Research overview and current projects

​​​Read about the research areas of the department and current research pro​jects. ​​

Research in the Department of Obstetrics is conducted by the staff in col​​​laboration. 

The main research areas are:

  • Heart diseases in pregnant women
  • Helping pregnant women stop smoking
  • Intrauterine monitoring of foetuses at risk
  • Perinatal health service research and audit
  • Overweight women and pregnancy
  • Psychological factors and acute caesarean section
  • Fathers and parenthood
  • Pregnant women in risk of developing thrombophilia
  • Labour pain reduction
  • Research in medical education
  • Prenatal screening and diagnosis
  • Ultrasound diagnosis of fetal malformations
  • Intrauterine growth retardation
  • Preterm delivery
  • Free fetal DNA
  • Diabetes and pregnancy
  • Pregnancy and physical activity
  • Women and children's health
  • Safe deliveries
  • Treatment of pregnant women with blood type immunization
  • Teaching and training in Obstetrical and Gynaecological ultrasound scan
  • Simulation of ultrasound scannings
  • Simulation of obstetric and anaesthesia em​ergencies


Current projects

Diabetes and Pregnancy

  • Significance of self efficacy, anxiety, depression and health related quality of life for pregnancy outcome in women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
  • Metabolic and epigenetic consequences of intrauterine hyperglycemia – PhD project by Louise Kelstrup
  • Different insulin regimes in the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus
  • Insulin analogues in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes
  • Hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetic pregnancy
  • Vitamin D and Lifestyle Intervention for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) Prevention – an EU project
  • Beta-cell neogenesis during pregnancy?
  • Mitochondrial function of the myometrium during pregnancy in normal, overweight and diabetic subjects - A combined animal and clinical study"projects looking on the impact of restricted weight gain during pregnancy as well as breast feeding in these women – PhD project by Christiane Gam
  • Environmental versus genetic and epigenetic impact on body composition, metabolism and cognitive development in offspring of women with type 1 diabetes – PhD project by Birgitte Bytoft
  • Breast feeding in women with type 1 and type 1 diabetes
  • Responsible for this area, Prof.Elisabeth Mathiesen and Prof. Peter Damm


Preterm ​delivery
Collagen content of cervical tissue in women with cervical incompetence​​

Risk of recurrence of late abortion/extremely early preterm birth (15 – 28 weeks) – an epidemiological study
Thrombophilia in pregnant women
Thrombophilia and severe pregnancy complications – impact on subsequent maternal health. Epidemiological studies combined with information on new and well ​​known thrombophilia SNPs

​

Perinatal health service research and audit

  • Postpartum haemorrhage and use of blood transfusionPostpartum haaemorrhage and adhaerance to routine prophylaxis as recommende by national guidelines
  • Severe postpartum haemorrhage and upfront fibrinogen supplementation – an RCT
  • NOSS – Nordic Obstetric Surveillance System. Prospective collection of information on severe complications at delivery - uterine rupture, peripartum hysterectomy, placenta percreta and blood transfusion exceeding 5 units of blood.
  • Responsible for these areas; Jens Langhoff Roos, Consultant

Obstetric skills training

Development, implementation and evaluation of multiprofessional obstetric skills training.
Implementation and evaluation of drills in maternity wards and antenatal wards.
Development and testing of a simulation-based training programme in vacuum extraction, involving validation of hightech birth simulator and development and validation of checklist in vaccu​um extraction. Development and evaluation of e-learning programmes in basic neonatal resuscitation. 
Responsible for this area; Associate Prof. Jette Led Sørensen


Physical activity and pregnancy

The effect of water gymnastics on low back pain and sick leave. A randomised controlled intervention study. Responsible for this area; Midwife PhD Hanne K Hegaard and Prof. P Damm.


Obesity and Pregnancy

Epidemiological studies on the impact of maternal weight and weight gain during pregnancy and pregnancy outcome.

The womens´s health behaviour in the pre-conceptional period and during the early pregnancy.

Epidemiological studies about intake of supplements (folic acid and Vitamin D), lifestyle factors (alcohol intake, smoking and exer​cise) and use af medication. Data from the Copenhagen Pregnancy Cohort study Responsible; Midwife PhD Hanne K Hegaard.


Risk of preterm delivery

Cohort study of 3400 women having cervical length estimated 3 times during pregnancy to estimate the risk of preterm delivery.


Risk of miscarriage or intrauterine death

Epidemiological study to assess the risk of intrauterine death following first trimester risk assessment, in spontaneously pregnant women and in women pregnant following assisted reproduction.


Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)

Prospective study to assess sensitivity and specificity of free fetal DNA to detect trisomy 21, 18 and 13 – and to compare the performance to current first trimester risk assessment. 
Assessing fetal fraction of DNA in maternal blood at different gestational ages
Questionnaire study of women's views on prenatal testing and diagnosis, and NIPT in particular.​


First trimester risk assessment

Prospective study to examine the background for women opting to have or not to have first trimester risk assessment.
Responsible for these areas: Professor Ann Tabor​

Responsible editor
Webgruppen på Rigshospitalet