Chaotic dynamics from interspike intervals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pavlov, A N; Sosnovtseva, Olga; Mosekilde, Erik

2001-01-01

Considering two different mathematical models describing chaotic spiking phenomena, namely, an integrate-and-fire and a threshold-crossing model, we discuss the problem of extracting dynamics from interspike intervals (ISIs) and show that the possibilities of computing the largest Lyapunov expone...

The joint influence of marital status, interpregnancy interval, and neighborhood on small for gestational age birth: a retrospective cohort study

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Wu Yuquan

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Interpregnancy interval (IPI, marital status, and neighborhood are independently associated with birth outcomes. The joint contribution of these exposures has not been evaluated. We tested for effect modification between IPI and marriage, controlling for neighborhood. Methods We analyzed a cohort of 98,330 live births in Montréal, Canada from 1997–2001 to assess IPI and marital status in relation to small for gestational age (SGA birth. Births were categorized as subsequent-born with short (intermediate (12–35 months, or long (36+ months IPI, or as firstborn. The data had a 2-level hierarchical structure, with births nested in 49 neighborhoods. We used multilevel logistic regression to obtain adjusted effect estimates. Results Marital status modified the association between IPI and SGA birth. Being unmarried relative to married was associated with SGA birth for all IPI categories, particularly for subsequent births with short (odds ratio [OR] 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31–1.95 and intermediate (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.26–1.74 IPIs. Subsequent births had a lower likelihood of SGA birth than firstborns. Intermediate IPIs were more protective for married (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.47–0.54 than unmarried mothers (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.56–0.76. Conclusion Being unmarried increases the likelihood of SGA birth as the IPI shortens, and the protective effect of intermediate IPIs is reduced in unmarried mothers. Marital status should be considered in recommending particular IPIs as an intervention to improve birth outcomes.

Factors affecting inter-birth in rural areas of Zarrindasht (Fars province

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Najaf Zare

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Proper time intervals among pregnancies has a major role in family provision. Investigating the dynamism of the birth spacing, identify factors and their effects on the time interval among pregnancies and determination of optimal spacing is the utmost importance for health planners and families. The purpose was to study the abortion and stillbirth due to short inter-birth spacing, factors affecting inter-births and optimal birth spacing. Material and Methods: In 2005, a cross-sectional study was conducted in a population of 1064 women of childbearing age in Fars province by multistage random sampling. Information on reproductive history was collected by resident health workers. Variables affecting inter-births were checked by the frailty recurrent events model using S-plus 2000 and SPSS 13 software. Results: The rate of abortion or stillbirth was 1.7%, which fell with increasing interval between births and reached their lowest (1.9% at 36-48 months. Mother's level of education, duration of breastfeeding of previous infant, maternal age at birth and father's job showed positive correlation with inter-birth. Mother's age at marriage, having a job other than household, socioeconomic status was negatively correlated with the the time interval to the next delivery. With increasing birth order, inter-birth of each delivery with regard to previous delivery increased on average by one to two months. Conclusion: The risk of abortion and stillbirth were observed more in subsequent delivery with very low or very long gap interval.

On an aggregation in birth-and-death stochastic dynamics

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Finkelshtein, Dmitri; Kondratiev, Yuri; Kutoviy, Oleksandr; Zhizhina, Elena

2014-06-01

We consider birth-and-death stochastic dynamics of particle systems with attractive interaction. The heuristic generator of the dynamics has a constant birth rate and density-dependent decreasing death rate. The corresponding statistical dynamics is constructed. Using the Vlasov-type scaling we derive the limiting mesoscopic evolution and prove that this evolution propagates chaos. We study a nonlinear non-local kinetic equation for the first correlation function (density of population). The existence of uniformly bounded solutions as well as solutions growing inside of a bounded domain and expanding in the space are shown. These solutions describe two regimes in the mesoscopic system: regulation and aggregation.

On an aggregation in birth-and-death stochastic dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finkelshtein, Dmitri; Kondratiev, Yuri; Kutoviy, Oleksandr; Zhizhina, Elena

2014-01-01

We consider birth-and-death stochastic dynamics of particle systems with attractive interaction. The heuristic generator of the dynamics has a constant birth rate and density-dependent decreasing death rate. The corresponding statistical dynamics is constructed. Using the Vlasov-type scaling we derive the limiting mesoscopic evolution and prove that this evolution propagates chaos. We study a nonlinear non-local kinetic equation for the first correlation function (density of population). The existence of uniformly bounded solutions as well as solutions growing inside of a bounded domain and expanding in the space are shown. These solutions describe two regimes in the mesoscopic system: regulation and aggregation. (paper)

A dynamic birth-death model via Intrinsic Linkage

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Robert Schoen

2013-05-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Dynamic population models, or models with changing vital rates, are only beginning to receive serious attention from mathematical demographers. Despite considerable progress, there is still no general analytical solution for the size or composition of a population generated by an arbitrary sequence of vital rates. OBJECTIVE The paper introduces a new approach, Intrinsic Linkage, that in many cases can analytically determine the birth trajectory of a dynamic birth-death population. METHODS Intrinsic Linkage assumes a weighted linear relationship between (i the time trajectory of proportional increases in births in a population and (ii the trajectory of the intrinsic rates of growth of the projection matrices that move the population forward in time. Flexibility is provided through choice of the weighting parameter, w, that links these two trajectories. RESULTS New relationships are found linking implied intrinsic and observed population patterns of growth. Past experience is "forgotten" through a process of simple exponential decay. When the intrinsic growth rate trajectory follows a polynomial, exponential, or cyclical pattern, the population birth trajectory can be expressed analytically in closed form. Numerical illustrations provide population values and relationships in metastable and cyclically stable models. Plausible projection matrices are typically found for a broad range of values of w, although w appears to vary greatly over time in actual populations. CONCLUSIONS The Intrinsic Linkage approach extends current techniques for dynamic modeling, revealing new relationships between population structures and the changing vital rates that generate them.

Association of Low-Birth Weight with Malnutrition in Children under Five Years in Bangladesh: Do Mother's Education, Socio-Economic Status, and Birth Interval Matter?

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M Shafiqur Rahman

Full Text Available Malnutrition in children under five years remains a significant problem in Bangladesh, despite substantial socio-economic progress and a decade of interventions aimed at improving it. Although several studies have been conducted to identify the important risk factors of malnutrition, none of them assess the role of low birth weight (LBW despite its high prevalence (36%. This study examines the association between LBW and malnutrition using data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS 2011 and provides practical guidelines for improving nutritional status of children.Malnutrition in children is measured in terms of their height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age. Children whose Z-scores for either of these indices are below two standard deviations (-2SD from median of WHO's reference population are considered as stunted, wasted or underweight, respectively. The association between malnutrition and LBW was investigated by calculating adjusted risk-ratio (RR, which controls for potential confounders such as child's age and sex, mother's education and height, length of preceding-birth-interval, access to food, area of residence, household socio-economic status. Adjusted RR was calculated using both Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel approach and multivariable logistic regression models controlling for confounder.The prevalence of malnutrition was markedly higher in children with LBW than those with normal birth-weights (stunting: 51% vs 39%; wasting: 25% vs 14% and underweight: 52% vs 33%. While controlling for the known risk factors, children with LBW had significantly increased risk of becoming malnourished compared to their counter part with RR 1.23 (95% CI:1.16-1.30, 1.71 (95% CI:1.53-1.92 and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.38-1.56 for stunting, wasting and underweight, respectively. The observed associations were not modified by factors known to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, such as higher education of mother, better household socio

Association of Low-Birth Weight with Malnutrition in Children under Five Years in Bangladesh: Do Mother's Education, Socio-Economic Status, and Birth Interval Matter?

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Rahman, M Shafiqur; Howlader, Tamanna; Masud, Mohammad Shahed; Rahman, Mohammad Lutfor

2016-01-01

Malnutrition in children under five years remains a significant problem in Bangladesh, despite substantial socio-economic progress and a decade of interventions aimed at improving it. Although several studies have been conducted to identify the important risk factors of malnutrition, none of them assess the role of low birth weight (LBW) despite its high prevalence (36%). This study examines the association between LBW and malnutrition using data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2011 and provides practical guidelines for improving nutritional status of children. Malnutrition in children is measured in terms of their height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age. Children whose Z-scores for either of these indices are below two standard deviations (-2SD) from median of WHO's reference population are considered as stunted, wasted or underweight, respectively. The association between malnutrition and LBW was investigated by calculating adjusted risk-ratio (RR), which controls for potential confounders such as child's age and sex, mother's education and height, length of preceding-birth-interval, access to food, area of residence, household socio-economic status. Adjusted RR was calculated using both Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel approach and multivariable logistic regression models controlling for confounder. The prevalence of malnutrition was markedly higher in children with LBW than those with normal birth-weights (stunting: 51% vs 39%; wasting: 25% vs 14% and underweight: 52% vs 33%). While controlling for the known risk factors, children with LBW had significantly increased risk of becoming malnourished compared to their counter part with RR 1.23 (95% CI:1.16-1.30), 1.71 (95% CI:1.53-1.92) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.38-1.56) for stunting, wasting and underweight, respectively. The observed associations were not modified by factors known to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, such as higher education of mother, better household socio

Concurrent variable-interval variable-ratio schedules in a dynamic choice environment.

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Bell, Matthew C; Baum, William M

2017-11-01

Most studies of operant choice have focused on presenting subjects with a fixed pair of schedules across many experimental sessions. Using these methods, studies of concurrent variable- interval variable-ratio schedules helped to evaluate theories of choice. More recently, a growing literature has focused on dynamic choice behavior. Those dynamic choice studies have analyzed behavior on a number of different time scales using concurrent variable-interval schedules. Following the dynamic choice approach, the present experiment examined performance on concurrent variable-interval variable-ratio schedules in a rapidly changing environment. Our objectives were to compare performance on concurrent variable-interval variable-ratio schedules with extant data on concurrent variable-interval variable-interval schedules using a dynamic choice procedure and to extend earlier work on concurrent variable-interval variable-ratio schedules. We analyzed performances at different time scales, finding strong similarities between concurrent variable-interval variable-interval and concurrent variable-interval variable- ratio performance within dynamic choice procedures. Time-based measures revealed almost identical performance in the two procedures compared with response-based measures, supporting the view that choice is best understood as time allocation. Performance at the smaller time scale of visits accorded with the tendency seen in earlier research toward developing a pattern of strong preference for and long visits to the richer alternative paired with brief "samples" at the leaner alternative ("fix and sample"). © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Reconstruction of dynamical systems from interspike intervals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauer, T.

1994-01-01

Attractor reconstruction from interspike interval (ISI) data is described, in rough analogy with Taken's theorem for attractor reconstruction from time series. Assuming a generic integrate-and-fire model coupling the dynamical system to the spike train, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the system states and interspike interval vectors of sufficiently large dimension. The correspondence has an important implication: interspike intervals can be forecast from past history. We show that deterministically driven ISI series can be distinguished from stochastically driven ISI series on the basis of prediction error

Association of Low-Birth Weight with Malnutrition in Children under Five Years in Bangladesh: Do Mother’s Education, Socio-Economic Status, and Birth Interval Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, M. Shafiqur; Howlader, Tamanna; Masud, Mohammad Shahed; Rahman, Mohammad Lutfor

2016-01-01

Background Malnutrition in children under five years remains a significant problem in Bangladesh, despite substantial socio-economic progress and a decade of interventions aimed at improving it. Although several studies have been conducted to identify the important risk factors of malnutrition, none of them assess the role of low birth weight (LBW) despite its high prevalence (36%). This study examines the association between LBW and malnutrition using data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2011 and provides practical guidelines for improving nutritional status of children. Methods Malnutrition in children is measured in terms of their height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age. Children whose Z-scores for either of these indices are below two standard deviations (–2SD) from median of WHO’s reference population are considered as stunted, wasted or underweight, respectively. The association between malnutrition and LBW was investigated by calculating adjusted risk-ratio (RR), which controls for potential confounders such as child’s age and sex, mother’s education and height, length of preceding-birth-interval, access to food, area of residence, household socio-economic status. Adjusted RR was calculated using both Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel approach and multivariable logistic regression models controlling for confounder. Results The prevalence of malnutrition was markedly higher in children with LBW than those with normal birth-weights (stunting: 51% vs 39%; wasting: 25% vs 14% and underweight: 52% vs 33%). While controlling for the known risk factors, children with LBW had significantly increased risk of becoming malnourished compared to their counter part with RR 1.23 (95% CI:1.16–1.30), 1.71 (95% CI:1.53–1.92) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.38–1.56) for stunting, wasting and underweight, respectively. The observed associations were not modified by factors known to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, such as higher education of

Relationship between the time interval from antenatal corticosteroid administration until preterm birth and the occurrence of respiratory morbidity

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Wilms, Femke F.; Vis, Jolande Y.; Pattinaja, Desiree A. P. M.; Kuin, Rosanna A.; Stam, Monique C.; Reuvers, Janine M.; Mol, Ben Willem J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between neonatal respiratory morbidity and the interval between antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) administration and birth. We performed a retrospective cohort study among women who had received ACS and delivered at <34 weeks of gestation. We

Birth spacing, human capital, and the motherhood penalty at midlife in the United States

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Margaret Gough

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Researchers have examined how first-birth timing is related to motherhood wage penalties, but research that examines birth spacing is lacking. Furthermore, little research has examined the persistence of penalties across the life course. Objective: The objective is to estimate the effects of birth spacing on midlife labor market outcomes and assess the extent to which these effects vary by education and age at first birth. Methods: I use data from the United States from the 1979-2010 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and dynamic inverse probability of treatment weighting to estimate the effects of different birth intervals on mothers' midlife cumulative work hours, cumulative earnings, and hourly wages. I examine how education and age at first birth moderate these effects. Results: Women with birth intervals longer than two years but no longer than six years have the smallest penalties for cumulative outcomes; in models interacting the birth interval with age at first birth, postponement of a first birth to at least age 30 appears to be more important for cumulative outcomes than birth spacing. College-educated women benefit more from a longer birth interval than less educated women. Conclusions: Childbearing strategies that result in greater accumulation of human capital provide long-run labor market benefits to mothers, and results suggest that different birth-spacing patterns could play a small role in facilitating this accumulation, as theorized in past literature. Contribution: I contribute to the demographic literature by testing the theory that birth spacing matters for mothers' labor market outcomes and by assessing the effects at midlife rather than immediately following a birth.

Contraceptive use, birth spacing, and child survival in Matlab, Bangladesh

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saha, U.R.; van Soest, A.H.O.

To reduce infant mortality through improved family planning, a better understanding of the factors driving contraceptive use and how this decision affects infant survival is needed. Using dynamic panel-data models of infant deaths, birth intervals, and contraceptive use, this study analyzes the

Keeping it together and falling apart: Women's dynamic experience of birth.

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Hall, Priscilla J; Foster, Jennifer Whitman; Yount, Kathryn M; Jennings, Bonnie Mowinski

2018-03-01

To explore the complexity of women's birth experiences in the context in which they occur and to describe how these influence women's well-being in labor. Qualitative method with a phenomenological approach, following the analysis principles of van Manen. Eight women from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds in Atlanta, Georgia, United States with a recent, healthy birth were interviewed twice about their experience of the labor journey. The first interview was 3-12 weeks post-partum, with the second interview at 10-22 weeks post-partum. The phenomenon of childbirth was a dynamic fluctuating between keeping it together and falling apart. The changes in emotion were created by a sensitive feedback loop between the woman and her environment, the physical space, and interactions with humans present. Four characteristics supported and created this phenomenon: confidence, comfort, agency and connection. Confidence was believing in one's physical ability to birth the baby while at the same time, having the emotional resources to cope with the experience. Comfort was essential to manage pain and difficult emotions. The presence of comfort changed the meaning and experience of pain and increased relaxation. Agency was overtly supported in labor, but compromised by hospital routine and unresponsive caregiver practices, and was diminished by women's vulnerability in labor. When agency was compromised, falling apart increased, and there was a move towards intense negative emotion. In labor, women wanted an authentic human connection, being known as a person. This connection was a mechanism to support the other characteristics of comfort, confidence, and agency. Clinicians need to accommodate the complex, dynamic fluctuations of emotion during birth addressing both the physical and non-physical aspects of the person. Birth care practices and childbirth research need to account for the complexity of birth as a holistic experience, specifically regarding the emotional

Maternal and paternal age, birth order and interpregnancy interval evaluation for cleft lip-palate.

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Martelli, Daniella Reis Barbosa; Cruz, Kaliany Wanessa da; Barros, Letízia Monteiro de; Silveira, Marise Fernandes; Swerts, Mário Sérgio Oliveira; Martelli Júnior, Hercílio

2010-01-01

Cleft lip and palate (CL/P) are the most common congenital craniofacial anomalies. To evaluate environmental risk factors for non-syndromic CL/P in a reference care center in Minas Gerais. we carried out a case-controlled study, assessing 100 children with clefts and 100 children without clinical alterations. The analysis dimensions (age, skin color, gender, fissure classification, maternal and paternal age, birth order and interpregnancy interval), obtained from a questionnaire; and later we build a data base and the analyses were carried out by the SPSS 17.0 software. The results were analyzed with the relative risk for each variable, in order to estimate the odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval, followed by a bivariate and multivariate analysis. among 200 children, 54% were males and 46% were females. As far as skin color is concerned most were brown, white and black, respectively. Cleft palates were the most common fissures found (54%), followed by lip cleft (30%) and palate cleft (16%). although with a limited sample, we noticed an association between maternal age and an increased risk for cleft lip and palate; however, paternal age, pregnancy order and interpregnancy interval were not significant.

Effect of creatine supplementation during the last week of gestation on birth intervals, stillbirth, and preweaning mortality in pigs

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We hypothesized that creatine supplementation would reduce birth intervals, stillbirth rate, and preweaning survival in pigs because of its reported improvement of athletic performance in humans. In Exp. 1, gilts (n = 42) and first parity sows (n = 75) were mated at estrus. Beginning on d 110 of ges...

Parturition in gilts: duration of farrowing, birth intervals and placenta expulsion in relation to maternal, piglet and placental traits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rens, van B.T.T.M.; Lende, van der T.

2004-01-01

Large White×Meishan F2 crossbred gilts (n=57) were observed continuously during farrowing while the placentae of their offspring were labeled in order to examine the duration of farrowing and placenta expulsion in relation to maternal-, piglet- and placental traits and the duration of birth interval

Birth spacing, sibling rivalry and child mortality in India.

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Whitworth, Alison; Stephenson, Rob

2002-12-01

The detrimental impact of short preceding birth intervals on infant and early childhood mortality is well documented in demographic literature, although the pathways of influence within the relationship remain an area of debate. This paper examines the impact of the length of the preceding birth interval on under-two mortality in India, and examines the pathways through which short preceding birth intervals may lead to an increased risk of mortality. Three mortality periods are examined: neonatal, early post neonatal and late post-neonatal and toddler, using the 1992 Indian National Family Health Survey. A multilevel modelling approach is used to account for the hierarchical nature of the data. The determinants of infants following a short or long birth interval are also examined. The results show that short preceding birth intervals (sibling rivalry is a pathway through which short birth intervals influence mortality, with the death of the previous sibling removing the competition for scarce resources, and resulting in lower risks of mortality than if the previous sibling was still alive. The greatest risks of an infant following a short birth interval are among those whose previous sibling died, high parities, those with young mothers, and those whose previous sibling was breastfed for a short duration. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Interpregnancy intervals: impact of postpartum contraceptive effectiveness and coverage.

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Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike; Chang, Richard; Howell, Mike; Darney, Philip

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the use of contraceptive methods, which was defined by effectiveness, length of coverage, and their association with short interpregnancy intervals, when controlling for provider type and client demographics. We identified a cohort of 117,644 women from the 2008 California Birth Statistical Master file with second or higher order birth and at least 1 Medicaid (Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment [Family PACT] program or Medi-Cal) claim within 18 months after index birth. We explored the effect of contraceptive method provision on the odds of having an optimal interpregnancy interval and controlled for covariates. The average length of contraceptive coverage was 3.81 months (SD = 4.84). Most women received user-dependent hormonal contraceptives as their most effective contraceptive method (55%; n = 65,103 women) and one-third (33%; n = 39,090 women) had no contraceptive claim. Women who used long-acting reversible contraceptive methods had 3.89 times the odds and women who used user-dependent hormonal methods had 1.89 times the odds of achieving an optimal birth interval compared with women who used barrier methods only; women with no method had 0.66 times the odds. When user-dependent methods are considered, the odds of having an optimal birth interval increased for each additional month of contraceptive coverage by 8% (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.09). Women who were seen by Family PACT or by both Family PACT and Medi-Cal providers had significantly higher odds of optimal birth intervals compared with women who were served by Medi-Cal only. To achieve optimal birth spacing and ultimately to improve birth outcomes, attention should be given to contraceptive counseling and access to contraceptive methods in the postpartum period. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Analyses of moments in pseudorapidity intervals at √s = 546 GeV by means of two probability distributions in pure-birth process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biyajima, M.; Shirane, K.; Suzuki, N.

1988-01-01

Moments in pseudorapidity intervals at the CERN Sp-barpS collider (√s = 546 GeV) are analyzed by means of two probability distributions in the pure-birth stochastic process. Our results show that a probability distribution obtained from the Poisson distribution as an initial condition is more useful than that obtained from the Kronecker δ function. Analyses of moments by Koba-Nielsen-Olesen scaling functions derived from solutions of the pure-birth stochastic process are also made. Moreover, analyses of preliminary data at √s = 200 and 900 GeV are added

Association of Short Antenatal Corticosteroid Administration-to-Birth Intervals With Survival and Morbidity Among Very Preterm Infants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Norman, Mikael; Piedvache, Aurelie; Børch, Klaus

2017-01-01

of mortality or severe neonatal morbidity, defined as an intraventricular hemorrhage grade of 3 or greater, cystic periventricular leukomalacia, surgical necrotizing enterocolitis, or stage 3 or greater retinopathy of prematurity; and severe neonatal brain injury, defined as an intraventricular hemorrhage...... outcome, whereas a significant risk reduction of severe neonatal brain injury was associated with longer administration-to-birth intervals (greater than 48 hours). For all outcomes, the risk reduction associated with ANS was transient, with increasing mortality and risk for severe neonatal brain injury...

The confluence model: birth order as a within-family or between-family dynamic?

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Zajonc, R B; Sulloway, Frank J

2007-09-01

The confluence model explains birth-order differences in intellectual performance by quantifying the changing dynamics within the family. Wichman, Rodgers, and MacCallum (2006) claimed that these differences are a between-family phenomenon--and hence are not directly related to birth order itself. The study design and analyses presented by Wichman et al. nevertheless suffer from crucial shortcomings, including their use of unfocused tests, which cause statistically significant trends to be overlooked. In addition, Wichman et al. treated birth-order effects as a linear phenomenon thereby ignoring the confluence model's prediction that these two samples may manifest opposing results based on age. This article cites between- and within-family data that demonstrate systematic birth-order effects as predicted by the confluence model. The corpus of evidence invoked here offers strong support for the assumption of the confluence model that birth-order differences in intellectual performance are primarily a within-family phenomenon.

Time from cervical conization to pregnancy and preterm birth.

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Himes, Katherine P; Simhan, Hyagriv N

2007-02-01

To estimate whether the time interval between cervical conization and subsequent pregnancy is associated with risk of preterm birth. Our study is a case control study nested in a retrospective cohort. Women who underwent colposcopic biopsy or conization with loop electrosurgical excision procedure, large loop excision of the transformation zone, or cold knife cone and subsequently delivered at our hospital were identified with electronic databases. Variables considered as possible confounders included maternal race, age, marital status, payor status, years of education, self-reported tobacco use, history of preterm delivery, and dimensions of cone specimen. Conization was not associated with preterm birth or any subtypes of preterm birth. Among women who underwent conization, those with a subsequent preterm birth had a shorter conization-to-pregnancy interval (337 days) than women with a subsequent term birth (581 days) (P=.004). The association between short conization-to-pregnancy interval and preterm birth remained significant when controlling for confounders including race and cone dimensions. The effect of short conization-to-pregnancy interval on subsequent preterm birth was more persistent among African Americans when compared with white women. Women with a short conization-to-pregnancy interval are at increased risk for preterm birth. Women of reproductive age who must have a conization procedure can be counseled that conceiving within 2 to 3 months of the procedure may be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. II.

