analgesia from birth up to discharge from the labour ward and more women returning to hospital with bleeding (outcome not pre‐specified). There was also a decrease in the baby's birthweight with active management, reflecting the lower blood volume from interference with placental transfusion. In the subgroup of women at low risk of excessive bleeding, there were similar findings, except there was no significant difference identified between groups for severe haemorrhage or maternal Hb less than 9 g/dL (at 24 to 72 hours). Hypertension and interference with placental transfusion might be avoided by using modifications to the active management package, e.g. omitting ergot and deferring cord clamping, but we have no direct evidence of this here. Authors' conclusions Although there is a lack of high quality evidence, active management of the third stage reduced the risk of haemorrhage greater than 1000 mL at the time of birth in a population of women at mixed risk of excessive bleeding, but adverse effects were identified. Women should be given information on the benefits and harms of both methods to support informed choice. Given the concerns about early cord clamping and the potential adverse effects of some uterotonics, it is critical now to look at the individual components of third‐stage management. Data are also required from low‐income countries.