To face Death itself, to hide from deadly guards, to conduct dark rituals and to use forbidden death magic? Being sent to Hell is definitely not what 12-year-old Anji would have ever expected from a government orphanage program.

Leading workers in the field of human reproduction provide both basic knowledge and useful practical information in this book about the most critical phase in the development of a new human being: the first twelve weeks of life. The period from fertilization and implantation to the end of the first trimester is still insufficiently understood and marks a new frontier. The knowledge necessary for applying our present diagnostic capabilities and for venturing into the problematic areas of fertilization technology and embryonic treatment is made easily available in this comprehensive textbook. The book is divided into two parts. The first presents basic information about physiology, anatomy, in vivo investigations, biochemistry and legal aspects. The second part focuses on pregnancy development, monitoring and the clinical diagnosis and management of disorders in the early stages of life. A full section is devoted to assisted conception and the newest possibilities in fertilizationtechnologies, whereby the ethical aspects are also discussed.

As women of childbearing age have become heavier, the trade-off between maternal and child health created by variation in gestational weight gain has become more difficult to reconcile. Weight Gain During Pregnancy responds to the need for a reexamination of the 1990 Institute of Medicine guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy. It builds on the conceptual framework that underscored the 1990 weight gain guidelines and addresses the need to update them through a comprehensive review of the literature and independent analyses of existing databases. The book explores relationships between weight gain during pregnancy and a variety of factors (e.g., the mother's weight and height before pregnancy) and places this in the context of the health of the infant and the mother, presenting specific, updated target ranges for weight gain during pregnancy and guidelines for proper measurement. New features of this book include a specific range of recommended gain for obese women. Weight Gain During Pregnancy is intended to assist practitioners who care for women of childbearing age, policy makers, educators, researchers, and the pregnant women themselves to understand the role of gestational weight gain and to provide them with the tools needed to promote optimal pregnancy outcomes.

The Guide to Investigation of Mouse Pregnancy is the first publication to cover the mouse placenta or the angiogenic tree the mother develops to support the placenta. This much-needed resource covers monitoring of the cardiovascular system, gestational programming of chronic adult disease, epigenetic regulation, gene imprinting, and stem cells. Offering detailed and integrated information on how drugs, biologics, stress, and manipulations impact pregnancy in the mouse model, this reference highlights techniques used to analyze mouse pregnancy. Joining the ranks of much referenced mouse resources, The Guide to Investigation of Mouse Pregnancy is the only manual providing needed content on pregnancy in animal models for translational medicine and research. - Provides instruction on how to collect pre-clinical data on pregnancy in mouse models for eventual use in human applications - Describes the angiogenic tree the mother's uterus develops to support pregnancy and the monitoring of pregnancy-induced cardiovascular changes - Educates readers on placental cell lineages, decidual development including immune cells, epigenetic regulation, gene imprinting, stem cells, birth and lactation - Discusses how stress, environmental toxicants and other manipulations impact upon placental function and pregnancy success

The increasing prevalence of preterm birth in the United States is a complex public health problem that requires multifaceted solutions. Preterm birth is a cluster of problems with a set of overlapping factors of influence. Its causes may include individual-level behavioral and psychosocial factors, sociodemographic and neighborhood characteristics, environmental exposure, medical conditions, infertility treatments, and biological factors. Many of these factors co-occur, particularly in those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups. While advances in perinatal and neonatal care have improved survival for preterm infants, those infants who do survive have a greater risk than infants born at term for developmental disabilities, health problems, and poor growth. The birth of a preterm infant can also bring considerable emotional and economic costs to families and have implications for public-sector services, such as health insurance, educational, and other social support systems. Preterm Birth assesses the problem with respect to both its causes and outcomes. This book addresses the need for research involving clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science disciplines. By defining and addressing the health and economic consequences of premature birth, this book will be of particular interest to health care professionals, public health officials, policy makers, professional associations and clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science researchers.

This book explores how and when biology emerged as a science in Germany. Beginning with the debate about organism between Georg Ernst Stahl and Gottfried Leibniz at the start of the eighteenth century, John Zammito traces the development of a new research program, culminating in 1800, in the formulation of developmental morphology. He shows how over the course of the century, naturalists undertook to transform some domains of natural history into a distinct branch of natural philosophy, which attempted not only to describe but to explain the natural world and became, ultimately, the science of biology.

This work sees the light for various reasons. There is a general lack of detailed information about the earliest stages of human motor development. The reasons for this are explained more fully in the Introduction; here we may simply state that, apart from their intrinsic interest, earlier phenomena are fundamental to the comprehension of later phenomena rooted in them, whether pathological or normal. This is especially so in the rapidly - veloping young organism. At birth the neonate is catapulted into a profoundly different physical and social envir- ment requiring extremely diverse functioning: suffice it to mention aerial respiration, no longer being fed through the placenta and the cord, and the full impact of gravity on neonatal movements. The neonate generally adapts smoothly to the transition, as it has been equipped to do so during the 9 months of pregnancy. However, the study of the early stages of fetal motor development should not be exclusively directed towards the und- standing of functioning in the neonate.

A guide to identifying disease processes in the placenta affecting pregnancy outcome, with current diagnostic criteria and clinical consequences.

Intrauterine growth restriction in the human, the origin of many serious medical, ethical, socioeconomic and humanitarian issues, still needs in-depth studies.The current volume presents the latest research results and offers detailed discussions on clinical care. The term small for gestational age (SGA) is defined and manifestations of prenatal growth retardation and its etiology are described. Special emphasis is placed on the role of genetic defects, in particular in the IGF/GH axis. Besides, not only the immediate consequences for SGA neonates and their clinical care are examined, but also possible sequelae in childhood. A study of utmost importance considers the neurological and intellectual consequences for SGA children. It is further revealed that fetal growth restriction can adversely affect health well into adulthood, and increase the risk for type 2 diabetes. Finally, interesting insights into the causes and consequences of low birth weight in developing countries are provided.This publication is a must for pediatricians, neonatologists, obstetricians and endocrinologists, as well as anyone interested in embryology, genetics, diabetes, clinical nutrition, molecular biology and neuroendocrinology.

Diabetes mellitus, one of the most prevalent complications during pregnancy, can cause a range of problems for women and their developing babies. The number of types of diabetes during pregnancy has dramatically increased worldwide in recent years. Obesity is a very common risk factor for the development of GDM and type 2 diabetes. To prevent birth defects and other health problems, optimal healthcare before and during pregnancy is mandatory. To reach this goal, a multidisciplinary approach is of major importance. This book presents the latest knowledge on the physiopathology, diagnosis, autoimmunity, genetics, omics, and management and treatment of diabetic pregnancy. Renowned healthcare professionals and academic experts provide insights into the complexity of diabetic pregnancy, its treatment, and pregnancy complications. This is a comprehensive overview of the clinical characteristics of pregnancy-related type 1 and 2 diabetes as well as of gestational diabetes. It is a must-read for everyone involved in the monitoring of diabetes during pregnancy.