Birth Spacing of Pregnant Women in Nepal: A Community-Based Study.

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Karkee, Rajendra; Lee, Andy H

2016-01-01

Optimal birth spacing has health advantages for both mother and child. In developing countries, shorter birth intervals are common and associated with social, cultural, and economic factors, as well as a lack of family planning. This study investigated the first birth interval after marriage and preceding interbirth interval in Nepal. A community-based prospective cohort study was conducted in the Kaski district of Nepal. Information on birth spacing, demographic, and obstetric characteristics was obtained from 701 pregnant women using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed to ascertain factors associated with short birth spacing. About 39% of primiparous women gave their first child birth within 1 year of marriage and 23% of multiparous women had short preceding interbirth intervals (gender equality in society.

Maybe Next Month? Temperature Shocks, Climate Change, and Dynamic Adjustments in Birth Rates

OpenAIRE

Barreca, Alan I.; Deschenes, Olivier; Guldi, Melanie

2015-01-01

Dynamic adjustments could be a useful strategy for mitigating the costs of acute environmental shocks when timing is not a strictly binding constraint. To investigate whether such adjustments could apply to fertility, we estimate the effects of temperature shocks on birth rates in the United States between 1931 and 2010. Our innovative approach allows for presumably random variation in the distribution of daily temperatures to affect birth rates up to 24 months into the future. We find that a...

Extracting dynamics from threshold-crossing interspike intervals: Possibilities and limitations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pavlov, A. N.; Sosnovtseva, O. V.; Mosekilde, Erik

2000-01-01

In this paper we estimate dynamical characteristics of chaotic attractors from sequences of threshold-crossing interspike intervals, and study how the choice of the threshold level (which sets the equation of a secant plane) influences the results of the numerical computations. Under quite genera...

Extracting dynamics from threshold-crossing interspike intervals: possibilities and limitations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pavlov, A N; Sosnovtseva, Olga; Mosekilde, Erik

2000-01-01

In this paper we estimate dynamical characteristics of chaotic attractors from sequences of threshold-crossing interspike intervals, and study how the choice of the threshold level (which sets the equation of a secant plane) influences the results of the numerical computations. Under quite genera...

Birth spacing of pregnant women in Nepal: A community-based study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajendra Karkee

2016-09-01

Full Text Available BackgroundOptimal birth spacing has health advantages for both mother and child. In developing countries, shorter birth intervals are common and associated with social, cultural and economic factors, as well as a lack of family planning. This study investigated the first birth interval after marriage and preceding interbirth interval in Nepal.MethodsA community-based prospective cohort study was conducted in the Kaski district of Nepal. Information on birth spacing, demographic and obstetric characteristics was obtained from 701 pregnant women using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed to ascertain factors associated with short birth spacing.ResultsAbout 39% of primiparous women gave their first child birth within one year of marriage and 23% of multiparous women had short preceding interbirth intervals (<24 months. The average birth spacing among the multiparous group was 44.9 (SD 21.8 months. Overall, short birth spacing appeared to be inversely associated with advancing maternal age.For the multiparous group, Janajati and lower caste women, and those whose newborn was female, were more likely to have short birth spacing.ConclusionsThe preceding interbirth interval was relatively long in the Kaski district of Nepal and tended to be associated with maternal age, caste, and sex of newborn infant. Optimal birth spacing programs should target Janajati and lower caste women, along with promotion of gender equality in society.

Birth outcomes of planned home births in Missouri: a population-based study.

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Chang, Jen Jen; Macones, George A

2011-08-01

We evaluated the birth outcomes of planned home births. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Missouri vital records from 1989 to 2005 to compare the risk of newborn seizure and intrapartum fetal death in planned home births attended by physicians/certified nurse midwives (CNMs) or non-CNMs with hospitals/birthing center births. The study sample included singleton pregnancies between 36 and 44 weeks of gestation without major congenital anomalies or breech presentation ( N = 859,873). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of newborn seizures in planned home births attended by non-CNMs was 5.11 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.52, 10.37) compared with deliveries by physicians/CNMs in hospitals/birthing centers. For intrapartum fetal death, aORs were 11.24 (95% CI: 1.43, 88.29), and 20.33 (95% CI: 4.98, 83.07) in planned home births attended by non-CNMs and by physicians/CNMs, respectively, compared with births in hospitals/birthing centers. Planned home births are associated with increased likelihood of adverse birth outcomes. © Thieme Medical Publishers.

Family matters: effects of birth order, culture, and family dynamics on surrogate decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Christopher T; McMahan, Ryan D; Williams, Brie A; Sharma, Rashmi K; Sudore, Rebecca L

2014-01-01

Cultural attitudes about medical decision-making and filial expectations may lead some surrogates to experience stress and family conflict. Thirteen focus groups with racially and ethnically diverse English and Spanish speakers from county and Veterans Affairs hospitals, senior centers, and cancer support groups were conducted to describe participants' experiences making serious or end-of-life decisions for others. Filial expectations and family dynamics related to birth order and surrogate decision-making were explored using qualitative, thematic content analysis, and overarching themes from focus group transcripts were identified. The mean age of the 69 participants was 69 ± 14, and 29% were African American, 26% were white, 26% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 19% were Latino. Seventy percent of participants engaged in unprompted discussions about birth order and family dynamics. Six subthemes were identified within three overarching categories: communication (unspoken expectations and discussion of death as taboo), emotion (emotional stress and feelings of loneliness), and conflict (family conflict and potential solutions to prevent conflict). These findings suggest that birth order and family dynamics can have profound effects on surrogate stress and coping. Clinicians should be aware of potential unspoken filial expectations for firstborns and help facilitate communication between the patient, surrogate, and extended family to reduce stress and conflict. © Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the U.S.A.

Family Matters: Effects of Birth Order, Culture, and Family Dynamics on Surrogate Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Christopher T.; McMahan, Ryan D.; Williams, Brie A.; Sharma, Rashmi K.; Sudore, Rebecca L.

2014-01-01

Cultural attitudes about medical decision making and filial expectations may lead some surrogates to experience stress and family conflict. Thirteen focus groups with racially and ethnically diverse English- and Spanish-speakers from county and Veterans hospitals, senior centers, and cancer support groups were conducted to describe participants’ experiences making serious or end-of-life decisions for others. Filial expectations and family dynamics related to birth order and surrogate decision making were explored using qualitative, thematic content analysis and overarching themes from focus group transcripts were identified. The mean age of the 69 participants was 69 years ± 14 and 29% were African American, 26% were White, 26% were Asian/Pacific Islander, and 19% were Latino. Seventy percent of participants engaged in unprompted discussions about birth order and family dynamics. Six subthemes were identified within 3 overarching categories of communication, emotion, and conflict: Communication – (1) unspoken expectations and (2) discussion of death as taboo; Emotion – (3) emotional stress and (4) feelings of loneliness; and Conflict – (5) family conflict and (6) potential solutions to prevent conflict. These findings suggest that birth order and family dynamics can have profound effects on surrogate stress and coping. Clinicians should be aware of potential unspoken filial expectations for firstborns and help facilitate communication between the patient, surrogate, and extended family to reduce stress and conflict. PMID:24383459

Maternal age at child birth, birth order, and suicide at a young age: a sibling comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Bjørngaard, Johan Håkon; Bjerkeset, Ottar; Vatten, Lars; Janszky, Imre; Gunnell, David; Romundstad, Pål

2013-04-01

Previous studies have reported strong associations between birth order, maternal age, and suicide, but these results might have been confounded by socioeconomic and other factors. To control for such factors, we compared suicide risk between siblings and studied how maternal age at child birth and birth order influenced risk in a cohort study of 1,690,306 Norwegians born in 1967-1996 who were followed up until 2008. Using stratified Cox regression, we compared suicide risk within families with 2 or more children in which one died from suicide. Altogether, 3,005 suicides occurred over a mean follow-up period of 15 years; 2,458 of these suicides occurred among 6,741 siblings within families of 2 or more siblings. Among siblings, a higher position in the birth order was positively associated with risk; each increase in birth order was associated with a 46% (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.29, 1.66) higher risk of suicide. For each 10-year increase in maternal age at child birth, the offspring's suicide risk was reduced by 57% (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.43, 95% confidence interval: 0.30, 0.62). Our study suggests that confounding due to familial factors is not likely to explain the associations of birth order and maternal age at child birth with suicide risk.

The Interval-Valued Triangular Fuzzy Soft Set and Its Method of Dynamic Decision Making

OpenAIRE

Xiaoguo Chen; Hong Du; Yue Yang

2014-01-01

A concept of interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set is presented, and some operations of “AND,” “OR,” intersection, union and complement, and so forth are defined. Then some relative properties are discussed and several conclusions are drawn. A dynamic decision making model is built based on the definition of interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set, in which period weight is determined by the exponential decay method. The arithmetic weighted average operator of interval-valued triangular...

Dynamic detection-rate-based bit allocation with genuine interval concealment for binary biometric representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Meng-Hui; Teoh, Andrew Beng Jin; Toh, Kar-Ann

2013-06-01

Biometric discretization is a key component in biometric cryptographic key generation. It converts an extracted biometric feature vector into a binary string via typical steps such as segmentation of each feature element into a number of labeled intervals, mapping of each interval-captured feature element onto a binary space, and concatenation of the resulted binary output of all feature elements into a binary string. Currently, the detection rate optimized bit allocation (DROBA) scheme is one of the most effective biometric discretization schemes in terms of its capability to assign binary bits dynamically to user-specific features with respect to their discriminability. However, we learn that DROBA suffers from potential discriminative feature misdetection and underdiscretization in its bit allocation process. This paper highlights such drawbacks and improves upon DROBA based on a novel two-stage algorithm: 1) a dynamic search method to efficiently recapture such misdetected features and to optimize the bit allocation of underdiscretized features and 2) a genuine interval concealment technique to alleviate crucial information leakage resulted from the dynamic search. Improvements in classification accuracy on two popular face data sets vindicate the feasibility of our approach compared with DROBA.

Early Parturition: Is Young Maternal Age at First Birth Associated with Obesity?

Science.gov (United States)

Patchen, Loral; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie; Astone, Nan M

2017-10-01

Examine the association of age at first birth with body mass index (BMI), and explore the role of young maternal age and subsequent obesity. This study analyzed data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative longitudinal study of US families. Analyses were conducted using a mixed effects longitudinal linear regression with a random intercept to examine the effect of aging, age at first birth, and minority status using nested data. Study criteria yielded a final sample of 146 women with 707 observations. BMI. Age at first birth exhibited a significant association with BMI. The association of age at first birth with BMI was greatest for women age 21 and younger. Overall, women who experienced their first birth at age 21 or younger had a BMI 5 units greater than women who delayed childbearing until at least age 30 (point estimate, 5.02; P = .02; 95% confidence interval, 0.65-9.40). Young maternal age at first birth might be associated with increased BMI. Minority women also experience their first birth at younger ages compared with white women, suggesting possible linkages between the timing of reproductive events and obesity disparities. Copyright © 2016 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Power cables thermal protection by interval simulation of imprecise dynamical systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bontempi, G. [Universite Libre de Brussels (Belgium). Dept. d' Informatique; Vaccaro, A.; Villacci, D. [Universita del Sannio Benevento (Italy). Dept. of Engineering

2004-11-01

The embedding of advanced simulation techniques in power cables enables improved thermal protection because of higher accuracy, adaptiveness and. flexibility. In particular, they make possible (i) the accurate solution of differential equations describing the cables thermal dynamics and (ii) the adoption of the resulting solution in the accomplishment of dedicated protective functions. However, the use of model-based protective systems is exposed to the uncertainty affecting some model components (e.g. weather along the line route, thermophysical properties of the soil, cable parameters). When uncertainty can be described in terms of probability distribution, well-known techniques, such as Monte Carlo, are used to simulate the system behaviour. On the other hand, when the description of uncertainty in probabilistic terms is unfeasible or problematic, nonprobabilistic alternatives should be taken into consideration. This paper will discuss and compare three interval-based techniques as alternatives to probabilistic methods in the simulation of power cable dynamics. The experimental session will assess the interval-based approaches by simulating the thermal behaviour of medium voltage power cables.(author)

The effect of parity, birth weight babies, pregnancy interval and a history of hemorrhage with the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage (Case Study in the RSUD Ngudi Waluyo Wlingi Blitar on 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izfa Rifdiani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the problems was the cause of maternal deaths in Indonesia. The maternal mortality rate is one indicator for the degree of health specially of a woman. Postpartum hemorrhage is bleeding or blood loss of 500 cc or more that occurred after the child is born. The research objective was to analyze the effect of parity, birth weight babies, pregnancy interval and a history of postpartum hemorrhage in the mother after giving birth to the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage in Ngudi Waluyo Hospital Wlingi Blitar 2014. This study used a case-control design. The populations in this study are all mothers who gave birth in Ngudi Waluyo Hospital Wlingi Blitar 2014. The sampling technique was simple random sampling. The results were obtained no effect of parity on the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage (OR=0,810, CI 95% 0,329birth weight babies on the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage (OR=0,651, CI 95% 0,104interval on the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage (OR = 17.953, 95% CI 3.550 birth to not be pregnant again during the next 2 years, and then advise the mother to join the family planning program in order to distance the pregnancy can be arranged. Examination of the precision of pregnant women visit each semester will make health care workers, pregnant women and families more aware of the possibility of postpartum hemorrhage after childbirth. Key words: parity, birth weight babies, pregnancy interval, a history of postpartum hemorrhage, the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage

The dynamics of female time allocation upon a first birth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belzil, Christian

1997-01-01

both home an labor market productivities. Overall, the model is able to explain the relatively large fraction of women who do not experience career interruptions, the rapidly declining re-employment hazards and the weak effect of education on the duration of non-employment (hometime) spells.......I estimate a non-stationary dynamic programming model of time allocation decisions between full-time work, child care and search activities upon a first birth using recursive methods. The model incorporates the following sequence of decisions; whether to stop working or not (for those who work...

A Dynamic Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets Applied to Pattern Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenhua Zhang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present dynamic interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (DIVIFS, which can improve the recognition accuracy when they are applied to pattern recognition. By analyzing the degree of hesitancy, we propose some DIVIFS models from intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFS and interval-valued IFS (IVIFS. And then we present a novel ranking condition on the distance of IFS and IVIFS and introduce some distance measures of DIVIFS satisfying the ranking condition. Finally, a pattern recognition example applied to medical diagnosis decision making is given to demonstrate the application of DIVIFS and its distances. The simulation results show that the DIVIFS method is more comprehensive and flexible than the IFS method and the IVIFS method.

Inter-pregnancy interval and pregnancy outcomes among HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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Abstract Background: Both short and long inter-pregnancy intervals have been associated with higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. More so, short inter- pregnancy interval among HIV- positive women implies higher birth rate and subsequently a higher number of neonates exposed to HIV and potentially at.

Birth spacing and fertility limitation: a behavioral analysis of a nineteenth century frontier population.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderton, D L; Bean, L L

1985-05-01

Our analysis of changing birth interval distributions over the course of a fertility transition from natural to controlled fertility has examined three closely related propositions. First, within both natural fertility populations (identified at the aggregate level) and cohorts following the onset of fertility limitation, we hypothesized that substantial groups of women with long birth intervals across the individually specified childbearing careers could be identified. That is, even during periods when fertility behavior at the aggregate level is consistent with a natural fertility regime, birth intervals at all parities are inversely related to completed family size. Our tabular analysis enables us to conclude that birth spacing patterns are parity dependent; there is stability in CEB-parity specific mean and birth interval variance over the entire transition. Our evidence does not suggest that the early group of women limiting and spacing births was marked by infecundity. Secondly, the transition appears to be associated with an increasingly larger proportion of women shifting to the same spacing schedules associated with smaller families in earlier cohorts. Thirdly, variations in birth spacing by age of marriage indicate that changes in birth intervals over time are at least indirectly associated with age of marriage, indicating an additional compositional effect. The evidence we have presented on spacing behavior does not negate the argument that parity-dependent stopping behavior was a powerful factor in the fertility transition. Our data also provide evidence of attempts to truncate childbearing. Specifically, the smaller the completed family size, the longer the ultimate birth interval; and ultimate birth intervals increase across cohorts controlling CEB and parity. But spacing appears to represent an additional strategy of fertility limitation. Thus, it may be necessary to distinguish spacing and stopping behavior if one wishes to clarify behavioral

Cardiac parasympathetic outflow during dynamic exercise in humans estimated from power spectral analysis of P-P interval variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Makoto; Nakamoto, Tomoko; Matsukawa, Kanji; Ishii, Kei; Watanabe, Tae; Sekikawa, Kiyokazu; Hamada, Hironobu

2016-03-01

What is the central question of this study? Should we use the high-frequency (HF) component of P-P interval as an index of cardiac parasympathetic nerve activity during moderate exercise? What is the main finding and its importance? The HF component of P-P interval variability remained even at a heart rate of 120-140 beats min(-1) and was further reduced by atropine, indicating incomplete cardiac vagal withdrawal during moderate exercise. The HF component of R-R interval is invalid as an estimate of cardiac parasympathetic outflow during moderate exercise; instead, the HF component of P-P interval variability should be used. The high-frequency (HF) component of R-R interval variability has been widely used as an indirect estimate of cardiac parasympathetic (vagal) outflow to the sino-atrial node of the heart. However, we have recently found that the variability of the R-R interval becomes much smaller during dynamic exercise than that of the P-P interval above a heart rate (HR) of ∼100 beats min(-1). We hypothesized that cardiac parasympathetic outflow during dynamic exercise with a higher intensity may be better estimated using the HF component of P-P interval variability. To test this hypothesis, the HF components of both P-P and R-R interval variability were analysed using a Wavelet transform during dynamic exercise. Twelve subjects performed ergometer exercise to increase HR from the baseline of 69 ± 3 beats min(-1) to three different levels of 100, 120 and 140 beats min(-1). We also examined the effect of atropine sulfate on the HF components in eight of the 12 subjects during exercise at an HR of 140 beats min(-1) . The HF component of P-P interval variability was significantly greater than that of R-R interval variability during exercise, especially at the HRs of 120 and 140 beats min(-1). The HF component of P-P interval variability was more reduced by atropine than that of R-R interval variability. We conclude that cardiac parasympathetic outflow to the

Maternal and newborn outcomes in planned home birth vs planned hospital births: a metaanalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wax, Joseph R; Lucas, F Lee; Lamont, Maryanne; Pinette, Michael G; Cartin, Angelina; Blackstone, Jacquelyn

2010-09-01

We sought to systematically review the medical literature on the maternal and newborn safety of planned home vs planned hospital birth. We included English-language peer-reviewed publications from developed Western nations reporting maternal and newborn outcomes by planned delivery location. Outcomes' summary odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Planned home births were associated with fewer maternal interventions including epidural analgesia, electronic fetal heart rate monitoring, episiotomy, and operative delivery. These women were less likely to experience lacerations, hemorrhage, and infections. Neonatal outcomes of planned home births revealed less frequent prematurity, low birthweight, and assisted newborn ventilation. Although planned home and hospital births exhibited similar perinatal mortality rates, planned home births were associated with significantly elevated neonatal mortality rates. Less medical intervention during planned home birth is associated with a tripling of the neonatal mortality rate. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cardiac interbeat interval dynamics from childhood to senescence : comparison of conventional and new measures based on fractals and chaos theory

Science.gov (United States)

Pikkujamsa, S. M.; Makikallio, T. H.; Sourander, L. B.; Raiha, I. J.; Puukka, P.; Skytta, J.; Peng, C. K.; Goldberger, A. L.; Huikuri, H. V.

1999-01-01

BACKGROUND: New methods of R-R interval variability based on fractal scaling and nonlinear dynamics ("chaos theory") may give new insights into heart rate dynamics. The aims of this study were to (1) systematically characterize and quantify the effects of aging from early childhood to advanced age on 24-hour heart rate dynamics in healthy subjects; (2) compare age-related changes in conventional time- and frequency-domain measures with changes in newly derived measures based on fractal scaling and complexity (chaos) theory; and (3) further test the hypothesis that there is loss of complexity and altered fractal scaling of heart rate dynamics with advanced age. METHODS AND RESULTS: The relationship between age and cardiac interbeat (R-R) interval dynamics from childhood to senescence was studied in 114 healthy subjects (age range, 1 to 82 years) by measurement of the slope, beta, of the power-law regression line (log power-log frequency) of R-R interval variability (10(-4) to 10(-2) Hz), approximate entropy (ApEn), short-term (alpha(1)) and intermediate-term (alpha(2)) fractal scaling exponents obtained by detrended fluctuation analysis, and traditional time- and frequency-domain measures from 24-hour ECG recordings. Compared with young adults (60 years, n=29). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac interbeat interval dynamics change markedly from childhood to old age in healthy subjects. Children show complexity and fractal correlation properties of R-R interval time series comparable to those of young adults, despite lower overall heart rate variability. Healthy aging is associated with R-R interval dynamics showing higher regularity and altered fractal scaling consistent with a loss of complex variability.

Comparison of Controller and Flight Deck Algorithm Performance During Interval Management with Dynamic Arrival Trees (STARS)

Science.gov (United States)

Battiste, Vernol; Lawton, George; Lachter, Joel; Brandt, Summer; Koteskey, Robert; Dao, Arik-Quang; Kraut, Josh; Ligda, Sarah; Johnson, Walter W.

2012-01-01

Managing the interval between arrival aircraft is a major part of the en route and TRACON controller s job. In an effort to reduce controller workload and low altitude vectoring, algorithms have been developed to allow pilots to take responsibility for, achieve and maintain proper spacing. Additionally, algorithms have been developed to create dynamic weather-free arrival routes in the presence of convective weather. In a recent study we examined an algorithm to handle dynamic re-routing in the presence of convective weather and two distinct spacing algorithms. The spacing algorithms originated from different core algorithms; both were enhanced with trajectory intent data for the study. These two algorithms were used simultaneously in a human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation where pilots performed weather-impacted arrival operations into Louisville International Airport while also performing interval management (IM) on some trials. The controllers retained responsibility for separation and for managing the en route airspace and some trials managing IM. The goal was a stress test of dynamic arrival algorithms with ground and airborne spacing concepts. The flight deck spacing algorithms or controller managed spacing not only had to be robust to the dynamic nature of aircraft re-routing around weather but also had to be compatible with two alternative algorithms for achieving the spacing goal. Flight deck interval management spacing in this simulation provided a clear reduction in controller workload relative to when controllers were responsible for spacing the aircraft. At the same time, spacing was much less variable with the flight deck automated spacing. Even though the approaches taken by the two spacing algorithms to achieve the interval management goals were slightly different they seem to be simpatico in achieving the interval management goal of 130 sec by the TRACON boundary.

Reproductive and Birth Outcomes in Haiti Before and After the 2010 Earthquake.

Science.gov (United States)

Harville, Emily W; Do, Mai

2016-02-01

We aimed to examine the relationship between exposure to the 2010 Haiti earthquake and pregnancy wantedness, interpregnancy interval, and birth weight. From the nationally representative Haiti 2012 Demographic and Health Survey, information on "size of child at birth" (too small or not) was available for 7280 singleton births in the previous 5 years, whereas information on birth weight was available for 1607 births. Pregnancy wantedness, short (earthquake and by level of damage. Multiple logistic regression and linear regression analyses were conducted. Post-earthquake births were less likely to be wanted and more likely to be born after a short interpregnancy interval. Earthquake exposure was associated with increased likelihood of a child being born too small: timing of birth (after earthquake vs. before earthquake, adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-1.45), region (hardest-hit vs. rest of country; aOR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.14- 1.80), and house damage (aOR: 1.27 95% CI: 1.02-1.58). Mean birth weight was 150 to 300 g lower in those exposed to the earthquake. Experience with the earthquake was associated with worse reproductive and birth outcomes, which underscores the need to provide reproductive health services as part of relief efforts.

