Beverley Vollenhoven

INTRODUCTION: Early pregnancy care involves the screening and identification of women with risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth or preterm birth, to tailor pregnancy care and interventions accordingly. Most stil…

Not discounting the important foetal or placental contribution, the endometrium is a key determinant of pregnancy outcomes. Given the inherently linked processes of menstruation, pregnancy and parturition with the endometrium, further under…

Abstract Study question Can extracellular vesicles serve as biomarkers of endometriosis, particularly for stages I and II, which are difficult to detect by ultrasound? Summary answer Our findings suggest the feasibility of defining a protei…

OBJECTIVES: Ovarian hyperthecosis (OHT) is a rare cause of severe hyperandrogenism in the adolescent age group. We describe two case reports, and present an approach to management in this age group based on a review of the literature. CASE …

Abstract Background Endometriosis is characterised by chronic inflammation in the peritoneal cavity causing acute and chronic pelvic pain, largely explained by dysregulation in the immune environment within peritoneal fluid. The activation …

Introduction Current research aimed at understanding and preventing stillbirth focuses almost exclusively on the role of the placenta. The underlying origins of poor placental function leading to stillbirth, however, remain poorly understoo…

Uterine Fibroids, or leiomyomata, affect millions of women world-wide, with a high incidence of 75% within women of reproductive age. In ~30% of patients, uterine fibroids cause menorrhagia, or heavy menstrual bleeding, and more than half o…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the presence of adenomyosis in women treated with IVF alter IVF outcomes? SUMMARY ANSWER: Adenomyosis does not significantly alter IVF outcomes when adjusted for confounding factors including maternal age and smoking st…

Background: Uterine peristalsis occurs in the endometrial–myometrial junctional zone. It is involved in sperm transport and embryo implantation in spontaneous and in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. We investigated the reproducibility of t…

The uterine junctional zone represents the juncture between endometrium and myometrium. The junctional zone is hormonally dependent and displays continuous peristaltic activity throughout the menstrual cycle in the nonpregnant state which i…

BACKGROUND: There is a growing consensus that ovarian reserve is reduced after surgical excision of ovarian endometriomas. However, it remains to be fully clarified whether this damage precedes or follows surgery. In order to further elucid…

BACKGROUND: There is growing and consistent evidence showing that ovarian reserve is affected following surgical excision of ovarian endometriomas. Of particular concern is the risk of severe ovarian damage leading to unresponsiveness to ov…

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) with intrauterine insemination (IUI) for the treatment of various causes of infertility and to identify prognostic factors for the success of this treatment. S…