The proportion of infants in the United States who are breastfed at 1 year remains well below the Healthy People 2030 target. The health implications of suboptimal breastfeeding durations are significant, including increased risk of childhood leukemia and maternal Type 2 diabetes. Prenatal breastfeeding education provides an opportunity to improve…

Using National Vital Statistics Birth and Fetal Death Data from 1995 to 2020 linked to county-level information on wildfires, we use variation in wildfire timing to examine how effects of wildfire exposure on infant health vary by maternal education. Results indicate that wildfire exposure increases the likelihood of low birth weight and fetal…

Background: Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities face poorer reproductive and pregnancy outcomes partially due to health care inequity. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review of reproductive and pregnancy related health care among women with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Methods: We systematically reviewed…

Purpose: Prenatal exercise is a health behavior that is receiving growing attention amid concern that women in Western societies are gaining excess weight during pregnancy and contributing to future obesity in both the mother and child. In this article, we draw on insights from the fields of social epidemiology and social theory of the body to…

Protecting an unborn baby from abuse and neglect presents particular challenges for professionals due to the uncertainties about appraising future harm and functioning of family relationships. This systematic narrative review synthesises studies of professional decision making by health and social care professionals regarding child protection of…

Background: Culture is a universal phenomenon, but most interest about culture during pregnancy has focused on medical care, neglecting psychological aspects of normative development. Objective: The purpose of this article was to examine normative gestational experiences using the framework of a broaden and build model of culture, positive…

The neurosurgical goal when treating children with spina bifida (predominantly myelomeningocele) is to maintain stable neurological functioning throughout the patient's life time. Unfortunately, few long-term outcome studies are available to help direct the neurosurgical care of a child born with myelomeningocele and often treatment relies more…

A review of the existing literature on the occurrence of challenging behavior among children with prenatal drug exposure was conducted. While a large number of studies were identified that evaluated various outcomes of prenatal drug exposure, only 37 were found that directly evaluated challenging behaviors. Of the 37 studies, 23 focused on…

Explores the effects of ecological and individual risk factors on infant health for black and white women. Examines the association among neighborhood economic indicators, neighborhood quality, access to prenatal care, and individual perinatal risk factors and subsequent birthweight. The findings emphasize the need for socially and ecologically…

Experience treating women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) from varied sociocultural backgrounds in a large inner-city general hospital is related to a literature review. Subgroups were identified according to personality pathology, psychiatric symptoms, and psychosocial stress factors. Accurate assessment, needs of individuals, treatment…

Pregnancy complications affect many women. It is likely that some complications can be avoided through routine primary and prenatal care of reasonable quality. The authors examined access to health care during pregnancy for mothers insured by Medicaid. The access indicator is potentially avoidable maternity complications (PAMCs). Potentially…

This fact sheet outlines some demographic trends that are influencing the cost and availability of health care for children and making it increasingly necessary to take action to improve the health of the nation's children. In recent years children, as a group, are more likely to be poor, lack health insurance, have working mothers, receive…

The paper reviews demographic and health status data for Hispanic communities and relates them to the role of culture in health care, recommending that health promotion programs focus on specific community data, understand the impact of culture and language, develop powerful outreach, and team up with community-based organizations. (SM)

This report summarizes research on interventions intended to improve four key breastfeeding behaviors: early initiation of breastfeeding, feeding of colostrum to newborns, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 0-6 months, and continued breastfeeding through the second year and beyond. It clarifies what is known about improving these practices in…

Smoking in pregnancy is a serious health risk to mother and baby that is associated with premature birth, low birth weight and respiratory disorders. Recently it has become apparent that smoking in pregnancy can have long-term consequences for the child, including learning difficulties, elevated risk of diabetes, obesity and asthma. Over the past…