Interpregnancy interval and risk of autistic disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnes, Nina; Surén, Pål; Bresnahan, Michaeline; Hornig, Mady; Lie, Kari Kveim; Lipkin, W Ian; Magnus, Per; Nilsen, Roy Miodini; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Schjølberg, Synnve; Susser, Ezra Saul; Øyen, Anne-Siri; Stoltenberg, Camilla

2013-11-01

A recent California study reported increased risk of autistic disorder in children conceived within a year after the birth of a sibling. We assessed the association between interpregnancy interval and risk of autistic disorder using nationwide registry data on pairs of singleton full siblings born in Norway. We defined interpregnancy interval as the time from birth of the first-born child to conception of the second-born child in a sibship. The outcome of interest was autistic disorder in the second-born child. Analyses were restricted to sibships in which the second-born child was born in 1990-2004. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by fitting ordinary logistic models and logistic generalized additive models. The study sample included 223,476 singleton full-sibling pairs. In sibships with interpregnancy intervals autistic disorder, compared with 0.13% in the reference category (≥ 36 months). For interpregnancy intervals shorter than 9 months, the adjusted OR of autistic disorder in the second-born child was 2.18 (95% confidence interval 1.42-3.26). The risk of autistic disorder in the second-born child was also increased for interpregnancy intervals of 9-11 months in the adjusted analysis (OR = 1.71 [95% CI = 1.07-2.64]). Consistent with a previous report from California, interpregnancy intervals shorter than 1 year were associated with increased risk of autistic disorder in the second-born child. A possible explanation is depletion of micronutrients in mothers with closely spaced pregnancies.

Inter-pregnancy interval and pregnancy outcomes among HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Both short and long inter-pregnancy intervals have been associated with higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. More so, short interpregnancy interval among HIVpositive women implies higher birth rate and subsequently a higher number of neonates exposed to HIV and potentially at r i s k o f mo t h e r ...

Parameter identification for structural dynamics based on interval analysis algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chen; Lu, Zixing; Yang, Zhenyu; Liang, Ke

2018-04-01

A parameter identification method using interval analysis algorithm for structural dynamics is presented in this paper. The proposed uncertain identification method is investigated by using central difference method and ARMA system. With the help of the fixed memory least square method and matrix inverse lemma, a set-membership identification technology is applied to obtain the best estimation of the identified parameters in a tight and accurate region. To overcome the lack of insufficient statistical description of the uncertain parameters, this paper treats uncertainties as non-probabilistic intervals. As long as we know the bounds of uncertainties, this algorithm can obtain not only the center estimations of parameters, but also the bounds of errors. To improve the efficiency of the proposed method, a time-saving algorithm is presented by recursive formula. At last, to verify the accuracy of the proposed method, two numerical examples are applied and evaluated by three identification criteria respectively.

A modified hybrid uncertain analysis method for dynamic response field of the LSOAAC with random and interval parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Zi, Bin; Zhou, Bin

2016-07-01

For the prediction of dynamic response field of the luffing system of an automobile crane (LSOAAC) with random and interval parameters, a hybrid uncertain model is introduced. In the hybrid uncertain model, the parameters with certain probability distribution are modeled as random variables, whereas, the parameters with lower and upper bounds are modeled as interval variables instead of given precise values. Based on the hybrid uncertain model, the hybrid uncertain dynamic response equilibrium equation, in which different random and interval parameters are simultaneously included in input and output terms, is constructed. Then a modified hybrid uncertain analysis method (MHUAM) is proposed. In the MHUAM, based on random interval perturbation method, the first-order Taylor series expansion and the first-order Neumann series, the dynamic response expression of the LSOAAC is developed. Moreover, the mathematical characteristics of extrema of bounds of dynamic response are determined by random interval moment method and monotonic analysis technique. Compared with the hybrid Monte Carlo method (HMCM) and interval perturbation method (IPM), numerical results show the feasibility and efficiency of the MHUAM for solving the hybrid LSOAAC problems. The effects of different uncertain models and parameters on the LSOAAC response field are also investigated deeply, and numerical results indicate that the impact made by the randomness in the thrust of the luffing cylinder F is larger than that made by the gravity of the weight in suspension Q . In addition, the impact made by the uncertainty in the displacement between the lower end of the lifting arm and the luffing cylinder a is larger than that made by the length of the lifting arm L .

Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation with Effective Utilization of Polling Interval over WDM/TDM PON

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Cuiping; Gan, Chaoqin; Gao, Ziyue

2014-12-01

WDM/TDM (wavelength-division multiplexing/time-division multiplexing) PON (passive optical network) appears to be an attractive solution for the next generation optical access networks. Dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) plays a crucial role in efficiently and fairly allocating the bandwidth among all users in WDM/TDM PON. In this paper, two dynamic bandwidth allocation schemes (DBA1 and DBA2) are proposed to eliminate the idle time of polling cycles (i.e. polling interval), improve bandwidth utilization and make full use of bandwidth resources. The two DBA schemes adjust the time slot of sending request information and make fair scheduling among users to achieve the effective utilization of polling interval in WDM/TDM PON. The simulation and theoretical analyses verify that the proposed schemes outperform the conventional DBA scheme. We also make comparisons between the two schemes in terms of bandwidth utilization and average packet delay to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the scheme of DBA2.

The Interval-Valued Triangular Fuzzy Soft Set and Its Method of Dynamic Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoguo Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A concept of interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set is presented, and some operations of “AND,” “OR,” intersection, union and complement, and so forth are defined. Then some relative properties are discussed and several conclusions are drawn. A dynamic decision making model is built based on the definition of interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set, in which period weight is determined by the exponential decay method. The arithmetic weighted average operator of interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set is given by the aggregating thought, thereby aggregating interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft sets of different time-series into a collective interval-valued triangular fuzzy soft set. The formulas of selection and decision values of different objects are given; therefore the optimal decision making is achieved according to the decision values. Finally, the steps of this method are concluded, and one example is given to explain the application of the method.

Associations between maternal periconceptional exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke and major birth defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyt, Adrienne T; Canfield, Mark A; Romitti, Paul A; Botto, Lorenzo D; Anderka, Marlene T; Krikov, Sergey V; Tarpey, Morgan K; Feldkamp, Marcia L

2016-11-01

While associations between secondhand smoke and a few birth defects (namely, oral clefts and neural tube defects) have been noted in the scientific literature, to our knowledge, there is no single or comprehensive source of population-based information on its associations with a range of birth defects among nonsmoking mothers. We utilized data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a large population-based multisite case-control study, to examine associations between maternal reports of periconceptional exposure to secondhand smoke in the household or workplace/school and major birth defects. The multisite National Birth Defects Prevention Study is the largest case-control study of birth defects to date in the United States. We selected cases from birth defect groups having >100 total cases, as well as all nonmalformed controls (10,200), from delivery years 1997 through 2009; 44 birth defects were examined. After excluding cases and controls from multiple births and whose mothers reported active smoking or pregestational diabetes, we analyzed data on periconceptional secondhand smoke exposure-encompassing the period 1 month prior to conception through the first trimester. For the birth defect craniosynostosis, we additionally examined the effect of exposure in the second and third trimesters as well due to the potential sensitivity to teratogens for this defect throughout pregnancy. Covariates included in all final models of birth defects with ≥5 exposed mothers were study site, previous live births, time between estimated date of delivery and interview date, maternal age at estimated date of delivery, race/ethnicity, education, body mass index, nativity, household income divided by number of people supported by this income, periconceptional alcohol consumption, and folic acid supplementation. For each birth defect examined, we used logistic regression analyses to estimate both crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for both

Interval stability for complex systems

Science.gov (United States)

Klinshov, Vladimir V.; Kirillov, Sergey; Kurths, Jürgen; Nekorkin, Vladimir I.

2018-04-01

Stability of dynamical systems against strong perturbations is an important problem of nonlinear dynamics relevant to many applications in various areas. Here, we develop a novel concept of interval stability, referring to the behavior of the perturbed system during a finite time interval. Based on this concept, we suggest new measures of stability, namely interval basin stability (IBS) and interval stability threshold (IST). IBS characterizes the likelihood that the perturbed system returns to the stable regime (attractor) in a given time. IST provides the minimal magnitude of the perturbation capable to disrupt the stable regime for a given interval of time. The suggested measures provide important information about the system susceptibility to external perturbations which may be useful for practical applications. Moreover, from a theoretical viewpoint the interval stability measures are shown to bridge the gap between linear and asymptotic stability. We also suggest numerical algorithms for quantification of the interval stability characteristics and demonstrate their potential for several dynamical systems of various nature, such as power grids and neural networks.

Hierarchical classification of dynamically varying radar pulse repetition interval modulation patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Martikainen, Kalle; Ruotsalainen, Ulla

2010-12-01

The central purpose of passive signal intercept receivers is to perform automatic categorization of unknown radar signals. Currently, there is an urgent need to develop intelligent classification algorithms for these devices due to emerging complexity of radar waveforms. Especially multifunction radars (MFRs) capable of performing several simultaneous tasks by utilizing complex, dynamically varying scheduled waveforms are a major challenge for automatic pattern classification systems. To assist recognition of complex radar emissions in modern intercept receivers, we have developed a novel method to recognize dynamically varying pulse repetition interval (PRI) modulation patterns emitted by MFRs. We use robust feature extraction and classifier design techniques to assist recognition in unpredictable real-world signal environments. We classify received pulse trains hierarchically which allows unambiguous detection of the subpatterns using a sliding window. Accuracy, robustness and reliability of the technique are demonstrated with extensive simulations using both static and dynamically varying PRI modulation patterns. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Periodontal treatment during pregnancy and birth outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomised trials.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Ajesh; Shamim, Simin; Johnson, Maree; Ajwani, Shilpi; Bhole, Sameer; Blinkhorn, Anthony; Ellis, Sharon; Andrews, Karen

2011-06-01

The objective of this review was to conduct a meta-analysis of all up-to-date randomised control trials to determine whether periodontal treatment during pregnancy has the potential of reducing preterm birth and low birth weight incidence. Bibliographic databases MEDLINE (1966-present), EMBASE (1980-present), CINAHL (1982-present) and the Cochrane library up to and including 2010 Issue 10 were searched. The reference list of included studies and reviews were also searched for additional literature. Eligible studies were, published and ongoing randomised control trials that compared pregnancy outcomes for pregnant women who received periodontal treatment during the prenatal period. Two of the investigators independently assessed the studies and then extracted and summarised data from eligible trials. Extracted data were entered into Review Manager software and analysed. A total of 5645 pregnant women participated in the 10 eligible trials. Meta-analysis found that periodontal treatment significantly lowered preterm birth (odd ratio 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.45-0.93; P = 0.02) and low birth weight (odd ratio 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.92; P = 0.02) rates while no significant difference was found for spontaneous abortion/stillbirth (odd ratio 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.43-1.16; P = 0.17). Moderate heterogeneity was observed among the studies for preterm birth and low birth weight. Subgroup analysis showed significant effect of periodontal treatment in pregnant women with low rate of previous preterm birth/low birth weight (odd ratio 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 017-0.70; P = 0.003) and less severe periodontal disease (odd ratio 0.49; confidence interval, 028-0.87; P = 0.01) as defined by probing depth. The cumulative evidence suggests that periodontal treatment during pregnancy may reduce preterm birth and low birth weight incidence. However, these findings need to be further validated through larger more targeted randomised control trials. �

Improving the quality of extracting dynamics from interspike intervals via a resampling approach

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlova, O. N.; Pavlov, A. N.

2018-04-01

We address the problem of improving the quality of characterizing chaotic dynamics based on point processes produced by different types of neuron models. Despite the presence of embedding theorems for non-uniformly sampled dynamical systems, the case of short data analysis requires additional attention because the selection of algorithmic parameters may have an essential influence on estimated measures. We consider how the preliminary processing of interspike intervals (ISIs) can increase the precision of computing the largest Lyapunov exponent (LE). We report general features of characterizing chaotic dynamics from point processes and show that independently of the selected mechanism for spike generation, the performed preprocessing reduces computation errors when dealing with a limited amount of data.

Preterm Birth: An Overview of Risk Factors and Obstetrical Management

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Amanda; Graham, Ernest

2010-01-01

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and a major public health concern. Risk factors for preterm birth include a history of preterm birth, short cervix, infection, short interpregnancy interval, smoking, and African-American race. The use of progesterone therapy to treat mothers at risk for preterm delivery is becoming more…

Selected perinatal outcomes associated with planned home births in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Yvonne W; Snowden, Jonathan M; King, Tekoa L; Caughey, Aaron B

2013-10-01

More women are planning home birth in the United States, although safety remains unclear. We examined outcomes that were associated with planned home compared with hospital births. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of term singleton live births in 2008 in the United States. Deliveries were categorized by location: hospitals or intended home births. Neonatal outcomes were compared with the use of the χ(2) test and multivariable logistic regression. There were 2,081,753 births that met the study criteria. Of these, 12,039 births (0.58%) were planned home births. More planned home births had 5-minute Apgar score births (0.24%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-2.58) and neonatal seizure (0.06% vs 0.02%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 3.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-6.58). Women with planned home birth had fewer interventions, including operative vaginal delivery and labor induction/augmentation. Planned home births were associated with increased neonatal complications but fewer obstetric interventions. The trade-off between maternal preferences and neonatal outcomes should be weighed thoughtfully. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cesarean Outcomes in US Birth Centers and Collaborating Hospitals: A Cohort Comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Patrick; McFarlin, Barbara L; Park, Chang; Rankin, Kristin; Schorn, Mavis; Finnegan, Lorna; Stapleton, Susan

2017-01-01

High rates of cesarean birth are a significant health care quality issue, and birth centers have shown potential to reduce rates of cesarean birth. Measuring this potential is complicated by lack of randomized trials and limited observational comparisons. Cesarean rates vary by provider type, setting, and clinical and nonclinical characteristics of women, but our understanding of these dynamics is incomplete. We sought to isolate labor setting from other risk factors in order to assess the effect of birth centers on the odds of cesarean birth. We generated low-risk cohorts admitted in labor to hospitals (n = 2527) and birth centers (n = 8776) using secondary data obtained from the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC). All women received prenatal care in the birth center and midwifery care in labor, but some chose hospital admission for labor. Analysis was intent to treat according to site of admission in spontaneous labor. We used propensity score adjustment and multivariable logistic regression to control for cohort differences and measured effect sizes associated with setting. There was a 37% (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50-0.79) to 38% (adjusted OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.49-0.79) decreased odds of cesarean in the birth center cohort and a remarkably low overall cesarean rate of less than 5% in both cohorts. These findings suggest that low rates of cesarean in birth centers are not attributable to labor setting alone. The entire birth center care model, including prenatal preparation and relationship-based midwifery care, should be studied, promoted, and implemented by policy makers interested in achieving appropriate cesarean rates in the United States. © 2016 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Trends in low birth weight: a comparison of two birth cohorts separated by a 15-year interval in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

OpenAIRE

Silva, A. A.; Barbieri, M. A.; Gomes, U. A.; Bettiol, H.

1998-01-01

The incidence and some determinants of low birth weight (LBW) were studied in two population-based cohorts of singletons born live to families in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. The first cohort comprised infants born between June 1978 and May 1979 (6750 births--population survey) and the second, infants born between May and August 1994 (2990 births--sample survey). The incidence of LBW was 7.2% in 1978-79 and 10.6% in 1994. After adjustment for confounding factors, the following det...

Sonographic cervical length, vaginal bleeding, and the risk of preterm birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramaeker, Devon M; Simhan, Hyagriv N

2012-03-01

We sought to evaluate the contributions of vaginal bleeding and cervical length to the risk of preterm birth. This was a secondary analysis of a cohort study designed to study predictors of preterm birth. The study included 2988 women with singleton gestations. Women underwent midtrimester transvaginal ultrasound assessment of cervical length and were queried regarding first- and second-trimester vaginal bleeding. There was a significant second-order relation between cervical length and preterm birth (P birth (odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-2.0). There was a significant interaction between cervical length and vaginal bleeding (P = .015). After accounting for cervical length and interaction, the adjusted odds ratio for vaginal bleeding and preterm birth was 4.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.89-12.4; P = .001). The magnitude of risk of preterm birth associated with sonographic cervical length depends on a woman's history of first- and second-trimester vaginal bleeding. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamical zeta functions for piecewise monotone maps of the interval

CERN Document Server

Ruelle, David

2004-01-01

Consider a space M, a map f:M\\to M, and a function g:M \\to {\\mathbb C}. The formal power series \\zeta (z) = \\exp \\sum ^\\infty _{m=1} \\frac {z^m}{m} \\sum _{x \\in \\mathrm {Fix}\\,f^m} \\prod ^{m-1}_{k=0} g (f^kx) yields an example of a dynamical zeta function. Such functions have unexpected analytic properties and interesting relations to the theory of dynamical systems, statistical mechanics, and the spectral theory of certain operators (transfer operators). The first part of this monograph presents a general introduction to this subject. The second part is a detailed study of the zeta functions associated with piecewise monotone maps of the interval [0,1]. In particular, Ruelle gives a proof of a generalized form of the Baladi-Keller theorem relating the poles of \\zeta (z) and the eigenvalues of the transfer operator. He also proves a theorem expressing the largest eigenvalue of the transfer operator in terms of the ergodic properties of (M,f,g).

Associations of Birth Order with Early Adolescent Growth, Pubertal Onset, Blood Pressure and Size: Evidence from Hong Kong?s ?Children of 1997? Birth Cohort

OpenAIRE

Kwok, Man Ki; Leung, Gabriel M.; Schooling, C. Mary

2016-01-01

Background Birth order has been proposed as a cardiovascular risk factor, because the lower birth weight and greater infant weight gain typical of firstborns could programme metabolism detrimentally. Methods We examined the associations of birth order (firstborn or laterborn) with birth weight-for-gestational age, length/height and body mass index (BMI) z-scores during infancy, childhood, and puberty using generalized estimating equations, with age at pubertal onset using interval-censored re...

Dynamic reliability assessment and prediction for repairable systems with interval-censored data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Yizhen; Wang, Yu; Zi, YanYang; Tsui, Kwok-Leung; Zhang, Chuhua

2017-01-01

The ‘Test, Analyze and Fix’ process is widely applied to improve the reliability of a repairable system. In this process, dynamic reliability assessment for the system has been paid a great deal of attention. Due to instrument malfunctions, staff omissions and imperfect inspection strategies, field reliability data are often subject to interval censoring, making dynamic reliability assessment become a difficult task. Most traditional methods assume this kind of data as multiple normal distributed variables or the missing mechanism as missing at random, which may cause a large bias in parameter estimation. This paper proposes a novel method to evaluate and predict the dynamic reliability of a repairable system subject to interval-censored problem. First, a multiple imputation strategy based on the assumption that the reliability growth trend follows a nonhomogeneous Poisson process is developed to derive the distributions of missing data. Second, a new order statistic model that can transfer the dependent variables into independent variables is developed to simplify the imputation procedure. The unknown parameters of the model are iteratively inferred by the Monte Carlo expectation maximization (MCEM) algorithm. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a simulation and a real case study for gas pipeline compressor system are implemented. - Highlights: • A new multiple imputation strategy was developed to derive the PDF of missing data. • A new order statistic model was developed to simplify the imputation procedure. • The parameters of the order statistic model were iteratively inferred by MCEM. • A real cases study was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Birth order and postpartum psychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Munk-Olsen, Trine; Jones, Ian; Laursen, Thomas Munk

2014-05-01

Primiparity is a well-established and significant risk factor for postpartum psychosis and especially bipolar affective disorders. However, no studies have, to our knowledge, quantified the risk of psychiatric disorders after the first, second, or subsequent births. The overall aim of the present study was to study the risk of first-time psychiatric episodes requiring inpatient treatment after the birth of the first, second, or third child. A cohort comprising 750,127 women was defined using information from Danish population registries. Women were followed individually from the date of birth of their first, second, or third child through the following 12 months over the period 1970-2011. The outcome of interest was defined as first-time admissions to a psychiatric hospital with any type of psychiatric disorder. Women who had a first psychiatric episode which required inpatient treatment after their first (n = 1,327), second (n = 735), or third (n = 238) delivery were included. The highest risk was found in primiparous mothers 10-19 days postpartum [relative risk (RR) = 8.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.89-10.85]. After the second birth, the highest risk was at 60-89 days postpartum (RR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.52-2.65), and there was no increased risk after the third birth. The effect of primiparity was strongest for bipolar disorders. Primiparity is a significant risk factor for experiencing a first-time episode with a psychiatric disorder, especially bipolar disorders. A second birth was associated with a smaller risk, and there was no increased risk after the third birth. The risk of postpartum episodes after the second delivery increased with increasing inter-pregnancy intervals, a result which warrants further investigation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Maternal residential exposure to agricultural pesticides and birth defects in a 2003 to 2005 North Carolina birth cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Rappazzo, Kristen M; Warren, Joshua L; Meyer, Robert E; Herring, Amy H; Sanders, Alison P; Brownstein, Naomi C; Luben, Thomas J

2016-04-01

Birth defects are responsible for a large proportion of disability and infant mortality. Exposure to a variety of pesticides have been linked to increased risk of birth defects. We conducted a case-control study to estimate the associations between a residence-based metric of agricultural pesticide exposure and birth defects. We linked singleton live birth records for 2003 to 2005 from the North Carolina (NC) State Center for Health Statistics to data from the NC Birth Defects Monitoring Program. Included women had residence at delivery inside NC and infants with gestational ages from 20 to 44 weeks (n = 304,906). Pesticide exposure was assigned using a previously constructed metric, estimating total chemical exposure (pounds of active ingredient) based on crops within 500 meters of maternal residence, specific dates of pregnancy, and chemical application dates based on the planting/harvesting dates of each crop. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals for four categories of exposure (90(th) percentiles) compared with unexposed. Models were adjusted for maternal race, age at delivery, education, marital status, and smoking status. We observed elevated ORs for congenital heart defects and certain structural defects affecting the gastrointestinal, genitourinary and musculoskeletal systems (e.g., OR [95% confidence interval] [highest exposure vs. unexposed] for tracheal esophageal fistula/esophageal atresia = 1.98 [0.69, 5.66], and OR for atrial septal defects: 1.70 [1.34, 2.14]). Our results provide some evidence of associations between residential exposure to agricultural pesticides and several birth defects phenotypes. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:240-249, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using new satellite based exposure methods to study the association between pregnancy PM₂.₅ exposure, premature birth and birth weight in Massachusetts.

Science.gov (United States)

Kloog, Itai; Melly, Steven J; Ridgway, William L; Coull, Brent A; Schwartz, Joel

2012-06-18

Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and premature birth have been previously linked with exposure to ambient air pollution. Most studies relied on a limited number of monitors in the region of interest, which can introduce exposure error or restrict the analysis to persons living near a monitor, which reduces sample size and generalizability and may create selection bias. We evaluated the relationship between premature birth and birth weight with exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM₂.₅) levels during pregnancy in Massachusetts for a 9-year period (2000-2008). Building on a novel method we developed for predicting daily PM₂.₅ at the spatial resolution of a 10x10 km grid across New-England, we estimated the average exposure during 30 and 90 days prior to birth as well as the full pregnancy period for each mother. We used linear and logistic mixed models to estimate the association between PM₂.₅ exposure and birth weight (among full term births) and PM₂.₅ exposure and preterm birth adjusting for infant sex, maternal age, maternal race, mean income, maternal education level, prenatal care, gestational age, maternal smoking, percent of open space near mothers residence, average traffic density and mothers health. Birth weight was negatively associated with PM₂.₅ across all tested periods. For example, a 10 μg/m³ increase of PM₂.₅ exposure during the entire pregnancy was significantly associated with a decrease of 13.80 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = -21.10, -6.05] in birth weight after controlling for other factors, including traffic exposure. The odds ratio for a premature birth was 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.13) for each 10 μg/m3 increase of PM₂.₅ exposure during the entire pregnancy period. The presented study suggests that exposure to PM₂.₅ during the last month of pregnancy contributes to risks for lower birth weight and preterm birth in infants.

