As the number of international adoptions has increased over the past 2 decades, so has awareness and understanding of the risks associated with the conditions to which these children have been exposed. Prenatal alcohol and/or drug exposure, infectious diseases, malnutrition, and psychosocial deprivation all contribute to the profound growth and…

Project CHOICES developed an integrated behavioral intervention for prevention of prenatal alcohol exposure in women at high risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Settings included primary care, university-hospital based obstetrical/gynecology practices, an urban jail, substance abuse treatment settings, and a media-recruited sample in three large…

The March of Dimes, Texas Chapter, partnered with the faith community to pilot Honey Child[SM], a prenatal education program for African American women. The program is designed to combat prematurity, which is the leading cause of death for African American infants. Honey Child uses a spiritual approach to promote prenatal health through…

Despite decades of research and prevention efforts, low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams, or 5 lbs., 8 ozs.) remains a major public health challenge. Preterm birth (before 37 weeks of gestation) is by far the most common reason for low birthweight (LBW), and trendlines for LBW tend to parallel those for preterm birth. Since 1990, the U.S.…

In addition to his pioneering studies on prenatal development of social responses in the mallard, Gilbert Gottlieb made important theoretical contributions to the study of the evolution of behavior. This tribute to Gottlieb presents his early view that prenatal behavioral development is the product of evolution and his revision of this view in his…

Japanese atomic bomb survivors irradiated 8-25 weeks after ovulation subsequently suffered reduced IQ [Otake and Schull, 1998]. Whether these findings generalize to low doses (less than 10 mGy) has not been established. This paper exploits the natural experiment generated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986, which caused a spike in…

New scientific research shows that environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. Thus, the old ideas that genes are "set in stone" or that they alone determine development have been disproven. In fact, scientists have discovered that early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off and even…

The correlates and suspected causes of the intractable condition obesity are complex and involve environmental and heritable, psychological and physical variables. Overall, the factors associated with and possible causes of it are not clearly understood. Although there exists some ambiguity in the research regarding the degree of happiness in…

CenteringPregnancy Smiles[TM] (CPS) is a partnership between the University of Kentucky, Trover Health System, and Hopkins County Health Department. The purpose of the partnership is to: (1) establish an infrastructure to address health problems requiring research-based solutions, (2) develop a model for community partnership formation, and (3)…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This Brief summarizes the findings and implications of "Moderate Fetal Alcohol Exposure Impairs the Neurogenic Response to an Enriched Environment in Adult Mice" (I. Y. Choi; A. M. Allan; and L. A. Cunningham). Observations of mice…

This prologue introduces an important topic for multiple disciplines involved with children and their families. This introduction includes a review of some of the current literature on the effects of maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure on child development, an explanation of why this topic is essential learning for communication…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This Brief reports on the study "Perinatal Exposure to a Noncoplanar Bichlorinated Biphenol Alters Tonotopy, Receptive Fields and Plasticity in the Auditory Cortex" (T. Kenet; R. C. Froemke; C. E. Schreiner; I. N. Pessah; and M. M.…

This epilogue summarizes the six articles presented in the clinical forum focused on understanding children who have been affected by maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure. It presents common themes that emerged among the articles and future research directions.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is currently recognized as the most common known cause of mental retardation, affecting from 1 to 7 per 1000 live-born infants. Individuals with FAS suffer from changes in brain structure, cognitive impairments, and behavior problems. Researchers investigating neuropsychological functioning have identified deficits in…

To test the hypothesis that social rearing may induce malleability, socially reared and socially isolated mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, embryos and hatchlings were exposed to the maternal call of a chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus, until 48 h after hatching. The hatchlings were then tested with the chicken call versus the mallard maternal…