Birth order and physical fitness in early adulthood: evidence from Swedish military conscription data.

Science.gov (United States)

Barclay, Kieron; Myrskylä, Mikko

2014-12-01

Physical fitness at young adult ages is an important determinant of physical health, cognitive ability, and mortality. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between early life conditions and physical fitness in adulthood. An important potential factor influencing physical fitness is birth order, which prior studies associate with several early- and later-life outcomes such as height and mortality. This is the first study to analyse the association between birth order and physical fitness in late adolescence. We use military conscription data on 218,873 Swedish males born between 1965 and 1977. Physical fitness is measured by a test of maximal working capacity, a measure of cardiovascular fitness closely related to V02max. We use linear regression with sibling fixed effects, meaning a within-family comparison, to eliminate the confounding influence of unobserved factors that vary between siblings. To understand the mechanism we further analyse whether the association between birth order and physical fitness varies by sibship size, parental socioeconomic status, birth cohort or length of the birth interval. We find a strong, negative and monotonic relationship between birth order and physical fitness. For example, third-born children have a maximal working capacity approximately 0.1 (p birth order effect does not depend on the length of the birth intervals, in two-child families a longer birth interval strengthens the advantage of the first-born. Our results illustrate the importance of birth order for physical fitness, and suggest that the first-born advantage already arises in late adolescence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Birth outcomes for women using free-standing birth centers in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, David John

2017-09-01

This study investigates maternal and perinatal outcomes for women with low-risk pregnancies laboring in free-standing birth centers compared with laboring in a hospital maternity unit in a large New Zealand health district. The study used observational data from 47 381 births to women with low-risk pregnancies in South Auckland maternity facilities 2003-2010. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for instrumental delivery, cesarean section, blood transfusion, neonatal unit admission, and perinatal mortality. Labor in birth centers was associated with significantly lower rates of instrumental delivery, cesarean section and blood transfusion compared with labor in hospital. Neonatal unit admission rates were lower for infants of nulliparous women laboring in birth centers. Intrapartum and neonatal mortality rates for birth centers were low and were not significantly different from the hospital population. Transfers to hospital for labor and postnatal complications occurred in 39% of nulliparous and 9% of multiparous labors. Risk factors identified for transfer were nulliparity, advanced maternal age, and prolonged pregnancy ≥41 weeks' gestation. Labor in South Auckland free-standing birth centers was associated with significantly lower maternal intervention and complication rates than labor in the hospital maternity unit and was not associated with increased perinatal morbidity. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamical behaviors of inter-out-of-equilibrium state intervals in Korean futures exchange markets

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Gyuchang; Kim, SooYong; Kim, Kyungsik; Lee, Dong-In; Scalas, Enrico

2008-05-01

A recently discovered feature of financial markets, the two-phase phenomenon, is utilized to categorize a financial time series into two phases, namely equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium states. For out-of-equilibrium states, we analyze the time intervals at which the state is revisited. The power-law distribution of inter-out-of-equilibrium state intervals is shown and we present an analogy with discrete-time heat bath dynamics, similar to random Ising systems. In the mean-field approximation, this model reduces to a one-dimensional multiplicative process. By varying global and local model parameters, the relevance between volatilities in financial markets and the interaction strengths between agents in the Ising model are investigated and discussed.

Risk Factors Correlated with Incidence of Low Birth Weight Cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anjas Dwi Purwanto

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The infant with Low Birth Weight (LBW was one of the risk factors that contributed to the high infant mortality, especially in the neonatal period. About 17% from 25 millions birth each year in the world are infant with LBW. LBW could be caused by multifactor that were maternal factors (maternal age, birth interval, parity, anemia, social-economic and behaviour, fetus factor, placental factor, and environmental factor. The research aims was to analyze the risk factors correlated with incidence of LBW. This research was an observational  research with case-control design. The number of samples in this research were 120 mothers who delivered in working area of RSIA Kendangsari in 2014. The subjects were selected used systematic random method. The independent variabels in this research were maternal age, education level, employment status, birth interval, parity, age pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, hypertension, and anemia, while the dependent variable in this research was LBW. Based on correlation analysis used Chi-square test showed there were not significant correlation (p>0,05 between birth interval and parity with LBW cases and there were significant correlations (p<0,05 between age pregnancy, hypertension during pregnancy and anemia with LBW cases. Odds Ratio (OR were 13,571 on age pregnancy, 2,224 on multiple pregnancy,2,753 on hypertension and 4,030 on anemia. The conlusion showed that the risk factors of LBW cases were age pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, hypertension and anemia. While maternal age, education level, employment status, birth intervaland parity were not had any correlation with LBW cases. Keywords: LBW, risk factors, babies, maternal, pregnancy

Dynamic Properties of QT Intervals

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Halámek, Josef; Jurák, Pavel; Vondra, Vlastimil; Lipoldová, J.; Leinveber, Pavel; Plachý, M.; Fráňa, P.; Kára, T.

2009-01-01

Roč. 36, - (2009), s. 517-520 ISSN 0276-6574 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA102/08/1129; GA MŠk ME09050 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : QT Intervals * arrhythmia diagnosis Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering http://cinc.mit.edu/archives/2009/pdf/0517.pdf

Using new satellite based exposure methods to study the association between pregnancy pm2.5 exposure, premature birth and birth weight in Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and premature birth have been previously linked with exposure to ambient air pollution. Most studies relied on a limited number of monitors in the region of interest, which can introduce exposure error or restrict the analysis to persons living near a monitor, which reduces sample size and generalizability and may create selection bias. Methods We evaluated the relationship between premature birth and birth weight with exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) levels during pregnancy in Massachusetts for a 9-year period (2000–2008). Building on a novel method we developed for predicting daily PM2.5 at the spatial resolution of a 10x10km grid across New-England, we estimated the average exposure during 30 and 90 days prior to birth as well as the full pregnancy period for each mother. We used linear and logistic mixed models to estimate the association between PM2.5 exposure and birth weight (among full term births) and PM2.5 exposure and preterm birth adjusting for infant sex, maternal age, maternal race, mean income, maternal education level, prenatal care, gestational age, maternal smoking, percent of open space near mothers residence, average traffic density and mothers health. Results Birth weight was negatively associated with PM2.5 across all tested periods. For example, a 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy was significantly associated with a decrease of 13.80 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = −21.10, -6.05] in birth weight after controlling for other factors, including traffic exposure. The odds ratio for a premature birth was 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01–1.13) for each 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy period. Conclusions The presented study suggests that exposure to PM2.5 during the last month of pregnancy contributes to risks for lower birth weight and preterm birth in infants. PMID:22709681

Using new satellite based exposure methods to study the association between pregnancy pm2.5 exposure, premature birth and birth weight in Massachusetts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kloog Itai

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and premature birth have been previously linked with exposure to ambient air pollution. Most studies relied on a limited number of monitors in the region of interest, which can introduce exposure error or restrict the analysis to persons living near a monitor, which reduces sample size and generalizability and may create selection bias. Methods We evaluated the relationship between premature birth and birth weight with exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5 levels during pregnancy in Massachusetts for a 9-year period (2000–2008. Building on a novel method we developed for predicting daily PM2.5 at the spatial resolution of a 10x10km grid across New-England, we estimated the average exposure during 30 and 90 days prior to birth as well as the full pregnancy period for each mother. We used linear and logistic mixed models to estimate the association between PM2.5 exposure and birth weight (among full term births and PM2.5 exposure and preterm birth adjusting for infant sex, maternal age, maternal race, mean income, maternal education level, prenatal care, gestational age, maternal smoking, percent of open space near mothers residence, average traffic density and mothers health. Results Birth weight was negatively associated with PM2.5 across all tested periods. For example, a 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy was significantly associated with a decrease of 13.80 g [95% confidence interval (CI = −21.10, -6.05] in birth weight after controlling for other factors, including traffic exposure. The odds ratio for a premature birth was 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI = 1.01–1.13 for each 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy period. Conclusions The presented study suggests that exposure to PM2.5 during the last month of pregnancy contributes to risks for lower birth weight and preterm birth in

Coffee Consumption During Pregnancy and Birth Weight

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech, Bodil Hammer; Frydenberg, Morten; Henriksen, Tine Brink

2015-01-01

weight and whether it was modified by the mothers' smoking habits. Methods: In the Danish National Birth Cohort, coffee intake and smoking during pregnancy were recorded prospectively in 89,539 pregnancies that ended with live born singletons. Information on birth weight was obtained from the Danish......Background: A previous randomized trial demonstrated an association between coffee intake and birth weight in smokers only. This could be a chance finding or because smoking interferes with caffeine metabolism. This study assessed the association between coffee intake during pregnancy and birth....../cup/day). Compared to non-coffee drinkers, intake of eight or more cups of coffee per day was associated with an adjusted birth weight difference of −65 g [95% confidence interval (CI) −92 to −39] for non-smokers and −79 g [95% CI −124 to −34] for women smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day. Women drinking eight...

Prenatal Heavy Metal Exposure and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Myanmar: A Birth-Cohort Study

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Kyi Mar Wai

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Arsenic, cadmium and lead are well-known environmental contaminants, and their toxicity at low concentration is the target of scientific concern. In this study, we aimed to identify the potential effects of prenatal heavy metal exposure on the birth outcomes among the Myanmar population. This study is part of a birth-cohort study conducted with 419 pregnant women in the Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar. Face-to-face interviews were performed using a questionnaire, and maternal spot urine samples were collected at the third trimester. Birth outcomes were evaluated at delivery during the follow up. The median values of adjusted urinary arsenic, cadmium, selenium and lead concentration were 74.2, 0.9, 22.6 and 1.8 μg/g creatinine, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that prenatal cadmium exposure (adjusted odds ratio (OR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.01–1.21; p = 0.043, gestational age (adjusted OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72–0.95; p = 0.009 and primigravida mothers (adjusted OR = 4.23; 95% CI: 1.31–13.65; p = 0.016 were the predictors of low birth weight. The present study identified that Myanmar mothers were highly exposed to cadmium. Prenatal maternal cadmium exposure was associated with an occurrence of low birth weight.

Prenatal Heavy Metal Exposure and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Myanmar: A Birth-Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wai, Kyi Mar; Mar, Ohn; Kosaka, Satoko; Umemura, Mitsutoshi; Watanabe, Chiho

2017-11-03

Arsenic, cadmium and lead are well-known environmental contaminants, and their toxicity at low concentration is the target of scientific concern. In this study, we aimed to identify the potential effects of prenatal heavy metal exposure on the birth outcomes among the Myanmar population. This study is part of a birth-cohort study conducted with 419 pregnant women in the Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar. Face-to-face interviews were performed using a questionnaire, and maternal spot urine samples were collected at the third trimester. Birth outcomes were evaluated at delivery during the follow up. The median values of adjusted urinary arsenic, cadmium, selenium and lead concentration were 74.2, 0.9, 22.6 and 1.8 μg/g creatinine, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that prenatal cadmium exposure (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.21; p = 0.043), gestational age (adjusted OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72-0.95; p = 0.009) and primigravida mothers (adjusted OR = 4.23; 95% CI: 1.31-13.65; p = 0.016) were the predictors of low birth weight. The present study identified that Myanmar mothers were highly exposed to cadmium. Prenatal maternal cadmium exposure was associated with an occurrence of low birth weight.

The multisensory approach to birth and aromatherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutteridge, Kathryn

2014-05-01

The birth environment continues to be a subject of midwifery discourse within theory and practice. This article discusses the birth environment from the perspective of understanding the aromas and aromatherapy for the benefit of women and midwives The dynamic between the olfactory system and stimulation of normal birth processes proves to be fascinating. By examining other health models of care we can incorporate simple but powerful methods that can shape clinical outcomes. There is still more that midwives can do by using aromatherapy in the context of a multisensory approach to make birth environments synchronise with women's potential to birth in a positive way.

The role of fire-return interval and season of burn in snag dynamics in a south Florida slash pine forest

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, John D.; Slater, Gary L.; Snyder, James R.

2012-01-01

Standing dead trees, or snags, are an important habitat element for many animal species. In many ecosystems, fire is a primary driver of snag population dynamics because it can both create and consume snags. The objective of this study was to examine how variation in two key components of the fire regime—fire-return interval and season of burn—affected population dynamics of snags. Using a factorial design, we exposed 1 ha plots, located within larger burn units in a south Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa Little and Dorman) forest, to prescribed fire applied at two intervals (approximately 3-year intervals vs. approximately 6-year intervals) and during two seasons (wet season vs. dry season) over a 12- to 13-year period. We found no consistent effect of fire season or frequency on the density of lightly to moderately decayed or heavily decayed snags, suggesting that variation in these elements of the fire regime at the scale we considered is relatively unimportant in the dynamics of snag populations. However, our confidence in these findings is limited by small sample sizes, potentially confounding effects of unmeasured variation in fire behavior and effects (e.g., intensity, severity, synergy with drought cycles) and wide variation in responses within a treatment level. The generalizing of our findings is also limited by the narrow range of treatment levels considered. Future experiments incorporating a wider range of fire regimes and directly quantifying fire intensity would prove useful in identifying more clearly the role of fire in shaping the dynamics of snag populations.

Risk Factors for premature birth in a hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita E. Ahumada-Barrios

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: to determine the risk factors for premature birth. Methods: retrospective case-control study of 600 pregnant women assisted in a hospital, with 298 pregnant women in the case group (who gave birth prematurely <37 weeks and 302 pregnant women who gave birth to a full-term newborn in the control group. Stata software version 12.2 was used. The Chi-square test was used in bivariate analysis and logistic regression was used in multivariate analysis, from which Odds Ratios (OR and Confidence Intervals (CI of 95% were derived. Results: risk factors associated with premature birth were current twin pregnancy (adjusted OR= 2.4; p= 0.02, inadequate prenatal care (< 6 controls (adjusted OR= 3.2; p <0.001, absent prenatal care (adjusted OR= 3.0; p <0.001, history of premature birth (adjusted OR= 3.7; p <0.001 and preeclampsia (adjusted OR= 1.9; p= 0.005. Conclusion: history of premature birth, preeclampsia, not receiving prenatal care and receiving inadequate prenatal care were risk factors for premature birth.

Birth characteristics and childhood carcinomas.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, K J; Carozza, S E; Chow, E J; Fox, E E; Horel, S; McLaughlin, C C; Mueller, B A; Puumala, S E; Reynolds, P; Von Behren, J; Spector, L G

2011-10-25

Carcinomas in children are rare and have not been well studied. We conducted a population-based case-control study and examined associations between birth characteristics and childhood carcinomas diagnosed from 28 days to 14 years during 1980-2004 using pooled data from five states (NY, WA, MN, TX, and CA) that linked their birth and cancer registries. The pooled data set contained 57,966 controls and 475 carcinoma cases, including 159 thyroid and 126 malignant melanoma cases. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). White compared with 'other' race was positively associated with melanoma (OR=3.22, 95% CI 1.33-8.33). Older maternal age increased the risk for melanoma (OR(per 5-year age increase)=1.20, 95% CI 1.00-1.44), whereas paternal age increased the risk for any carcinoma (OR=1.10(per 5-year age increase), 95% CI 1.01-1.20) and thyroid carcinoma (OR(per 5-year age increase)=1.16, 95% CI 1.01-1.33). Gestational age birth weight, and birth order were not significantly associated with childhood carcinomas. This exploratory study indicates that some birth characteristics including older parental age and low gestational age may be related to childhood carcinoma aetiology.

Economics, cultural transmission, and the dynamics of the sex ratio at birth in China.

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Lipatov, Mikhail; Li, Shuzhuo; Feldman, Marcus W

2008-12-09

In rural China, the ratio of newborn boys to newborn girls [sex ratio at birth (SRB)] has been rising for several decades, to values significantly above its biological norm. This trend has a number of alarming societal consequences, and has attracted the attention of scholars and politicians. The root of the problem lies in a 2,500-year-old culture of son preference. This culture is intricately linked with the economic reality of each couple's life, so that there are financial and psychological repercussions to parents who have no sons. To bring greater clarity and understanding to this issue, we present a quantitative framework that describes the interaction between economics and cultural transmission. We start with an explicit mechanism by which economic incentives can change cultural beliefs of a given individual, and go on to include a mechanism of cultural inheritance from generation to generation. We then show how economic conditions can affect the dynamics of cultural change in an entire society, and may lead to a decrease in the country's sex ratio at birth.

Associations of Birth Order with Early Adolescent Growth, Pubertal Onset, Blood Pressure and Size: Evidence from Hong Kong's "Children of 1997" Birth Cohort.

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Kwok, Man Ki; Leung, Gabriel M; Schooling, C Mary

2016-01-01

Birth order has been proposed as a cardiovascular risk factor, because the lower birth weight and greater infant weight gain typical of firstborns could programme metabolism detrimentally. We examined the associations of birth order (firstborn or laterborn) with birth weight-for-gestational age, length/height and body mass index (BMI) z-scores during infancy, childhood, and puberty using generalized estimating equations, with age at pubertal onset using interval-censored regression and with age-, sex- and height-standardized blood pressure, height and BMI z-scores at 13 years using linear regression in a population-representative Chinese birth cohort: "Children of 1997" (n = 8,327). Compared with laterborns, firstborns had lower birth weight-for-gestational age (mean difference = -0.18 z-score, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.23, -0.14), lower infant BMI (-0.09 z-score, 95% CI -0.14, -0.04), greater childhood height (0.10 z-score, 95% CI 0.05, 0.14) and BMI (0.08 z-score, 95% CI 0.03, 0.14), but not greater pubertal BMI (0.05 z-score, 95% CI -0.02, 0.11), adjusted for sex, parental age, birthplace, education and income. Firstborns had earlier onset of pubic hair (time ratio = 0.988, 95% CI 0.980, 0.996), but not breast or genitalia, development. Firstborns had greater BMI (0.07 z-score, 95% CI 0.002, 0.15), but not height (0.05 z-score, 95% CI -0.01, 0.11), at 13 years, but similar blood pressure. Differences by birth order continue into early adolescence with firstborns being heavier with earlier pubic hair development, which could indicate long-term cardiovascular risk.

Associations of Birth Order with Early Adolescent Growth, Pubertal Onset, Blood Pressure and Size: Evidence from Hong Kong's "Children of 1997" Birth Cohort.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Man Ki Kwok

Full Text Available Birth order has been proposed as a cardiovascular risk factor, because the lower birth weight and greater infant weight gain typical of firstborns could programme metabolism detrimentally.We examined the associations of birth order (firstborn or laterborn with birth weight-for-gestational age, length/height and body mass index (BMI z-scores during infancy, childhood, and puberty using generalized estimating equations, with age at pubertal onset using interval-censored regression and with age-, sex- and height-standardized blood pressure, height and BMI z-scores at 13 years using linear regression in a population-representative Chinese birth cohort: "Children of 1997" (n = 8,327.Compared with laterborns, firstborns had lower birth weight-for-gestational age (mean difference = -0.18 z-score, 95% confidence interval (CI -0.23, -0.14, lower infant BMI (-0.09 z-score, 95% CI -0.14, -0.04, greater childhood height (0.10 z-score, 95% CI 0.05, 0.14 and BMI (0.08 z-score, 95% CI 0.03, 0.14, but not greater pubertal BMI (0.05 z-score, 95% CI -0.02, 0.11, adjusted for sex, parental age, birthplace, education and income. Firstborns had earlier onset of pubic hair (time ratio = 0.988, 95% CI 0.980, 0.996, but not breast or genitalia, development. Firstborns had greater BMI (0.07 z-score, 95% CI 0.002, 0.15, but not height (0.05 z-score, 95% CI -0.01, 0.11, at 13 years, but similar blood pressure.Differences by birth order continue into early adolescence with firstborns being heavier with earlier pubic hair development, which could indicate long-term cardiovascular risk.

Cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor and the risk of subsequent premature birth.

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Wood, Stephen L; Tang, Selphee; Crawford, Susan

2017-07-01

Cesarean delivery is being increasingly used by obstetricians for indicated deliveries in the second stage of labor. Unplanned extension of the uterine incision involving the cervix often occurs with these surgeries. Therefore, we hypothesized that cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor may increase the rate of subsequent spontaneous premature birth. We sought to determine if cesarean delivery in the late first stage of labor or in the second stage of labor increases the risk of a subsequent spontaneous preterm birth. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of matched first and second births from a large Canadian perinatal database. The primary outcomes were spontaneous premature birth cesarean delivery. The protocol and analysis plan was registered prior to obtaining data at Open Science Foundation. In total, 189,021 paired first and second births were identified. The risk of spontaneous preterm delivery cesarean delivery in the second stage of labor (relative risk, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-1.73 and relative risk, 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.67-2.68, respectively). The risk of perinatal death in the second birth, excluding congenital anomalies, was also correspondingly increased (relative risk, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.96). Cesarean delivery in second stage of labor was associated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of spontaneous preterm birth <32 weeks of gestation in a subsequent birth. This information may inform management of operative delivery in the second stage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Paternal age at birth and the risk of obesity in young adulthood: a register-based birth cohort study of Norwegian males.

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Eriksen, Willy; Sundet, Jon M; Tambs, Kristian

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between paternal age at birth and the risk of obesity in young adulthood. Data from the medical birth register of Norway were linked with register data from the Norwegian National Conscript Service and the national statistics agency, Statistics Norway. This study used the data on 346,609 registered males who were born at term in single birth without physical anomalies during 1967-1984 and who were examined at the time of the mandatory military conscription (age 18-20 years). The relationship between paternal age at birth and the occurrence of obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30.0 kg/m(2) ) at conscription was examined using a multinomial logistic regression analysis with BMI birth but did not increase (P = 0.52) with maternal age at birth. Men born when their fathers were 50 years or older had a 55% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14%, 110%) higher relative risk of obesity than men born when their fathers were younger than 20 years of age, after adjustment for age at conscription, birth order, birth year, maternal age at birth, the mother's total number of children, and maternal and paternal education levels. The risk of obesity in young Norwegian men increases with advancing paternal age at birth but does not increase with advancing maternal age at birth. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Oscillatory dynamics of an intravenous glucose tolerance test model with delay interval

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Shi, Xiangyun; Kuang, Yang; Makroglou, Athena; Mokshagundam, Sriprakash; Li, Jiaxu

2017-11-01

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become prevalent pandemic disease in view of the modern life style. Both diabetic population and health expenses grow rapidly according to American Diabetes Association. Detecting the potential onset of T2DM is an essential focal point in the research of diabetes mellitus. The intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) is an effective protocol to determine the insulin sensitivity, glucose effectiveness, and pancreatic β-cell functionality, through the analysis and parameter estimation of a proper differential equation model. Delay differential equations have been used to study the complex physiological phenomena including the glucose and insulin regulations. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model the time delay in IVGTT modeling. This novel approach uses two parameters to simulate not only both discrete time delay and distributed time delay in the past interval, but also the time delay distributed in a past sub-interval. Normally, larger time delay, either a discrete or a distributed delay, will destabilize the system. However, we find that time delay over a sub-interval might not. We present analytically some basic model properties, which are desirable biologically and mathematically. We show that this relatively simple model provides good fit to fluctuating patient data sets and reveals some intriguing dynamics. Moreover, our numerical simulation results indicate that our model may remove the defect in well known Minimal Model, which often overestimates the glucose effectiveness index.

Birth Weight, Physical Morbidity, and Mortality: A Population-based Sibling-Comparison Study

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Class, Quetzal A.; Rickert, Martin E.; Lichtenstein, Paul; D'Onofrio, Brian M.

2014-01-01

Associations between low birth weight (≤2,500 g) and increased risk of mortality and morbidity provided the foundation for the “developmental origins of health and disease” hypothesis. Previous between-family studies could not control for unmeasured confounders. Therefore, we compared differentially exposed siblings to estimate the extent to which the associations were due to uncontrolled factors. Our population cohort included 3,291,773 persons born in Sweden from 1973 to 2008. Analyses controlled for gestational age, among other covariates, and considered birth weight as both an ordinal and a continuous variable. Outcomes included mortality after 1 year, cardiac-related death, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, pulmonary circulation problems, stroke, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We fitted fixed-effects models to compare siblings and conducted sensitivity analyses to test alternative explanations. Across the population, the lower the birth weight, the greater the risk of mortality (e.g., cardiac-related death (low birth weight hazard ratio = 2.69, 95% confidence interval: 2.05, 3.53)) and morbidity (e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus (low birth weight hazard ratio = 1.79, 95% confidence interval: 1.50, 2.14)) outcomes in comparison with normal birth weight. All associations were independent of shared familial confounders and measured covariates. Results emphasize the importance of birth weight as a risk factor for subsequent mortality and morbidity. PMID:24355331

Primary birthing attendants and birth outcomes in remote Inuit communities—a natural “experiment” in Nunavik, Canada

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Simonet, F; Wilkins, R; Labranche, E; Smylie, J; Heaman, M; Martens, P; Fraser, W D; Minich, K; Wu, Y; Carry, C; Luo, Z-C

2010-01-01

Background There is a lack of data on the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote or indigenous communities. In a de facto natural “experiment”, birth outcomes were assessed by primary birthing attendant in two sets of remote Inuit communities. Methods A geocoding-based retrospective birth cohort study in 14 Inuit communities of Nunavik, Canada, 1989–2000: primary birth attendants were Inuit midwives in the Hudson Bay (1529 Inuit births) vs western physicians in Ungava Bay communities (1197 Inuit births). The primary outcome was perinatal death. Secondary outcomes included stillbirth, neonatal death, post-neonatal death, preterm, small-for-gestational-age and low birthweight birth. Multilevel logistic regression was used to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) controlling for maternal age, marital status, parity, education, infant sex and plurality, community size and community-level random effects. Results The aORs (95% confidence interval) for perinatal death comparing the Hudson Bay vs Ungava Bay communities were 1.29 (0.63 to 2.64) for all Inuit births and 1.13 (0.48 to 2.47) for Inuit births at ≥28 weeks of gestation. There were no statistically significant differences in the crude or adjusted risks of any of the outcomes examined. Conclusion Risks of perinatal death were somewhat but not significantly higher in the Hudson Bay communities with midwife-led maternity care compared with the Ungava Bay communities with physician-led maternity care. These findings are inconclusive, although the results excluding extremely preterm births are more reassuring concerning the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote indigenous communities. PMID:19286689

Birth weight trends among interracial black and white infants.

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Parker, J D

2000-05-01

I examined time trends in low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW) among interracial compared with single-race infants. Using natality data from 1978 through 1997 for singleton births to black and white parents, I calculated relative risks (RRs) of LBW and VLBW for interracial compared with single-race births, stratified by maternal race and adjusted for maternal characteristics. Among black mothers, interracial births had lower risks of LBW and VLBW than single-race births, and RRs were similar throughout the time period [for example, adjusted RR = 0.76 and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.73-0.80 for LBW in 1994-1997]. Among white mothers, interracial infants had higher risks of LBW than single-race infants; however, the adjusted RRs declined over the time period, from 1.22 (95% CI = 1.19-1.27) in 1978-1981 to 1.05 (95% CI = 1.03-1.08) in 1994-1997. Since 1978, there has been some relative improvement in birth outcomes for infants of white mothers and black fathers compared with single-race white births. There was, however, no relative improvement for black mother/black father infants relative to black mother/white father births.

Observations on the lambing interval of the cape bushbuck ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A record of births from three Cape bushbuck ewes at Queens Park Zoo, East London, from November 1971 to December 1974, indicated that the mean lambing interval of Tragelaphus scriptus sylvaticus in captivity is 249 days and that ewes reach sexual maturity at approximately one year of age.

Low birth weight and preterm delivery as risk factors for asthma and atopic dermatitis in young adult males

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffensen, F.H.; Sørensen, Henrik Toft; Gillman, M.W.

2000-01-01

. The prevalence of asthma was 4.7%. The prevalence odds ratio of asthma in conscripts with a birth weight below 2,501 g was 1.5 (95% confidence interval = 0.7–3.1) compared with conscripts with a birth weight of 3,001–3,500 g, adjusted for gestational age and potential confounders. The adjusted prevalence odds...... ratio among conscripts born before 34 gestational weeks was 0.8 (95% confidence interval = 0.3–2.0) compared with conscripts born at term. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis was 1.0%. The prevalence odds ratio of atopic dermatitis among those with a birth weight below 2,501 g was 3.0 (95% confidence...... interval = 0.8–11.9) compared with those whose birth weight was between 3,001 and 3,500 g. Men whose gestational age had been below 34 weeks had an adjusted prevalence odds ratio of 0.3 (95% confidence interval = 0.0–3.1). These findings indicate that fetal growth retardation rather than preterm delivery...

Risk Factors for premature birth in a hospital 1

Science.gov (United States)

Ahumada-Barrios, Margarita E.; Alvarado, German F.

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective: to determine the risk factors for premature birth. Methods: retrospective case-control study of 600 pregnant women assisted in a hospital, with 298 pregnant women in the case group (who gave birth prematurely <37 weeks) and 302 pregnant women who gave birth to a full-term newborn in the control group. Stata software version 12.2 was used. The Chi-square test was used in bivariate analysis and logistic regression was used in multivariate analysis, from which Odds Ratios (OR) and Confidence Intervals (CI) of 95% were derived. Results: risk factors associated with premature birth were current twin pregnancy (adjusted OR= 2.4; p= 0.02), inadequate prenatal care (< 6 controls) (adjusted OR= 3.2; p <0.001), absent prenatal care (adjusted OR= 3.0; p <0.001), history of premature birth (adjusted OR= 3.7; p <0.001) and preeclampsia (adjusted OR= 1.9; p= 0.005). Conclusion: history of premature birth, preeclampsia, not receiving prenatal care and receiving inadequate prenatal care were risk factors for premature birth. PMID:27463110

Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA.

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Casey, Joan A; Savitz, David A; Rasmussen, Sara G; Ogburn, Elizabeth L; Pollak, Jonathan; Mercer, Dione G; Schwartz, Brian S

2016-03-01

Unconventional natural gas development has expanded rapidly. In Pennsylvania, the number of producing wells increased from 0 in 2005 to 3,689 in 2013. Few publications have focused on unconventional natural gas development and birth outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data on 9,384 mothers linked to 10,946 neonates in the Geisinger Health System from January 2009 to January 2013. We estimated cumulative exposure to unconventional natural gas development activity with an inverse-distance squared model that incorporated distance to the mother's home; dates and durations of well pad development, drilling, and hydraulic fracturing; and production volume during the pregnancy. We used multilevel linear and logistic regression models to examine associations between activity index quartile and term birth weight, preterm birth, low 5-minute Apgar score and small size for gestational age birth, while controlling for potential confounding variables. In adjusted models, there was an association between unconventional natural gas development activity and preterm birth that increased across quartiles, with a fourth quartile odds ratio of 1.4 (95% confidence interval = 1.0, 1.9). There were no associations of activity with Apgar score, small for gestational age birth, or term birth weight (after adjustment for year). In a posthoc analysis, there was an association with physician-recorded high-risk pregnancy identified from the problem list (fourth vs. first quartile, 1.3 [95% confidence interval = 1.1, 1.7]). Prenatal residential exposure to unconventional natural gas development activity was associated with two pregnancy outcomes, adding to evidence that unconventional natural gas development may impact health.See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/EDE/B14.

Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician.

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Janssen, Patricia A; Saxell, Lee; Page, Lesley A; Klein, Michael C; Liston, Robert M; Lee, Shoo K

2009-09-15

Studies of planned home births attended by registered midwives have been limited by incomplete data, nonrepresentative sampling, inadequate statistical power and the inability to exclude unplanned home births. We compared the outcomes of planned home births attended by midwives with those of planned hospital births attended by midwives or physicians. We included all planned home births attended by registered midwives from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2004, in British Columbia, Canada (n = 2889), and all planned hospital births meeting the eligibility requirements for home birth that were attended by the same cohort of midwives (n = 4752). We also included a matched sample of physician-attended planned hospital births (n = 5331). The primary outcome measure was perinatal mortality; secondary outcomes were obstetric interventions and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. The rate of perinatal death per 1000 births was 0.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.00-1.03) in the group of planned home births; the rate in the group of planned hospital births was 0.57 (95% CI 0.00-1.43) among women attended by a midwife and 0.64 (95% CI 0.00-1.56) among those attended by a physician. Women in the planned home-birth group were significantly less likely than those who planned a midwife-attended hospital birth to have obstetric interventions (e.g., electronic fetal monitoring, relative risk [RR] 0.32, 95% CI 0.29-0.36; assisted vaginal delivery, RR 0.41, 95% 0.33-0.52) or adverse maternal outcomes (e.g., third- or fourth-degree perineal tear, RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28-0.59; postpartum hemorrhage, RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.49-0.77). The findings were similar in the comparison with physician-assisted hospital births. Newborns in the home-birth group were less likely than those in the midwife-attended hospital-birth group to require resuscitation at birth (RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.14-0.37) or oxygen therapy beyond 24 hours (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.24-0.59). The findings were similar in the comparison with

Association of Timing of Weight Gain in Pregnancy With Infant Birth Weight.

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Retnakaran, Ravi; Wen, Shi Wu; Tan, Hongzhuan; Zhou, Shujin; Ye, Chang; Shen, Minxue; Smith, Graeme N; Walker, Mark C

2018-02-01

Gestational weight gain is a determinant of infant birth weight, but it is unclear whether its timing in pregnancy may hold implications in this regard. Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings on the association of maternal weight gain in early pregnancy with birth weight. However, as these studies have typically recruited women during the first trimester, they are inherently limited by a reliance on self-reported pregravid weight. To evaluate the associations of directly measured maternal pregravid weight and the timing of subsequent weight gain across pregnancy with infant birth weight. In this prospective, preconception, observational cohort study, 1164 newly married women in Liuyang, China, underwent pregravid evaluation at a median of 19.9 weeks before a singleton pregnancy during which they underwent serial weight measurements. The study was conducted from February 1, 2009, to November 4, 2015. Data analysis was performed between September 1, 2016, and May 6, 2017. Maternal weight gain was calculated for the following 10 gestational intervals: from pregravid to less than 14, 14 to 18, 19 to 23, 24 to 28, 29 to 30, 31 to 32, 33 to 34, 35 to 36, 37 to 38, and 39 to 40 weeks. Associations of pregravid weight and weight gain within each of the 10 gestational intervals with the outcome of infant birth weight. The mean (SD) age of the 1164 women included in the study was 25.3 (3.1) years. Pregravid weight was consistently associated with infant birth weight. However, among the 10 gestational intervals, only weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and from 14 to 18 weeks was associated with birth weight. Birth weight increased by 13.6 g/kg (95% CI, 3.2-24.1 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and by 26.1 g/kg (95% CI, 3.8-48.4 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from 14 to 18 weeks. Maternal weight only in the first half of gestation is a determinant of infant birth weight. Before pregnancy and early gestation may be a critical window for

Fathers' birth experience in relation to midwifery care.

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Hildingsson, Ingegerd; Cederlöf, Linnea; Widén, Sara

2011-09-01

The aim was to identify the proportion of fathers having a positive experience of a normal birth and to explore factors related to midwifery care that were associated with a positive experience. Research has mainly focused on the father's supportive role during childbirth rather than his personal experiences of birth. 595 new fathers living in a northern part of Sweden, whose partner had a normal birth, were included in the study. Data was collected by questionnaires. Odds Ratios with 95% confidence interval and logistic regression analysis were used. The majority of fathers (82%) reported a positive birth experience. The strongest factors associated with a positive birth experience were midwife support (OR 4.0; 95 CI 2.0-8.1), the midwife's ongoing presence in the delivery room (OR 2.0; 1.1-3.9), and information about the progress of labour (OR 3.1; 1.6-5.8). Most fathers had a positive birth experience. Midwifery support, the midwife's presence and sufficient information about the progress of labour are important aspects in a father's positive birth experience. The role of the midwife during birth is important to the father, and his individual needs should be considered in order to enhance a positive birth experience. Copyright © 2010 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Variable Interval Rescheduling Strategy for Dynamic Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem by Improved Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In real-world manufacturing systems, production scheduling systems are often implemented under random or dynamic events like machine failure, unexpected processing times, stochastic arrival of the urgent orders, cancellation of the orders, and so on. These dynamic events will lead the initial scheduling scheme to be nonoptimal and/or infeasible. Hence, appropriate dynamic rescheduling approaches are needed to overcome the dynamic events. In this paper, we propose a dynamic rescheduling method based on variable interval rescheduling strategy (VIRS to deal with the dynamic flexible job shop scheduling problem considering machine failure, urgent job arrival, and job damage as disruptions. On the other hand, an improved genetic algorithm (GA is proposed for minimizing makespan. In our improved GA, a mix of random initialization population by combining initialization machine and initialization operation with random initialization is designed for generating high-quality initial population. In addition, the elitist strategy (ES and improved population diversity strategy (IPDS are used to avoid falling into the local optimal solution. Experimental results for static and several dynamic events in the FJSP show that our method is feasible and effective.

A Study Of Risk Factors For Low Birth Weight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deswal B S

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Research question: What is the extent of low weight babies born in hospitals and its association with some maternal factors? Objectives: 1. To find an overall prevalence of low birth weight babies amongst hospital births in Meerut city. 2. To identify and quantify the effects of some risk factors for low birth weight. Setting: District women Hospital of Meerut city of western U.P. Study Design: Hospital based matched case-control study. Sample size: 491 low birth weight babies as ‘cases’ and an equal number of babies of normal birth weight in ‘control’ group matched for maternal age, sex of baby, birth order and institution of delivery. Study variables: Socio-economic Status: maternal biological factors including obstetric history: antenatal factors: nutritional factors: history of abortion: toxaemia of pregnancy etc. Results: Overall proportion of low birth weight babies was found to be 21.8% amongst hospital live births and 30.9% born to mothers aged below 30 years of age. Low maternal weight, under nutrition, lack of antenatal care, short inter-pregnancy interval, toxacmia of pregnancy were independent factors increasing the risk of low birth weight significantly. Conclusions: The study suggested that a substantial proportion of low birth weight babies can be averted by improving maternal nutritional status including anemic condition, birth spacing and proper antenatal care.

INTERVAL OBSERVER FOR A BIOLOGICAL REACTOR MODEL

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T. A. Kharkovskaia

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The method of an interval observer design for nonlinear systems with parametric uncertainties is considered. The interval observer synthesis problem for systems with varying parameters consists in the following. If there is the uncertainty restraint for the state values of the system, limiting the initial conditions of the system and the set of admissible values for the vector of unknown parameters and inputs, the interval existence condition for the estimations of the system state variables, containing the actual state at a given time, needs to be held valid over the whole considered time segment as well. Conditions of the interval observers design for the considered class of systems are shown. They are: limitation of the input and state, the existence of a majorizing function defining the uncertainty vector for the system, Lipschitz continuity or finiteness of this function, the existence of an observer gain with the suitable Lyapunov matrix. The main condition for design of such a device is cooperativity of the interval estimation error dynamics. An individual observer gain matrix selection problem is considered. In order to ensure the property of cooperativity for interval estimation error dynamics, a static transformation of coordinates is proposed. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated by computer modeling of the biological reactor. Possible applications of these interval estimation systems are the spheres of robust control, where the presence of various types of uncertainties in the system dynamics is assumed, biotechnology and environmental systems and processes, mechatronics and robotics, etc.

Chloride ion transport and fate in oilfield wastewater reuse by interval dynamic multimedia aquivalence model.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Y; Zhang, C; Wang, D Z; Wen, J Y; Chen, M H; Li, Y

2013-01-01

A surface flow constructed wetland was built up to dispose of oilfield wastewater with a high level of inorganic salt ions. Chlorine ion (Cl(-)) was selected as an indicator of soil secondary salinization, and an interval dynamic multimedia aquivalence (IDMA) model was developed to investigate the dynamic multimedia environmental (air, water, soil, flora, and groundwater) effects of Cl(-) in the wastewater irrigation process between 2002 and 2020. The modeled Cl(-) concentrations were in good agreement with the measured ones, as indicated by the interval average logarithmic residual errors (IALREs) being generally lower than 0.5 logarithmic units. The model results showed that the temporal trends of Cl(-) concentrations in the multimedia environments represented a relatively steady state. More than 97.00% of the mass exchange was finished between soil and groundwater compartments, and Cl(-) finally outputted the environmental system by the pathways of advection outflows in the water (71.03%) and groundwater (24.02%). Soil (59.17%) was the dominant sink of Cl(-). It was revealed that the high level of Cl(-) in oilfield wastewater was well treated by the constructed wetland, and there was not a significant environmental effect of soil secondary salinization in the oilfield wastewater reused for the constructed wetland irrigation.

The Interval Stability of an Electricity Market Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weijuan Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Combined with the electric power market dynamic model put forward by Alvarado, an interval model of electricity markets is established and investigated in this paper pertaining to the range of demand elasticity with suppliers and consumers. The stability of an electricity market framework with demand elasticity interval is analyzed. The conclusions characterizing the interval model provided are derived by constructing a suitable Lyapunov function and using the theory of interval dynamical system in differential equations and matrix inequality theory and so forth. Applying the corollary obtained can judge the system stability by available data about demand elasticity. The obtained results are validated and illustrated by a case example.

Impact of sampling interval in training data acquisition on intrafractional predictive accuracy of indirect dynamic tumor-tracking radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukumoto, Nobutaka; Nakamura, Mitsuhiro; Akimoto, Mami; Miyabe, Yuki; Yokota, Kenji; Matsuo, Yukinori; Mizowaki, Takashi; Hiraoka, Masahiro

2017-08-01

To explore the effect of sampling interval of training data acquisition on the intrafractional prediction error of surrogate signal-based dynamic tumor-tracking using a gimbal-mounted linac. Twenty pairs of respiratory motions were acquired from 20 patients (ten lung, five liver, and five pancreatic cancer patients) who underwent dynamic tumor-tracking with the Vero4DRT. First, respiratory motions were acquired as training data for an initial construction of the prediction model before the irradiation. Next, additional respiratory motions were acquired for an update of the prediction model due to the change of the respiratory pattern during the irradiation. The time elapsed prior to the second acquisition of the respiratory motion was 12.6 ± 3.1 min. A four-axis moving phantom reproduced patients' three dimensional (3D) target motions and one dimensional surrogate motions. To predict the future internal target motion from the external surrogate motion, prediction models were constructed by minimizing residual prediction errors for training data acquired at 80 and 320 ms sampling intervals for 20 s, and at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 ms sampling intervals for 60 s using orthogonal kV x-ray imaging systems. The accuracies of prediction models trained with various sampling intervals were estimated based on training data with each sampling interval during the training process. The intrafractional prediction errors for various prediction models were then calculated on intrafractional monitoring images taken for 30 s at the constant sampling interval of a 500 ms fairly to evaluate the prediction accuracy for the same motion pattern. In addition, the first respiratory motion was used for the training and the second respiratory motion was used for the evaluation of the intrafractional prediction errors for the changed respiratory motion to evaluate the robustness of the prediction models. The training error of the prediction model was 1.7 ± 0.7 mm in 3D for all sampling

Birth characteristics and Wilms tumors in children in the Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schüz, Joachim; Schmidt, Lisbeth Samsø; Kogner, Per

2011-01-01

during 1985-2006, individually matched to five controls drawn randomly from the Nordic childhood population. Information on birth characteristics was obtained from the population-based medical birth registries. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic......-based study, we confirmed earlier observations of an association between high birth weight and risk of Wilms tumor, but we found an effect only in girls. The higher risk of infants with low Apgar score might reflect hypoxia causing cell damage, adverse side effects of neonatal treatment or reverse causation...

Obstetric History and Likelihood of Preterm Birth of Twins.

Science.gov (United States)

Easter, Sarah Rae; Little, Sarah E; Robinson, Julian N; Mendez-Figueroa, Hector; Chauhan, Suneet P

2018-01-05

 The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between preterm birth in a prior pregnancy and preterm birth in a twin pregnancy.  We performed a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial evaluating 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in twins. Women were classified as nulliparous, multiparous with a prior term birth, or multiparous with a prior preterm birth. We used logistic regression to examine the odds of spontaneous preterm birth of twins before 35 weeks according to past obstetric history.  Of the 653 women analyzed, 294 were nulliparas, 310 had a prior term birth, and 49 had a prior preterm birth. Prior preterm birth increased the likelihood of spontaneous delivery before 35 weeks (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.44, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-4.66), whereas prior term delivery decreased these odds (aOR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.38-0.78) in the current twin pregnancy compared with the nulliparous reference group. This translated into a lower odds of composite neonatal morbidity (aOR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.27-0.53) for women with a prior term delivery.  For women carrying twins, a history of preterm birth increases the odds of spontaneous preterm birth, whereas a prior term birth decreases odds of spontaneous preterm birth and neonatal morbidity for the current twin pregnancy. These results offer risk stratification and reassurance for clinicians. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Impact of race on male predisposition to birth asphyxia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, M A; Aly, H

2014-06-01

To examine the associations of: (a) neonatal sex with mild-to-moderate and severe birth asphyxia, (b) fetal sex with mortality due to birth asphyxia and (c) neonatal race with severe birth asphyxia. We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database including the years 1993 to 2008 or its pediatric sub portion Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) for the years 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006. NIS database is collected annually from more than 1000 hospitals across the United States for millions of inpatient discharge summaries. We included newborns older than 36 weeks gestational age or more than 2500 g at birth. We excluded newborns with congenital heart disease, major congenital anomalies and chromosomal disorders. We compared birth asphyxia in males to females, and in each race compared with whites, and examined effect of sex in association with birth asphyxia within each race/ethnicity. There were 9 708 251 term infants (51.8% males) included in the study. There were 15 569 newborns diagnosed with severe birth asphyxia (1.6 in 1000); of them 56.1% were males. Odds ratio (OR)to have severe birth asphyxia in male newborns was 1.16 (confidence interval (CI): 1.12 to 1.20, Psex was associated with increased birth asphyxia in all races but Native American. Male sex and African-American race were associated with increased prevalence of birth asphyxia.

Eczema, birth order, and infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Ann Maree; Crouch, Simon; Lightfoot, Tracy; Ansell, Pat; Simpson, Jill; Roman, Eve

2008-05-15

The association between infections occurring in the first 2 years of life and development of eczema was investigated in 1,782 control children from a national population-based case-control study in the United Kingdom conducted over the period 1991-1996. Dates of eczema and infectious diagnoses were ascertained from contemporaneously collected primary care records. Children diagnosed with eczema before the age of 2 years had more prior clinically diagnosed infections recorded than did children without eczema (rate ratio = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18, 1.36). The difference in infection rates between children with and without eczema was apparent from birth and throughout the first 2 years of life. As expected, compared with children of second or higher birth order, those firstborn were at increased risk of eczema (p = 0.020); however, the relation between eczema and prior infection was evident only among children of second or higher birth order and not among firstborn children (rate ratio = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.59, and rate ratio = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.20, respectively). The authors' results are consistent with the notion that the association between birth order and eczema is unlikely to be attributable to variations in early infectious exposure.

Underlying causes of neonatal deaths in term singleton pregnancies: home births versus hospital births in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Grünebaum, Amos; McCullough, Laurence B; Arabin, Birgit; Dudenhausen, Joachim; Orosz, Brooke; Chervenak, Frank A

2017-04-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the underlying causes of neonatal mortality (NNM) in midwife-attended home births and compare them to hospital births attended by a midwife or a physician in the United States (US). A retrospective cohort study of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked birth/infant death data set (linked files) for 2008 through 2012 of singleton, term (≥37 weeks) births and normal newborn weights (≥2500 grams). Midwife-attended home births had the highest rate of neonatal deaths [122/95,657 neonatal mortality (NNM) 12.75/10,000; relative risk (RR): 3.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3-4.4], followed by hospital physician births (8695/14,447,355 NNM 6.02/10,000; RR: 1.7 95% CI 1.6-1.9) and hospital midwife births (480/1,363,199 NNM 3.52/10,000 RR: 1). Among midwife-assisted home births, underlying causes attributed to labor and delivery caused 39.3% (48/122) of neonatal deaths (RR: 13.4; 95% CI 9-19.9) followed by 29.5% due to congenital anomalies (RR: 2.5; 95% CI 1.8-3.6), and 12.3% due to infections (RR: 4.5; 95% CI 2.5-8.1). There are significantly increased risks of neonatal deaths among midwife-attended home births associated with three underlying causes: labor and delivery issues, infections, and fetal malformations. This analysis of the causes of neonatal death in planned home birth shows that it is consistently riskier for newborns to deliver at home than at the hospital. Physicians, midwives, and other health care providers have a professional responsibility to share information about the clinical benefits and risks of clinical management.

Subfecundity as a correlate of preeclampsia: A study within the Danish National Birth Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basso, Olga; Weinberg, Clarice R.; Baird, Donna D.

2003-01-01

A long interpregnancy interval is associated with preeclampsia. If some women experiencing a long interval between births had difficulty conceiving, subfecundity and preeclampsia may share a common etiology. Therefore, the authors examined the association between subfecundity and preeclampsia. By...

Optimal pulse fishing policy in stage-structured models with birth pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Shujing; Chen Lansun; Sun Lihua

2005-01-01

In this paper, we propose exploited models with stage structure for the dynamics in a fish population for which periodic birth pulse and pulse fishing occur at different fixed time. Using the stroboscopic map, we obtain an exact cycle of system, and obtain the threshold conditions for its stability. Bifurcation diagrams are constructed with the birth rate (or pulse fishing time or harvesting effort) as the bifurcation parameter, and these are observed to display complex dynamic behaviors, including chaotic bands with period windows, period-doubling, multi-period-halving and incomplete period-doubling bifurcation, pitch-fork and tangent bifurcation, non-unique dynamics (meaning that several attractors or attractor and chaos coexist) and attractor crisis. This suggests that birth pulse and pulse fishing provide a natural period or cyclicity that make the dynamical behaviors more complex. Moreover, we show that the pulse fishing has a strong impact on the persistence of the fish population, on the volume of mature fish stock and on the maximum annual-sustainable yield. An interesting result is obtained that, after the birth pulse, the population can sustain much higher harvesting effort if the mature fish is removed as early as possible

Community Context, Land Use and First Birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghimire, Dirgha J; Axinn, William G

2010-09-01

This paper examines the influence of community context and land use on the monthly odds of first birth in a society in the midst of dramatic fertility transition. The theoretical framework guiding our work predicts that proximity to non-family services should delay first births by creating opportunities for competing non-family activities and spreading new ideas that change expectations about family life. On the other hand, living in agricultural settings that provide opportunities for higher returns to the child labor should speed first births. We use a longitudinal, multilevel, mixed-method data from the Nepalese Himalayas to test these predictions. The empirical results reveal that non-family services during childhood and during early adulthood both have important independent influences on the odds of first birth. Also, as predicted, a high density of agricultural land use affects the odds of first births in the opposite direction, speeding first births. This clear pattern of contrasting effects provides important new evidence of the contextual dynamics that produce watershed changes in post-marital birth timing.

Thyroid Medication Use and Birth Defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Howley, Meredith M; Fisher, Sarah C; Van Zutphen, Alissa R; Waller, Dorothy K; Carmichael, Suzan L; Browne, Marilyn L

2017-11-01

Thyroid disorders are common among reproductive-aged women, with hypothyroidism affecting 2 to 3% of pregnancies, and hyperthyroidism affecting an additional 0.1 to 1%. We examined associations between thyroid medications and individual birth defects using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS is a multisite, population-based, case-control study that included pregnancies with estimated delivery dates from 1997 to 2011. We analyzed self-reported thyroid medication use from mothers of 31,409 birth defect cases and 11,536 unaffected controls. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression for birth defects with five or more exposed cases, controlling for maternal age, race/ethnicity, and study center. Crude ORs and exact 95% CIs were estimated for defects with 3 to 4 exposed cases. Thyroid hormone was used by 738 (2.3%) case and 237 (2.1%) control mothers, and was associated with anencephaly (OR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03-2.73), holoprosencephaly (OR = 2.48; 95% CI, 1.13-5.44), hydrocephaly (1.77; 95% CI, 1.07-2.95) and small intestinal atresia (OR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.04-3.15). Anti-thyroid medication was used by 34 (0.1%) case and 10 (<0.1%) control mothers, and was associated with aortic valve stenosis (OR = 6.91; 95% CI, 1.21-27.0). While new associations were identified, our findings are relatively consistent with previous NBDPS analyses. Our findings suggest thyroid medication use is not associated with most birth defects studied in the NBDPS, but may be associated with some specific birth defects. These results should not be interpreted to suggest that medications used to treat thyroid disease are teratogens, as the observed associations may reflect effects of the underlying thyroid disease. Birth Defects Research 109:1471-1481, 2017.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Utilitarian population ethics and births timing

OpenAIRE

Ponthière, Grégory

2015-01-01

Births postponement is a key demographic trend of the last decades. To examine its social desirability, we study how utilitarian criteria rank histories equal on all dimensions except the age at which individuals give birth to their children. We develop a T-period dynamic overlapping generations economy with a fixed living space, where individual welfare is increasing in the available space per head, and where agents have children in one out of two fertility periods. When comparing finite his...

Effect of maternal country of birth on breastfeeding practices: results from Portuguese GXXI birth cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Kana, Musa Abubakar; Rodrigues, Carina; Fonseca, Maria João; Santos, Ana Cristina; Barros, Henrique

2018-01-01

Maternal country of birth has been associated with perinatal health outcomes but less is known regarding breastfeeding practices in contemporary European settings. This study investigated effect of maternal country of birth on breastfeeding initiation and duration by comparing native Portuguese and migrant mothers. We analyzed data of 7065 children of the Generation XXI (GXXI) birth cohort recruited at birth (2005-06) and followed-up 4 years later. Logistic regression was used to assess the effect of maternal country of birth on breastfeeding initiation. Kaplan-Meier estimate was used to compare breastfeeding duration by maternal country of birth and length of residence by migrant mothers in Portugal. Breastfeeding initiation and the type of breastfeeding practice were similar for native Portuguese and migrant mothers. The migrants had significantly higher median duration in months of any breastfeeding (Odds Ratio [OR] 6.0, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 5.4,6.6) and exclusive breastfeeding (OR 4.0, 95% CI 3.8,4.2) than native Portuguese mothers (OR 4.0, 95% CI 3.8,4.2 and OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.9,3.0). Migrant mothers who resided in Portugal for either ≤5 years (OR 5.0, 95% CI 3.9,6.1 and OR 4.0, 95% CI 3.8,4.2) or >  5 years (OR 6.0, 95% CI 5.5,6.5 and OR 4.0, 95% CI 3.7,4.3) years had similar duration of any breastfeeding or exclusive breastfeeding, in both cases higher than the native Portuguese mothers. No significant differences were found when world regions were compared. Maternal country of birth does not influence breastfeeding initiation and type of feeding practice. However, migrant mothers have longer breastfeeding duration of either exclusive or any breastfeeding, which was not changed by length of residence in Portugal.

Kinetic theory of age-structured stochastic birth-death processes

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, Chris D.; Chou, Tom

2016-01-01

Classical age-structured mass-action models such as the McKendrick-von Foerster equation have been extensively studied but are unable to describe stochastic fluctuations or population-size-dependent birth and death rates. Stochastic theories that treat semi-Markov age-dependent processes using, e.g., the Bellman-Harris equation do not resolve a population's age structure and are unable to quantify population-size dependencies. Conversely, current theories that include size-dependent population dynamics (e.g., mathematical models that include carrying capacity such as the logistic equation) cannot be easily extended to take into account age-dependent birth and death rates. In this paper, we present a systematic derivation of a new, fully stochastic kinetic theory for interacting age-structured populations. By defining multiparticle probability density functions, we derive a hierarchy of kinetic equations for the stochastic evolution of an aging population undergoing birth and death. We show that the fully stochastic age-dependent birth-death process precludes factorization of the corresponding probability densities, which then must be solved by using a Bogoliubov--Born--Green--Kirkwood--Yvon-like hierarchy. Explicit solutions are derived in three limits: no birth, no death, and steady state. These are then compared with their corresponding mean-field results. Our results generalize both deterministic models and existing master equation approaches by providing an intuitive and efficient way to simultaneously model age- and population-dependent stochastic dynamics applicable to the study of demography, stem cell dynamics, and disease evolution.

Risks of adverse outcomes in the next birth after a first cesarean delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennare, Robyn; Tucker, Graeme; Heard, Adrian; Chan, Annabelle

2007-02-01

To estimate the risks of cesarean first birth, compared with vaginal first birth, for adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes in the second birth. Population-based retrospective cohort study of all singleton, second births in the South Australian perinatal data collection 1998 to 2003 comparing outcomes for 8,725 women who underwent a cesarean delivery for their first birth with 27,313 women who underwent a vaginal first birth. Predictor variables include age, indigenous status, smoking, pregnancy interval, medical and obstetric complications, gestation, patient type, hospital category, and history of ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth or termination of pregnancy. The cesarean delivery cohort had increased risks for malpresentation (odds ratio [OR] 1.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.65-2.06), placenta previa (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.30-2.11), antepartum hemorrhage (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.08-1.41), placenta accreta (OR 18.79, 95% CI 2.28-864.6), prolonged labor (OR 5.89, 95% CI 3.91-8.89), emergency cesarean (relative risk 9.37, 95% CI 8.98-9.76) and uterine rupture (OR 84.42, 95% CI 14.64-infinity), preterm birth (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.31), low birth weight (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.14-1.48), small for gestational age (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.23), stillbirth (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.32), and unexplained stillbirth (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.26-4.37). The range of the number of primary cesarean deliveries needed to harm included 134 for one additional preterm birth, up to 1,536 for one additional placenta accreta. Cesarean delivery is associated with increased risks for adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes in the subsequent birth. However, some risks may be due to confounding factors related to the indication for the first cesarean. II.

Associations of consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy with infant birth weight or small for gestational age births: a systematic review of the literature

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Mary M; Stettler, Nicolas; Smith, Kimberly M; Reiss, Richard

2014-01-01

Maternal nutrition is recognized as one of the determinants of fetal growth. Consumption of fruits and vegetables is promoted as part of a healthful diet; however, intakes are typically lower than recommended levels. The purpose of this study was to systematically review results from studies examining the relationship between maternal consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy with infant birth weight or risk for delivering a small for gestational age baby. A comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE was conducted and abstracts were screened using predefined criteria. Eleven relevant studies were identified and systematically reviewed, including six prospective cohort studies, three retrospective cohort studies, and two case–control studies. Seven studies were conducted in cohorts from highly developed countries. One prospective study from a highly developed area reported increased risk for small for gestational age birth by women with low vegetable intakes (odds ratio 3.1; 95% confidence interval 1.4–6.9; P=0.01); another large prospective study reported a 10.4 g increase in birth weight per quintile increase in fruit intake (95% confidence interval 6.9–3.9; Pfruits and vegetables (combined) or fruits, vegetables, and juice (combined), respectively. One retrospective study reported an association between low fruit intake and birth weight. In less developed countries, increased vegetable or fruit intake was associated with increased birth weight in two prospective studies. Overall, limited inconclusive evidence of a protective effect of increased consumption of vegetables and risk for small for gestational age birth, and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased birth weight among women from highly developed countries was identified. Among women in less developed countries, limited inconclusive evidence suggests that increased consumption of vegetables or fruits may be associated with higher infant birth weight. The available

Meta-analysis of lamb birth weight as influenced by pregnancy nutrition of multiparous ewes.

Science.gov (United States)

Roca Fraga, Fernando J; Lagisz, Malgorzata; Nakagawa, Shinichi; Lopez-Villalobos, Nicolas; Blair, Hugh; Kenyon, Paul

2018-02-28

Across the literature there is large variation in lamb birth weight responses to changes in the ewe pregnancy nutrition. Much of this heterogeneity has been attributed to several factors inherent to each experiment, however, the relative contribution of these experimental factors has not yet been quantified. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically review the variation in lamb birth weight responses across nutritional studies involving adult multiparous ewes. Effect sizes for individual studies were estimated using the unbiased estimator Hedges' g, whereby, positive and negative values indicate heavier and lighter treatment lambs vs. controls, respectively. Heterogeneity varied between early-, mid- and late-pregnancy undernutrition studies (I2total [early-pregnancy] = 19.90%, I2total [mid-pregnancy] = 52.10%, I2total [late-pregnancy] = 68.70%). The small average effects for early- (0.04, Highest Posterior Density (HPD) interval = -0.22 , 0.28) and mid-pregnancy undernutrition (-0.15, HPD interval = -0.35 , 0.05) suggest that if farmers anticipate a potential feed shortage, ewes can be allowed to lose weight providing nutrition is resumed to adequate levels later in pregnancy. On the contrary, late-pregnancy undernutrition was associated with a significant decrease in lamb birth weight (-0.72, HPD interval = -0.86 , -0.55). Thus, management practices should focus on ensuring adequate nutrition in late-pregnancy. Increasing lamb birth weight could be possible by feeding ewes above their pregnancy maintenance requirement (0.23, HPD interval = 0.002 , 0.48), though the number of studies is limited and further research is needed.

Anomalous dependence of population growth on the birth rate in the plant-herbivore system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Xue M.; Han, Seung K.; Chung, Jean S.

2010-01-01

We performed a simulation of the two-species plant-herbivore system by using the agent-based NetLogo program and constructed a dynamic model of populations consistent with the simulation results. The dynamic model is a three-dimensional system including the mean energy of the herbivore in addition to two variables denoting the populations of plants and herbivores. A steady-state analysis of the dynamic model shows that the dependence of the herbivore population on the birth and the death rates observed from the agent model is consistent with the prediction of the dynamic model. Especially, the anomalous dependence of the herbivore population on the birth rate, where the population decreases with the birth rate for small death rate, is consistently explained by a phase plane analysis of the dynamic model.

Body mass dynamics in hand reared clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) cubs from birth to weaning.

Science.gov (United States)

Nájera, Fernando; Brown, Janine; Wildt, David E; Virolle, Laurie; Kongprom, Urarikha; Revuelta, Luis; Goodrowe-Beck, Karen

2015-01-01

To study the dynamics of body mass changes in hand reared clouded leopards, we analyzed 3,697 weight data points during the first 3 months of life in 49 cubs from 24 zoo-born litters from 2003 through 2012. All cubs were fed the same formula mixture after a similar weaning protocol. The hand rearing process was divided into three periods based on feeding protocols: Stage 1: formula only (Days 1-28; Day 0 = day of birth); Stage 2, formula supplemented with protein (e.g., turkey baby food; Days 29-42); Stage 3, formula in decreasing amounts supplemented with meat (chicken and/or beef; Days 43-90). Weights at birth were 11.2% higher (P weight gain was slowest (P  0.05) growth and weaning weights compared to healthy counterparts. These are the first data documenting, on a large scale, the growth patterns for zoo born, hand reared clouded leopard cubs. Findings are valuable as an aid in managing this rare species, including for helping identify early onset of medical issues and further determining key factors regulating the first 3 months of development. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Social class at birth and risk of psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donoghue, Brian; Fanning, Felicity; Lyne, John; Renwick, Laoise; Madigan, Kevin; Kinsella, Anthony; Lane, Abbie; Turner, Niall; O'Callaghan, Eadbhard; Clarke, Mary

2015-12-01

Individuals with psychotic disorders are represented more in the lower social classes, yet there is conflicting evidence to whether these individuals drift into the lower social classes or whether lower social class is a risk factor for developing psychosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether the social class at birth is a risk factor for developing psychosis. We included individuals with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) whose social class at birth was determined from birth records. We employed a case-control study design and also compared the distribution of the social classes at birth of the cases to that of the general population. A total of 380 individuals with an FEP and 760 controls were included in the case-control study. The odds ratio for developing an FEP associated with social class (low vs high) was .62 (95% confidence interval (CI): .46-.85, p social class at birth have a reduced risk of psychosis. Individuals born between 1961 and 1980 with an FEP were more likely to be from a higher social class at birth compared to the general population (60.8% vs 36.7%, χ(2) = 60.85, df = 1, p social class at birth is associated with a greater risk for developing a psychotic disorder; however, this effect may show temporal variation. © The Author(s) 2015.

Associations of prenatal exposure to phenols with birth outcomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Rong; Chen, Min-jian; Ding, Guo-dong; Chen, Xiao-jiao; Han, Xiu-mei; Zhou, Kun; Chen, Li-mei; Xia, Yan-kai; Tian, Ying; Wang, Xin-ru

2013-01-01

Many phenols are known to mimic or antagonize hormonal activities and may adversely affect fetal growth. A study of 567 pregnant women was conducted to investigate the relationship between prenatal phenol exposure and birth outcomes, including birth weight, length, and gestational age. We measured the concentrations of bisphenol A, benzophenone-3, 4-n-octylphenol and 4-n-nonylphenol in maternal urine and examine their association with birth outcomes. Categories of urinary benzophenone-3 concentration were associated with decreased gestational age in all infants (p for trend = 0.03). Between middle and low exposure groups, we also found bisphenol A was negatively associated with gestational duration (β adjusted = −0.48 week; 95% confidence interval: −0.91, −0.05). After stratification by gender, we found the consistent results in infant boys with those in all infants, but we did not observe significant association for girls. In conclusion, we found prenatal phenol exposure was sex-specifically related to birth outcomes. -- Highlights: •We examined relationship of prenatal exposure to phenols with birth outcomes. •We determined urinary concentrations of various phenols. •BP-3 and BPA were negatively associated with gestational age. •There was sex-specific association between phenol exposure and birth outcomes. -- Prenatal phenol exposure was sex-specifically related to birth outcomes

Placenta previa and risk of major congenital malformations among singleton births in Finland.

Science.gov (United States)

Kancherla, Vijaya; Räisänen, Sari; Gissler, Mika; Kramer, Michael R; Heinonen, Seppo

2015-06-01

Placenta previa has been associated with adverse birth outcomes, but its association with congenital malformations is inconclusive. We examined the association between placenta previa and major congenital malformations among singleton births in Finland. We performed a retrospective population register-based study on all singletons born at or after 22+0 weeks of gestation in Finland during 2000 to 2010. We linked three national health registers: the Finnish Medical Birth Register, the Hospital Discharge Register, and the Register of Congenital Malformations, and examined several demographic and clinical characteristics among women with and without placenta previa, in association with major congenital malformations. We estimated adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using multivariable logistic regression models. The prevalence of placenta previa was estimated as 2.65 per 1000 singleton births in Finland (95% confidence interval, 2.53-2.79). Overall, 6.2% of women with placenta previa delivered a singleton infant with a major congenital malformation, compared with 3.8% of unaffected women (p ≤ 0.001). Placenta previa was positively associated with almost 1.6-fold increased risk of major congenital malformations in the offspring, after controlling for maternal age, parity, fetal sex, smoking, socio-economic status, chorionic villus biopsy, In vitro fertilization, pre-existing diabetes, depression, preeclampsia, and prior caesarean section (adjusted odds ratio = 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-1.90). Using a large population-based study, we found that placenta previa was weakly, but significantly associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations in singleton births. Future studies should examine the association between placenta previa and individual types of congenital malformations, specifically in high-risk pregnancies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Definition of intertwin birth weight discordance.

Science.gov (United States)

Breathnach, Fionnuala M; McAuliffe, Fionnuala M; Geary, Michael; Daly, Sean; Higgins, John R; Dornan, James; Morrison, John J; Burke, Gerard; Higgins, Shane; Dicker, Patrick; Manning, Fiona; Mahony, Rhona; Malone, Fergal D

2011-07-01

To establish the level of birth weight discordance at which perinatal morbidity increases in monochorionic and dichorionic twin pregnancy. This prospective multicenter cohort study included 1,028 unselected twin pairs recruited over a 2-year period. Participants underwent two weekly ultrasonographic surveillance from 24 weeks of gestation with surveillance of monochorionic twins two-weekly from 16 weeks. Analysis using Cox proportional hazards compared a composite measure of perinatal morbidity (including any of the following: mortality, respiratory distress syndrome, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis, or sepsis) at different degrees of birth weight discordance with adjustment for chorionicity, gestational age, twin-twin transfusion syndrome, birth order, gender, and growth restriction. Perinatal outcome data were recorded for 977 patients (100%) who continued the study with both fetuses alive beyond 24 weeks, including 14 cases of twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Adjusting for gestation at delivery, twin order, gender, and growth restriction, perinatal mortality, individual morbidity, and composite perinatal morbidity were all seen to increase with birth weight discordance exceeding 18% for dichorionic pairs (hazard ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-2.9, Pbirth weights were appropriate for gestational age. : The threshold for birth weight discordance established by this prospective study is 18% both for dichorionic twin pairs and for monochorionic twins without twin-twin transfusion syndrome. This threshold is considerably lower than that defined by many retrospective series as pathologic. We suggest that an anticipated difference of 18% in birth weight should prompt more intensive fetal monitoring.

International comparisons of preterm birth: higher rates of late preterm birth are associated with lower rates of stillbirth and neonatal death.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisonkova, S; Sabr, Y; Butler, B; Joseph, K S

2012-12-01

To examine international rates of preterm birth and potential associations with stillbirths and neonatal deaths at late preterm and term gestation. Ecological study. Canada, USA and 26 countries in Europe. All deliveries in 2004. Information on preterm birth (Statistics Canada, the EURO-PERISTAT project and the National Center for Health Statistics. Pearson correlation coefficients and random-intercept Poisson regression were used to examine the association between preterm birth rates and gestational age-specific stillbirth and neonatal death rates. Rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated after adjustment for maternal age, parity and multiple births. Stillbirths and neonatal deaths ≥ 32 and ≥ 37 weeks of gestation. International rates of preterm birth (births. Preterm birth rates at 32-36 weeks were inversely associated with stillbirths at ≥ 32 weeks (adjusted rate ratio 0.94, 95% CI 0.92-0.96) and ≥ 37 weeks (adjusted rate ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.85-0.91) of gestation and inversely associated with neonatal deaths at ≥ 32 weeks (adjusted rate ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.85-0.91) and ≥ 37 weeks (adjusted rate ratio 0.82, 95% CI 0.78-0.86) of gestation. Countries with high rates of preterm birth at 32-36 weeks of gestation have lower stillbirth and neonatal death rates at and beyond 32 weeks of gestation. Contemporary rates of preterm birth are indicators of both perinatal health and obstetric care services. © 2012 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2012 RCOG.

Maternal Concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Fetal Markers of Metabolic Function and Birth Weight

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley-Martin, Jillian; Dodds, Linda; Arbuckle, Tye E.; Bouchard, Maryse F.; Fisher, Mandy; Morriset, Anne-Sophie; Monnier, Patricia; Shapiro, Gabriel D.; Ettinger, Adrienne S.; Dallaire, Renee; Taback, Shayne; Fraser, William; Platt, Robert W.

2017-01-01

Abstract Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous, persistent chemicals that have been widely used in the production of common household and consumer goods for their nonflammable, lipophobic, and hydrophobic properties. Inverse associations between maternal or umbilical cord blood concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonate and birth weight have been identified. This literature has primarily examined each PFAS individually without consideration of the potential influence of correlated exposures. Further, the association between PFAS exposures and indicators of metabolic function (i.e., leptin and adiponectin) has received limited attention. We examined associations between first-trimester maternal plasma PFAS concentrations and birth weight and cord blood concentrations of leptin and adiponectin using data on 1,705 mother-infant pairs from the Maternal Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) Study, a trans-Canada birth cohort study that recruited women between 2008 and 2011. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to quantify associations and calculate credible intervals. Maternal perfluorooctanoic acid concentrations were inversely associated with birth weight z score, though the null value was included in all credible intervals (log10 β = −0.10, 95% credible interval: −0.34, 0.13). All associations between maternal PFAS concentrations and cord blood adipocytokine concentrations were of small magnitude and centered around the null value. Follow-up in a cohort of children is required to determine how the observed associations manifest in childhood. PMID:28172036

Preeclampsia and retinopathy of prematurity in preterm births.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiao Dan; Branch, D Ware; Karumanchi, S Ananth; Zhang, Jun

2012-07-01

The relationship between gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and the risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains unclear. Thus, we used a large cohort database to study the influence of maternal gestational hypertension and preeclampsia on the occurrence of ROP in preterm infants. We used data from a previous retrospective cohort study that includes 25,473 eligible preterm neonates. We examined the association between gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and ROP while controlling for potential confounders by multiple logistic regression analysis. Of the 8758 early preterm infants (gestational age <34 weeks), 1024 (11.69%) had ROP, while of the 16,715 late preterm infants, only 29 (0.17%) had ROP. After adjusting for confounders, preeclampsia was associated with a significantly reduced risk of ROP (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-0.86 for early preterm birth; aOR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.93 for late preterm birth; aOR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.87 for all preterm births). Gestational hypertension was not significantly associated with ROP at early or late preterm births. Preeclampsia, but not gestational hypertension, was associated with a reduced risk of ROP in preterm births.

Maternal pesticide use and birth weight in the agricultural health study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sathyanarayana, Sheela; Basso, Olga; Karr, Catherine J; Lozano, Paula; Alavanja, Michael; Sandler, Dale P; Hoppin, Jane A

2010-04-01

Studies examining the association between maternal pesticide exposure and low birth weight yield conflicting results. The authors examined the association between maternal pesticide use and birth weight among women in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of pesticide applicators and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina. The authors evaluated self-reported pesticide use of 27 individual pesticides in relation to birth weight among 2246 farm women whose most recent singleton birth occurred within 5 years of enrollment (1993-1997). The authors used linear regression models adjusted for site, preterm birth, medical parity, maternal body mass index, height, and smoking. The results showed that mean infant birth weight was 3586 g (+/- 546 g), and 3% of the infants were low birth weight (birth weight. Ever use of the pesticide carbaryl was associated with decreased birth weight (-82 g, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -132, -31). This study thus provides limited evidence about pesticide use as a modulator of birth weight. Overall, the authors observed no associations between birth weight and pesticide-related activities during early pregnancy; however, the authors have no data on temporal specificity of individual pesticide exposures prior to or during pregnancy and therefore cannot draw conclusions related to these exposure windows. Given the widespread exposure to pesticide products, additional evaluation of maternal pregnancy exposures at specific time windows and subsequent birth outcomes is warranted.

Magnitude and Correlates of Low Birth Weight at Term in Rural Wardha, Central India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar V

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Birth weight is one of the most important determinant of the neonatal and infant survival. The goal of reducing low birth weight incidence by at least one third between 2000 and 2010 was one of the major goals in ‘A World Fit for Children’. The prevention of low birth weight is a public health priority, particularly in developing countries with high magnitude. Knowledge regarding magnitude and correlates help prevent the condition. Hence, the present study was carried out to study the magnitude and the correlates of low birth weight. Methodology: Two hundred and six newborn babies were recruited on a birth cohort from two Primary Health Centres (PHC of Wardha district to study growth in first year of life. Here, we present the baseline analysis of 172 children who were born full term to study the correlates of low birth weight babies born full term. The children were recruited within first week of their birth. Data was collected on socio-demographic profile, birth history, and maternal characteristics. Proportion of low birth weight was expressed in percentage along with 95% confidence interval. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to study the correlates. Findings are expressed in odds ratios with their 95% confidence intervals. Results: The magnitude of low birth weight at term was found to be 33.1% (95% CI: 26.4%-40.4%. On univariate analysis, significant correlates of low birth weight were consumption of less than 50 iron-folic acid tables and being born to than mother. On multivariate analysis, the significant correlates were female sex of child (OR=2.856, being born to thin mother (OR=5.320, consumption of less than 50 tablets (OR=4.648, and complications of pregnancy (OR=2.917. Conclusions: The magnitude of low birth weight is very high and modifiable correlates of low birth weight are nutritional status of mother, lower consumption of IFA tablets and complications of pregnancy.

Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and birth outcomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Limei; Wang, Caifeng; Cui, Chang; Ding, Guodong; Zhou, Yijun; Jin, Jun; Gao, Yu; Tian, Ying

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine the potential association between maternal PBDEs and birth outcomes, including birth weight (g), length (cm), head circumference (cm) and gestational age (week). 215 mothers were recruited from a prospective birth cohort in rural northern China between September 2010 and February 2012. Serum PBDE congeners were detected and their association with birth outcomes were examined. The median maternal serum concentrations of BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153 were 2.27, 2.26, 3.58, 2.13, 4.87 ng/g lipid, respectively. Maternal LgBDE-28 and LgBDE-100 were negatively associated with birth length (β = −0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): −1.82, −0.02; β = −0.97, 95% CI: −1.83, −0.08). A negative association was found between LgBDE-28 and birth weight among male infants (β = −253.76, 95% CI: −438.16, −69.36). PBDE congeners were not associated with head circumference, or gestational age. Our results contribute to growing evidence suggesting that PBDEs have adverse effects on birth outcomes. - Highlights: • We examined the relations between maternal exposure to PBDEs and birth outcomes. • BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, and -153 were detected in serum from 215 pregnant women. • There was a negative association between BDE-28, -100 and birth length. • BDE-28 showed a negative association with birth weight among male infants. - Negative associations were found between BDE-28, -100 exposure and birth length as well as between BDE-28 exposure and birth weight in male infants.

Birth Characteristics and Childhood Leukemia Risk: Correlations With Genetic Markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Amy E; Kamdar, Kala Y; Lupo, Philip J; Okcu, Mehmet F; Scheurer, Michael E; Dorak, Mehmet T

2015-07-01

Birth characteristics such as birth order, birth weight, birth defects, and Down syndrome showed some of the first risk associations with childhood leukemia. Examinations of correlations between birth characteristics and leukemia risk markers have been limited to birth weight-related genetic polymorphisms. We integrated information on nongenetic and genetic markers by evaluating the relationship of birth characteristics, genetic markers for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) susceptibility, and ALL risk together. The multiethnic study consisted of cases with childhood ALL (n=161) and healthy controls (n=261). Birth characteristic data were collected through questionnaires, and genotyping was achieved by TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. We observed risk associations for birth weight over 4000 g (odds ratios [OR]=1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-3.19), birth length (OR=1.18 per inch; 95% CI, 1.01-1.38), and with gestational age (OR=1.10 per week; 95% CI, 1.00-1.21). Only the HFE tag single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9366637 showed an inverse correlation with a birth characteristic, gestational age, with a gene-dosage effect (P=0.005), and in interaction with a transferrin receptor rs3817672 genotype (Pinteraction=0.05). This correlation translated into a strong association for rs9366637 with preterm birth (OR=5.0; 95% CI, 1.19-20.9). Our study provides evidence for the involvement of prenatal events in the development of childhood ALL. The inverse correlation of rs9366637 with gestational age has implications on the design of HFE association studies in birth weight and childhood conditions using full-term newborns as controls.

Impact of maternal and paternal smoking on birth outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Sachiko; Naruse, Hiroo; Yorifuji, Takashi; Kato, Tsuguhiko; Murakoshi, Takeshi; Doi, Hiroyuki; Subramanian, S V

2017-09-01

The adverse effects of maternal and paternal smoking on child health have been studied. However, few studies demonstrate the interaction effects of maternal/paternal smoking, and birth outcomes other than birth weight have not been evaluated. The present study examined individual effects of maternal/paternal smoking and their interactions on birth outcomes. A follow-up hospital-based study from pregnancy to delivery was conducted from 1997 to 2010 with parents and newborn infants who delivered at a large hospital in Hamamatsu, Japan. The relationships between smoking and growth were evaluated with logistic regression. The individual effects of maternal smoking are related to low birth weight (LBW), short birth length and small head circumference. The individual effects of paternal smoking are related to short birth length and small head circumference. In the adjusted model, both parents' smoking showed clear associations with LBW (odds ratio [OR] = 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-2.27) and short birth length (-1 standard deviation [SD] OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.07-1.79; -2 SD OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.84-4.10). Maternal smoking was significantly associated with birth weight and length, but paternal smoking was not. However, if both parents smoked, the risk of shorter birth length increased. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The effects of maternal calving date and calving interval on growth ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was undertaken to investigate the growth performance of calves born to dams with different calving dates and calving intervals. Early calving dams produced calves with the lowest birth weights, the highest actual weaning weights and the highest pre-breeding heifer weights. The higher weaning weights of early ...

The impact of postpartum contraception on reducing preterm birth: findings from California.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Maria I; Chang, Richard; Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike

2015-11-01

Family planning is recommended as a strategy to prevent adverse birth outcomes. The potential contribution of postpartum contraceptive coverage to reducing rates of preterm birth is unknown. In this study, we examine the impact of contraceptive coverage and use within 18 months of a birth on preventing preterm birth in a Californian cohort. We identified records for second or higher-order births among women from California's 2011 Birth Statistical Master File and their prior births from earlier Birth Statistical Master Files. To identify women who received contraceptive services from publicly funded programs, we applied a probabilistic linking methodology to match birth files with enrollment records for women with Medi-Cal or Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment Program (PACT) claims. The length of contraceptive coverage was determined through applying an algorithm based on the specified method and the quantity dispensed. Preterm birth was defined as a birth occurring birth using subcategories defined by the World Health Organization: extremely preterm (birth and control for key covariates. The cohort consisted of 111,948 women who were seen at least once by a Medi-Cal or Family PACT provider within 18 months of delivery. Of the cohort, 9.75% had a preterm birth. Contraceptive coverage was found to be protective against preterm birth. For every month of contraceptive coverage, odds of a preterm birth confidence interval, 0.986-0.993). Improving postpartum contraceptive use has the potential to reduce preterm births. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Birth characteristics and Wilms tumors in children in the Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schüz, Joachim; Schmidt, Lisbeth Samsø; Kogner, Per

2011-01-01

Little is known about causes of Wilms tumor. Because of the young age at diagnosis, several studies have looked at various birth characteristics. We conducted a registry-based case-control study involving 690 cases of Wilms tumor aged 0-14 years, occurring in Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden...... during 1985-2006, individually matched to five controls drawn randomly from the Nordic childhood population. Information on birth characteristics was obtained from the population-based medical birth registries. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic......-for-gestational age girls also had a higher risk (2.48, 1.51-4.05), whereas no effect was seen for boys (1.12, 0.60-2.07). An association was seen with Apgar score at 5 min birth order. In our large-scale, registry...

preterm births in a resource constrained setting: soci

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-12-01

Dec 1, 2015 ... Methods: A retrospective study of preterm and term deliveries in a tertiary ... self is a risk factor for a repeat preterm birth in subse- ... strual period and verified with the report of an early ultrasound scan. ... corresponding 95% confidence interval. .... natal visits has been reported to influence the likeli- hood of ...

Sex ratios at birth after induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Urquia, Marcelo L; Moineddin, Rahim; Jha, Prabhat; O'Campo, Patricia J; McKenzie, Kwame; Glazier, Richard H; Henry, David A; Ray, Joel G

2016-06-14

Skewed male:female ratios at birth have been observed among certain immigrant groups. Data on abortion practices that might help to explain these findings are lacking. We examined 1 220 933 births to women with up to 3 consecutive singleton live births between 1993 and 2012 in Ontario. Records of live births, and induced and spontaneous abortions were linked to Canadian immigration records. We determined associations of male:female infant ratios with maternal birthplace, sex of the previous living sibling(s) and prior spontaneous or induced abortions. Male:female infant ratios did not appreciably depart from the normal range among Canadian-born women and most women born outside of Canada, irrespective of the sex of previous children or the characteristics of prior abortions. However, among infants of women who immigrated from India and had previously given birth to 2 girls, the overall male:female ratio was 1.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.75-2.21) for the third live birth. The male:female infant ratio after 2 girls was 1.77 (95% CI 1.26-2.47) times higher if the current birth was preceded by 1 induced abortion, 2.38 (95% CI 1.44-3.94) times higher if preceded by 2 or more induced abortions and 3.88 (95% CI 2.02-7.50) times higher if the induced abortion was performed at 15 weeks or more gestation relative to no preceding abortion. Spontaneous abortions were not associated with male-biased sex ratios in subsequent births. High male:female ratios observed among infants born to women who immigrated from India are associated with induced abortions, especially in the second trimester of pregnancy. © 2016 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors.

Predicting birth weight with conditionally linear transformation models.

Science.gov (United States)

Möst, Lisa; Schmid, Matthias; Faschingbauer, Florian; Hothorn, Torsten

2016-12-01

Low and high birth weight (BW) are important risk factors for neonatal morbidity and mortality. Gynecologists must therefore accurately predict BW before delivery. Most prediction formulas for BW are based on prenatal ultrasound measurements carried out within one week prior to birth. Although successfully used in clinical practice, these formulas focus on point predictions of BW but do not systematically quantify uncertainty of the predictions, i.e. they result in estimates of the conditional mean of BW but do not deliver prediction intervals. To overcome this problem, we introduce conditionally linear transformation models (CLTMs) to predict BW. Instead of focusing only on the conditional mean, CLTMs model the whole conditional distribution function of BW given prenatal ultrasound parameters. Consequently, the CLTM approach delivers both point predictions of BW and fetus-specific prediction intervals. Prediction intervals constitute an easy-to-interpret measure of prediction accuracy and allow identification of fetuses subject to high prediction uncertainty. Using a data set of 8712 deliveries at the Perinatal Centre at the University Clinic Erlangen (Germany), we analyzed variants of CLTMs and compared them to standard linear regression estimation techniques used in the past and to quantile regression approaches. The best-performing CLTM variant was competitive with quantile regression and linear regression approaches in terms of conditional coverage and average length of the prediction intervals. We propose that CLTMs be used because they are able to account for possible heteroscedasticity, kurtosis, and skewness of the distribution of BWs. © The Author(s) 2014.

Trends in contraceptive use and distribution of births with demographic risk factors in Ethiopia: a sub-national analysis

OpenAIRE

Shiferaw, Solomon; Abdullah, Muna; Mekonnen, Yared; Ma?ga, Abdoulaye; Akinyemi, Akanni; Amouzou, Agbessi; Friedman, Howard; Barros, Aluisio J. D.; Hounton, Sennen

2015-01-01

Background: Evidence shows that family planning contributes to the decline in child mortality by decreasing the proportions of births that are considered high risk. The main objective of the present analysis was to examine the trends in use of modern contraceptives and their relationship with total fertility rate (TFR) and distribution of births by demographic risk factors as defined by mother’s age, birth interval, and birth order at the sub-national level in Ethiopia.Design: Analyses used d...

Respiratory morbidity in twins by birth order, gestational age and mode of delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Bricelj, Katja; Tul, Natasa; Lasic, Mateja; Bregar, Andreja Trojner; Verdenik, Ivan; Lucovnik, Miha; Blickstein, Isaac

2016-10-01

To evaluate the relationship between respiratory morbidity in twins by gestational age, birth order and mode of delivery. All twin deliveries at birth order and to the mode of delivery. In contrast, RDS was more frequent among the second born twins in the vaginal birth groups born at 30-36 weeks [odds ratio (OR) 2.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-5.1 and OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.5 for 33-36 weeks and 30-32 weeks, respectively], whereas this trend was seen in the cesarean birth groups born earlier (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.1-13.0 for 28-29 weeks). Cesarean delivery significantly increased the frequency of RDS in twin A as well as in twin B compared with vaginal birth, but only at gestational ages birth order have a gestational age dependent effect on the incidence of RDS.

[Incidence of long (short) PR interval in electrocardiogram among healthy people in Changsha and its clinical significance].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Liping; Lin, Ping; Xu, Yi; Wu, Lijia; Zou, Runmei; Xie, Zhenwu; Wang, Cheng

2016-04-01

To analyze the incidence of long (short) PR interval in electrocardiogram among healthy people in Changsha and the clinical significance.
 Twelve-lead body surface electrocardiogram was taken to measure the heart rates and PR intervals from 4 025 healthy individuals (age range from 6 min after birth to 83 years old) who performed physical examination from Jan, 1993 to Dec, 2012 in the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University. Statistics were analyzed by SPSS 16.0.
 The total incidence of short PR interval was 19.65% (791/4 025). The age group from birth to 13 years old had a higher incidence than the other age groups (χ2=432, PPR intervals was 3.58% (144/4 025). The 1 year-old group had the highest incidence (6.74%), which decreased with the increase of age. The lowest incidence of long PR intervals occurred in the age group from 14-17 years old, which gradually increased after 50 years old. There were no significant differences in long (short) PR intervals between the gender (P>0.05).
 The incidence of long (short) PR intervals varies in different age groups of healthy people. The incidences of long (short) PR intervals in children before 10 years old are higher than those in adults, especially the short PR intervals, as a result of the heart rate affected by childhood autonomic nervous function and the change in atrial volume with age. Adults have long (short) PR interval should be regularly followed-up to prevent cardiovascular events.

Associations of consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy with infant birth weight or small for gestational age births: a systematic review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murphy MM

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Mary M Murphy,1 Nicolas Stettler,1,2 Kimberly M Smith,1 Richard Reiss3 1Exponent, Inc., Center for Chemical Regulation and Food Safety, Washington, DC, USA; 2The Lewin Group, Falls Church, VA, USA; 3Exponent, Inc., Center for Chemical Regulation and Food Safety, Alexandria, VA, USA Abstract: Maternal nutrition is recognized as one of the determinants of fetal growth. Consumption of fruits and vegetables is promoted as part of a healthful diet; however, intakes are typically lower than recommended levels. The purpose of this study was to systematically review results from studies examining the relationship between maternal consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy with infant birth weight or risk for delivering a small for gestational age baby. A comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE was conducted and abstracts were screened using predefined criteria. Eleven relevant studies were identified and systematically reviewed, including six prospective cohort studies, three retrospective cohort studies, and two case–control studies. Seven studies were conducted in cohorts from highly developed countries. One prospective study from a highly developed area reported increased risk for small for gestational age birth by women with low vegetable intakes (odds ratio 3.1; 95% confidence interval 1.4–6.9; P=0.01; another large prospective study reported a 10.4 g increase in birth weight per quintile increase in fruit intake (95% confidence interval 6.9–3.9; P<0.0001 and increases of 8.4 or 7.7 g per quintile intake of fruits and vegetables (combined or fruits, vegetables, and juice (combined, respectively. One retrospective study reported an association between low fruit intake and birth weight. In less developed countries, increased vegetable or fruit intake was associated with increased birth weight in two prospective studies. Overall, limited inconclusive evidence of a protective effect of increased consumption of vegetables and risk for

Birth defects data for 8 California counties by county, maternal age, maternal race/ethnicity, and infant gender for the years 2000-2006.

Data.gov (United States)

California Environmental Health Tracking Program — This dataset contains counts, rates, and confidence intervals of 12 selected birth defects among live births during 2000-2006 within eight California counties:...

Nonlinear dynamic systems identification using recurrent interval type-2 TSK fuzzy neural network - A novel structure.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Nagar, Ahmad M

2018-01-01

In this study, a novel structure of a recurrent interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy neural network (FNN) is introduced for nonlinear dynamic and time-varying systems identification. It combines the type-2 fuzzy sets (T2FSs) and a recurrent FNN to avoid the data uncertainties. The fuzzy firing strengths in the proposed structure are returned to the network input as internal variables. The interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs) is used to describe the antecedent part for each rule while the consequent part is a TSK-type, which is a linear function of the internal variables and the external inputs with interval weights. All the type-2 fuzzy rules for the proposed RIT2TSKFNN are learned on-line based on structure and parameter learning, which are performed using the type-2 fuzzy clustering. The antecedent and consequent parameters of the proposed RIT2TSKFNN are updated based on the Lyapunov function to achieve network stability. The obtained results indicate that our proposed network has a small root mean square error (RMSE) and a small integral of square error (ISE) with a small number of rules and a small computation time compared with other type-2 FNNs. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between ambient fine particulate matter and preterm birth or term low birth weight: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiangyu; Huang, Shuqiong; Jiao, Anqi; Yang, Xuhao; Yun, Junfeng; Wang, Yuxin; Xue, Xiaowei; Chu, Yuanyuan; Liu, Feifei; Liu, Yisi; Ren, Meng

2017-01-01

An increasing number of studies have been conducted to determine a possible linkage between maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and effects on the developing human fetus that can lead to adverse birth outcomes, but, the present results are not consistent. A total of 23 studies published before July 2016 were collected and analyzed and the mean value of reported exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) ranged from 1.82 to 22.11 We found a significantly increased risk of preterm birth with interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 exposure throughout pregnancy (odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% conditional independence (CI): 1.01–1.05). The pooled OR for the association between PM 2.5 exposure, per interquartile range increment, and term low birth weight throughout pregnancy was 1.03 (95% CI: 1.02–1.03). The pooled ORs for the association between PM 2.5 exposure per 10 increment, and term low birth weight and preterm birth were 1.05 (95% CI: 0.98–1.12) and 1.02 (95% CI: 0.93–1.12), respectively throughout pregnancy. There is a significant heterogeneity in most meta-analyses, except for pooled OR per interquartile range increase for term low birth weight throughout pregnancy. We here show that maternal exposure to fine particulate air pollution increases the risk of preterm birth and term low birth weight. However, the effect of exposure time needs to be further explored. In the future, prospective cohort studies and personal exposure measurements needs to be more widely utilized to better characterize the relationship between ambient fine particulate exposure and adverse birth outcomes. - Highlights: • The results had shorter intervals indicate and smaller heterogeneity by using IQR increment increase as selected standard. • The manuscript included the latest research results and updated the previous systematic review and meta-analysis. - Meta-analysis of preterm birth and term low birth weight of PM 2.5

Gestational age, birth weight, and the risk of hyperkinetic disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linnet, Karen M; Wisborg, Kirsten; Agerbo, Esben

2006-01-01

AIMS: To study the association between gestational age and birth weight and the risk of clinically verified hyperkinetic disorder. METHODS: Nested case-control study of 834 cases and 20 100 controls with incidence density sampling. RESULTS: Compared with children born at term, children born...... with gestational ages of 34-36 completed weeks had a 70% increased risk of hyperkinetic disorder (rate ratio (RR) 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 to 2.5). Children with gestational ages below 34 completed weeks had an almost threefold increased risk (RR 2.7, 95% CI 1.8 to 4.1). Children born at term...... with birth weights of 1500-2499 g had a 90% increased risk of hyperkinetic disorder (RR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9), and children with birth weights of 2500-2999 g had a 50% increased risk (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8) compared with children born at term with birth weights above 2999 g. The results were adjusted...

Relationship between birth spacing, child maltreatment, and child behavior and development outcomes among at-risk families.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowne, Sarah Shea; Gonsalves, Kay; Burrell, Lori; McFarlane, Elizabeth; Duggan, Anne

2012-10-01

Prior research indicates that closely spaced births are associated with poor outcomes for the mother and subsequent child. Limited research has focused on outcomes for the index child (the child born immediately prior to a subsequent child in a birth interval). The objectives are to assess the association of short birth intervals in at-risk families with: (1) indicators of harsh and neglectful parenting behaviors towards the index child, including substantiated maltreatment reports across 6 years; and (2) the index child's behavior and development in first grade. This is a longitudinal study of 658 women screened to be at-risk for child maltreatment. Twenty percent of women had a rapid repeat birth (RRB), defined as the birth of a subsequent child within 24 months of the index child. Generalized estimating equations, survival analyses, and linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between RRB and index child outcomes. Women with an RRB were more likely than those without an RRB to report neglectful parenting of the index child. Children of mothers with an RRB were more likely than children of mothers without an RRB to have more behavioral problems and lower cognitive functioning in first grade. This study is among the first to focus on the associations of birth spacing with maltreatment, behavior and development outcomes in the index child. Future work regarding the effects of birth spacing should include a focus on the index child.

Association between the birth of twins and parental divorce.

Science.gov (United States)

Jena, Anupam B; Goldman, Dana P; Joyce, Geoffrey

2011-04-01

Mothers of multiple births face higher rates of postpartum depression, yet evidence on the marital consequences of multiple births is limited. We examined the association between twin births and parental divorce. We used the 1980 U.S. Census to identify a large sample of mothers with and without twin births. The goal was to estimate multivariate logistic models of the association between birth of twins and divorce adjusting for race, age at marriage and first birth, and college education. We examined whether the association was affected by maternal education, age and sex composition of twins, and family size. Twins at first birth were associated with greater parental divorce compared with singletons (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.16; absolute risk 13.7% with twins compared with 12.7%; P=.02). The association was statistically greater among mothers not attending college (14.9% with twins compared with 13.3%; P=.01) compared with those with some college (10.4% with twins compared with 10.5%; P=.34); those with children older than 8 years (15.6% with twins compared with 13.5%; P<.01) compared with younger children (10.6% with twins compared with 10.8%; P=.42); and those with at least one twin girl (13.8% with twins compared with 12.6%; P=.03) compared with twin boys (12.1% with twins compared with 12.5%, P=.38). Mothers with four or more children had a larger association between birth of twins and divorce (15.4% for mothers with twins at fourth birth compared with 11.3% for all other mothers with four or more children; P<.01) compared with mothers with twins at first birth (13.7% for twins at first birth compared with 12.7%; P=.02). Health consequences of twin births for children and mothers are well known. Twin births may be associated with longer-term parental divorce. Specific groups, namely mothers not completing college and mothers who already have more children, may be at higher risk. II.

Distillability Sudden Birth of Entanglement for Qutrit-Qutrit Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Jiang; Ali Mazhar

2014-01-01

We report the sudden appearance of distillability between two statistically independent reservoirs modelled as qutrit-qutrit systems. This feature of bipartite quantum systems is different from the previously observed phenomenon of entanglement sudden birth. It is found that the states of reservoirs first become bound entangled, thus exhibiting entanglement sudden birth, consequently followed by the sudden birth of distillability, and it is shown that whenever distillability is lost abruptly from principal system, it also necessarily appears abruptly among reservoirs' degrees of freedom. This surprising observation reflects yet another peculiarity of dynamical aspects of quantum entanglement

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination at birth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Jesper; Stensballe, Lone Graff; Birk, Nina Marie

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) induces a complex, pro-inflammatory immune response. Obesity is associated with low-grade inflammation. AIMS: The purpose of the study was to test whether BCG at birth has effects on infant growth and body composition. STUDY DESIGN, SUBJECTS......, AND OUTCOME MEASURES: The Danish Calmette Study is a randomized, clinical trial. The study was conducted at three university hospitals and randomized 4262 children of gestational age ≥32weeks to receive BCG within seven days of birth or to a no-intervention control group. Follow-up consisted of clinical......-up was 94% complete at 3 and 13months after birth. The children were bigger than the WHO reference population. There was no effect of BCG on weight z-score at 13months (-0.028 [95% confidence interval: -0.085 to 0.029], p=0.34). There was no effect on weight and length at 3months, or length, mid...

Analysis of Stochastic Radio Channels with Temporal Birth-Death Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Morten Lomholt; Pedersen, Troels; Fleury, Bernard Henri

2014-01-01

). The proof of this result is a consequence of the point process perspective, in particular by circumventing enumeration issues arising from the use of integer-indexed path components in traditional channel modeling approaches. The practical importance of being able to analytically characterize the birth......, with the underlying stochastic birth-death mechanism governed by two facilitating assumptions. Well-known analytical properties of this class of channel models are reestablished by simple arguments and several new results are derived. The primary tool used to obtain these results is Campbell's Theorem which enables......-death channel models is clearly evidenced, e.g., by the fact that key parameters enter explicitly in measurable quantities such as the power-delay profile....

Life-Course Relationship between Socioeconomic Circumstances and Timing of First Birth in a Birth Cohort.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thea van Roode

Full Text Available This study examines the influence of socioeconomic circumstances in childhood (childhood SES and adulthood (adult SES on timing of first birth by age 37.A longitudinal study of a 1972-1973 New Zealand birth cohort collected information on socioeconomic characteristics from age 3-32 and reproductive histories at 21, 26, 32 and 38; information on first birth was available from 978 of the original 1037. Relative Risks (RR and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI were calculated using Poisson regression to examine first live birth prior to age 21, from 21-25, from 26-31, and from 32-37, by socioeconomic characteristics at different ages.Overall, 68.5% of men had fathered a child and 75.9% of women had given birth, by age 37; with overall differences in parenthood to age 31 for men, and 37 for women evident by childhood SES. While parenthood by age 20 was strongly associated with lower childhood SES for both sexes, first entry into motherhood from 32-37 was more likely with higher adult SES at age 32 (RR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.0 for medium and RR = 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.3 for high compared with low. Education also differientated age at parenthood, with those with higher education more likely to defer fatherhood past age 31, and motherhood past age 25 followed by a period of increased likelihood of motherhood for women with higher levels of education from age 32-37 (RR = 1.4, 95% CI 0.87-2.2 and RR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.6 for medium and high respectively compared with low.SES varies across the lifecourse, and SES at the time has the strongest association with first births at that time. Low childhood SES drives adolescent parenthood, with resulting cumulative differences in parenthood past age 30. Those with more education and higher adult SES are deferring parenthood but attempt to catch up in the mid to late thirties.

Association of the polymorphism 12109g>A from the REN gene as a risk factor for preterm birth

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Irám P Rodríguez-Sánchez

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Preterm birth is the most important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. It is a multifactorial disease with different etiologies, including genetic factors. Genetic variability is represented by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in genes of proteins involved in the contractile activity. We determine the association between SNP 12109G> A in REN associated with preterm birth and premature rupture of membrane. Materials and methods: A study of cases (N=112, 22–36 weeks of gestation; mean: 31, 95% confidence interval 30.7–32.2 and controls (N=66; 38–40 weeks of gestation from the last menstrual period; mean: 39.8, 95% confidence interval 38.9–39.4 was performed. Genomic DNA was isolated in all patients from peripheral blood. The SNP 12109G> A (Mbo I in REN was typified by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: A significant difference in the case group for the SNP 12109G>A was observed. The A allele was increased in women with preterm birth (81% cases vs. 15% control, p A has odds ratio 6.62 (95% confidence interval 3.14–14.15, which means a high risk of preterm birth/premature rupture of membrane in presence of allele A, both in homozygotes and in heterozygotes. Conclusion: Allelic frequency of A of SNP 12109G>A was higher in women with preterm birth than in women with normal vaginal delivery and could be considered a risk factor.

Planned home birth and the association with neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasden, Shane W; Chasen, Stephen T; Perlman, Jeffrey M; Illuzzi, Jessica L; Chervenak, Frank A; Grunebaum, Amos; Lipkind, Heather S

2017-12-20

To evaluate the association between planned home birth and neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This is a case-control study in which a database of neonates who underwent head cooling for HIE at our institution from 2007 to 2011 was linked to New York City (NYC) vital records. Four normal controls per case were then randomly selected from the birth certificate data after matching for year of birth, geographic location, and gestational age. Demographic and obstetric information was obtained from the vital records for both the cases and controls. Location of birth was analyzed as hospital or out of hospital birth. Details from the out of hospital deliveries were reviewed to determine if the delivery was a planned home birth. Maternal and pregnancy characteristics were examined as covariates and potential confounders. Logistic regression was used to determine the odds of HIE by intended location of delivery. Sixty-nine neonates who underwent head cooling for HIE had available vital record data on their births. The 69 cases were matched to 276 normal controls. After adjusting for pregnancy characteristics and mode of delivery, neonates with HIE had a 44.0-fold [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-256.4] odds of having delivered out of hospital, whether unplanned or planned. Infants with HIE had a 21.0-fold (95% CI 1.7-256.4) increase in adjusted odds of having had a planned home birth compared to infants without HIE. Out of hospital birth, whether planned home birth or unplanned out of hospital birth, is associated with an increase in the odds of neonatal HIE.

Audit of Cardiac Surgery Outcomes for Low Birth Weight and Premature Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Alarcon Manchego, Peter; Cheung, Michael; Zannino, Diana; Nunn, Russell; D'Udekem, Yves; Brizard, Christian

2018-01-01

The burden of disease associated with cardiac surgery in preterm and low birth weight infants is increasing. This retrospective study aimed to compare the mortality and morbidity of cardiac surgery in low birth weight and preterm infants with that of a case-matched normal population. This was a single-center audit of cardiac surgery interventions at a tertiary pediatric center in Melbourne, Australia. Subjects underwent intervention in the first 3 months of life and were preterm (<37 weeks' gestation) or <2500 g at birth. Subjects were case-matched with 2 controls of term gestation and appropriate birth weight with the same primary diagnosis and intervention. Principal outcomes were mortality and complications in the 6 months following intervention. A total of 513 participants were included for analysis in the 13-year study period. There was an increased risk of mortality (odds ratio 6.26; 95% confidence interval (3.19, 12.3)) and rate of complications (odds ratio 2.29; 95% confidence interval (1.38, 3.78)) in low birth weight and premature infants compared with the control population. Patients who did not survive were more likely to have required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (relative risk [RR] 6.6, P < 0.001), developed postoperative sepsis (RR 2.6, P = 0.012), and undergone unplanned reintervention (RR 2.3, P < 0.001) compared with survivors. Preterm and low birth weight patients had twice the RR of developing complications and 6 times the risk of mortality in the 6 months following cardiac intervention compared with a matched population. Observed trends suggest delaying surgery in clinically stable infants beyond 35 weeks corrected gestational age and 2500-g weight may result in improved survival. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expressing Intervals in Automated Service Negotiation

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Kassidy P.; Warnier, Martijn; van Splunter, Sander; Brazier, Frances M. T.

During automated negotiation of services between autonomous agents, utility functions are used to evaluate the terms of negotiation. These terms often include intervals of values which are prone to misinterpretation. It is often unclear if an interval embodies a continuum of real numbers or a subset of natural numbers. Furthermore, it is often unclear if an agent is expected to choose only one value, multiple values, a sub-interval or even multiple sub-intervals. Additional semantics are needed to clarify these issues. Normally, these semantics are stored in a domain ontology. However, ontologies are typically domain specific and static in nature. For dynamic environments, in which autonomous agents negotiate resources whose attributes and relationships change rapidly, semantics should be made explicit in the service negotiation. This paper identifies issues that are prone to misinterpretation and proposes a notation for expressing intervals. This notation is illustrated using an example in WS-Agreement.

Comparing the odds of postpartum haemorrhage in planned home birth against planned hospital birth: results of an observational study of over 500,000 maternities in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Nove, Andrea; Berrington, Ann; Matthews, Zoë

2012-11-19

The aim of this study is to compare the odds of postpartum haemorrhage among women who opt for home birth against the odds of postpartum haemorrhage for those who plan a hospital birth. It is an observational study involving secondary analysis of maternity records, using binary logistic regression modelling. The data relate to pregnancies that received maternity care from one of fifteen hospitals in the former North West Thames Regional Health Authority Area in England, and which resulted in a live or stillbirth in the years 1988-2000 inclusive, excluding 'high-risk' pregnancies, unplanned home births, pre-term births, elective Caesareans and medical inductions. Even after adjustment for known confounders such as parity, the odds of postpartum haemorrhage (≥1000ml of blood lost) are significantly higher if a hospital birth is intended than if a home birth is intended (odds ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 3.8). The 'home birth' group included women who were transferred to hospital during labour or shortly after birth. Women and their partners should be advised that the risk of PPH is higher among births planned to take place in hospital compared to births planned to take place at home, but that further research is needed to understand (a) whether the same pattern applies to the more life-threatening categories of PPH, and (b) why hospital birth is associated with increased odds of PPH. If it is due to the way in which labour is managed in hospital, changes should be made to practices which compromise the safety of labouring women.

Risk Factors for the Development of Refeeding Syndrome-Like Hypophosphatemia in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Igarashi, Aiko; Okuno, Takashi; Ohta, Genrei; Tokuriki, Shuko; Ohshima, Yusei

2017-01-01

Refeeding syndrome is characterized by metabolic disturbance including hypophosphatemia and hypokalemia upon reinstitution of nutrition in severely malnourished patients. The present study sought to identify the risk factors for the development of refeeding syndrome-like metabolic disturbance in very low birth weight infants. The correlations of severe hypophosphatemia with the serum levels of potassium and ionized calcium, daily calorie and phosphate intake, and umbilical cord blood flow on ultrasonography were analyzed in 49 very low birth weight infants. Fifteen infants (36%) presented with hypophosphatemia during the first postnatal week. Hypophosphatemia was significantly associated with birth weight z score (odds ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.47; p = 0.034) and umbilical artery resistance index (odds ratio, 7.72 E -04; 95% confidence interval, 1.14 E -06-0.523; p = 0.031). Multiple regression analysis revealed that umbilical artery resistance index was independently associated with hypophosphatemia. Umbilical artery resistance index may serve as a useful marker for future development of refeeding syndrome-like hypophosphatemia in very low birth weight infants. Close monitoring of serum phosphorus and potassium levels and early intervention are important for the management of very low birth weight infants with intrauterine growth restriction due to placental dysfunction.

Risk Factors for the Development of Refeeding Syndrome-Like Hypophosphatemia in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aiko Igarashi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Refeeding syndrome is characterized by metabolic disturbance including hypophosphatemia and hypokalemia upon reinstitution of nutrition in severely malnourished patients. Objective. The present study sought to identify the risk factors for the development of refeeding syndrome-like metabolic disturbance in very low birth weight infants. Methods. The correlations of severe hypophosphatemia with the serum levels of potassium and ionized calcium, daily calorie and phosphate intake, and umbilical cord blood flow on ultrasonography were analyzed in 49 very low birth weight infants. Results. Fifteen infants (36% presented with hypophosphatemia during the first postnatal week. Hypophosphatemia was significantly associated with birth weight z score (odds ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–2.47; p=0.034 and umbilical artery resistance index (odds ratio, 7.72E−04; 95% confidence interval, 1.14E−06–0.523; p=0.031. Multiple regression analysis revealed that umbilical artery resistance index was independently associated with hypophosphatemia. Conclusions. Umbilical artery resistance index may serve as a useful marker for future development of refeeding syndrome-like hypophosphatemia in very low birth weight infants. Close monitoring of serum phosphorus and potassium levels and early intervention are important for the management of very low birth weight infants with intrauterine growth restriction due to placental dysfunction.

Birth Satisfaction Scale/Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS/BSS-R): A large scale United States planned home birth and birth centre survey

OpenAIRE

Fleming, Susan E.; Donovan-Batson, Colleen.; Burduli, Ekaterina.; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina.; Hollins Martin, Caroline J.; Martin, Colin R.

2016-01-01

Objective:\\ud to explore the prevalence of birth satisfaction for childbearing women planning to birth in their home or birth centers in the United States. Examining differences in birth satisfaction of the home and birth centers; and those who birthed in a hospital using the 30-item Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS) and the 10-item Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R).\\ud Study design:\\ud a quantitative survey using the BSS and BSS-R were employed. Additional demographic data were collected...

Weight at birth and subsequent fecundability: a prospective cohort study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cathrine Wildenschild

Full Text Available To examine the association between a woman's birth weight and her subsequent fecundability.In this prospective cohort study, we included 2,773 Danish pregnancy planners enrolled in the internet-based cohort study "Snart-Gravid", conducted during 2007-2012. Participants were 18-40 years old at study entry, attempting to conceive, and were not receiving fertility treatment. Data on weight at birth were obtained from the Danish Medical Birth Registry and categorized as <2,500 grams, 2,500-2,999 grams, 3,000-3,999 grams, and ≥ 4,000 grams. In additional analyses, birth weight was categorized according to z-scores for each gestational week at birth. Time-to-pregnancy measured in cycles was used to compute fecundability ratios (FR and 95% confidence intervals (CI, using a proportional probabilities regression model.Relative to women with a birth weight of 3,000-3,999 grams, FRs adjusted for gestational age, year of birth, and maternal socio-demographic and medical factors were 0.99 (95% CI: 0.73;1.34, 0.99 (95% CI: 0.87;1.12, and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.94;1.24 for birth weight <2,500 grams, 2,500-2,999 grams, and ≥ 4,000 grams, respectively. Estimates remained unchanged after further adjustment for markers of the participant's mother's fecundability. We obtained similar results when we restricted to women who were born at term, and to women who had attempted to conceive for a maximum of 6 cycles before study entry. Results remained similar when we estimated FRs according to z-scores of birth weight.Our results indicate that birth weight appears not to be an important determinant of fecundability.

A preliminary inquiry on the problem of unplanned (extra-quota) second births.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, L; Zhu, C

1984-01-01

The resurgence of child births in China in 1981 was marked by a decline in the multiparity birth rates and a drastic rise in the rate of unplanned 2nd births, resulting in unplanned 2nd births outnumbering multiparity births. The aim of this investigation was to find the objective and subjective causes for the unplanned 2nd births and explore ways to bring them under strict control. In the countryside there are loud voices that give insufficient labor as their reason for wanting 2nd births. An analysis of 923 cases of unplanned 2nd births in connection with the economic conditions of the families, the sex of the 1st births, intervals between the births, and the parents' cultural level shows that 61.87% of the total number of families suffered a decline in their income. The effect of the sex of the 1st birth over the 2nd birth varies with different localities. Among those having unplanned births, illiterates accounted for more than 35% in Nanzheng and Yanchuan counties and over 20% in Mianxian and Wubao counties. The current rise in 2nd births is due mainly not to economic reasons but to social and psychological reasons. To effectively hold down 2nd births under the current conditions, the following suggestions are offered: 1) step up propaganda and education work to gradually raise people's consciousness for practicing family planning, 2) family planning measures of economic restriction and reward must be implemented, 3) on the basis of enforcing the new marriage law, late marriage should be promoted, 4) a population tax should be imposed, and 5) social insurance for the elderly should be enlarged.

Effect of interpregnancy interval on the success rate of trial of labor after cesarean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rietveld, A. L.; Teunissen, P. W.; Kazemier, B. M.; de Groot, C. J. M.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between interpregnancy interval and success of vaginal birth after cesarean. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective 10-year cohort study of pregnant women with one prior cesarean, who opted for trial of labor (n = 36 653). Interpregnancy

Risk factors for low birth weight according to the multiple logistic regression model. A retrospective cohort study in José María Morelos municipality, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco Monsreal, José; Tun Cobos, Miriam Del Ruby; Hernández Gómez, José Ricardo; Serralta Peraza, Lidia Esther Del Socorro

2018-01-17

Low birth weight has been an enigma for science over time. There have been many researches on its causes and its effects. Low birth weight is an indicator that predicts the probability of a child surviving. In fact, there is an exponential relationship between weight deficit, gestational age, and perinatal mortality. Multiple logistic regression is one of the most expressive and versatile statistical instruments available for the analysis of data in both clinical and epidemiology settings, as well as in public health. To assess in a multivariate fashion the importance of 17 independent variables in low birth weight (dependent variable) of children born in the Mayan municipality of José María Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Analytical observational epidemiological cohort study with retrospective temporality. Births that met the inclusion criteria occurred in the "Hospital Integral Jose Maria Morelos" of the Ministry of Health corresponding to the Maya municipality of Jose Maria Morelos during the period from August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015. The total number of newborns recorded was 1,147; 84 of which (7.32%) had low birth weight. To estimate the independent association between the explanatory variables (potential risk factors) and the response variable, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 22 software. In ascending numerical order values of odds ratio > 1 indicated the positive contribution of explanatory variables or possible risk factors: "unmarried" marital status (1.076, 95% confidence interval: 0.550 to 2.104); age at menarche ≤ 12 years (1.08, 95% confidence interval: 0.64 to 1.84); history of abortion(s) (1.14, 95% confidence interval: 0.44 to 2.93); maternal weight < 50 kg (1.51, 95% confidence interval: 0.83 to 2.76); number of prenatal consultations ≤ 5 (1.86, 95% confidence interval: 0.94 to 3.66); maternal age ≥ 36 years (3.5, 95% confidence interval: 0.40 to 30.47); maternal age ≤ 19 years (3

Hemoglobin Differences in Uncomplicated Monochorionic Twins in Relation to Birth Order and Mode of Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Verbeek, Lianne; Zhao, Depeng P; Te Pas, Arjan B; Middeldorp, Johanna M; Hooper, Stuart B; Oepkes, Dick; Lopriore, Enrico

2016-06-01

To determine the differences in hemoglobin (Hb) levels in the first 2 days after birth in uncomplicated monochorionic twins in relation to birth order and mode of delivery. All consecutive uncomplicated monochorionic pregnancies with two live-born twins delivered at our center were included in this retrospective study. We recorded Hb levels at birth and on day 2, and analyzed Hb levels in association with birth order, mode of delivery, and time interval between delivery of twin 1 and 2. A total of 290 monochorionic twin pairs were analyzed, including 171 (59%) twins delivered vaginally and 119 (41%) twins born by cesarean section (CS). In twins delivered vaginally, mean Hb levels at birth and on day 2 were significantly higher in second-born twins compared to first-born twins: 17.8 versus 16.1 g/dL and 18.0 versus 14.8 g/dL, respectively (p < .01). Polycythemia was detected more often in second-born twins (12%, 20/166) compared to first-born twins (1%, 2/166; p < .01). Hb differences within twin pairs delivered by CS were not statistically or clinically significant. We found no association between inter-twin delivery time intervals and Hb differences. Second-born twins after vaginal delivery have higher Hb levels and more often polycythemia than their co-twin, but not when born by CS.

Home birth after hospital birth: women's choices and reflections.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhard, Casey; Zielinski, Ruth; Ackerson, Kelly; English, Jessica

2014-01-01

The number of US women choosing home birth is increasing. Little is known about women who choose home birth after having experienced hospital birth; therefore, the purpose of this research was to explore reasons why these women choose home birth and their perceptions regarding their birth experiences. Qualitative description was the research design, whereby focus groups were conducted with women who had hospital births and subsequently chose home birth. Five focus groups were conducted (N = 20), recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was undertaken allowing themes to emerge. Five themes emerged from the women's narratives: 1) choices and empowerment: with home birth, women felt they were given real choices rather than perceived choices, giving them feelings of empowerment; 2) interventions and interruptions: women believed things were done that were not helpful to the birth process, and there were interruptions associated with their hospital births; 3) disrespect and dismissal: participants believed that during hospital birth, providers were more focused on the laboring woman's uterus, with some experiencing dismissal from their hospital provider when choosing to birth at home; 4) birth space: giving birth in their own home, surrounded by people they chose, created a peaceful and calm environment; and 5) connection: women felt connected to their providers, families, newborns, and bodies during their home birth. For most participants, dissatisfaction with hospital birth influenced their subsequent decision to choose home birth. Despite experiencing challenges associated with this decision, women expressed satisfaction with their home birth. © 2014 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

The relationship of the subtypes of preterm birth with retinopathy of prematurity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Anne M; Wagner, Brandie D; Hodges, Jennifer K; Thevarajah, Tamara S; McCourt, Emily A; Cerda, Ashlee M; Mandava, Naresh; Gibbs, Ronald S; Palestine, Alan G

2017-09-01

, 28 weeks 1 day ± 2 weeks, 3 days (23 weeks, 3 days - 33 weeks, 4 days); medical indication of preterm birth, 29 weeks, 1 day ± 2 weeks, 2 days (24-36 weeks, 4 days); preterm premature rupture of the membranes, 28 weeks, 4 days ± 2 weeks, 1 day (24-33 weeks, 1 day). Among infants with type 1, type 2, or no retinopathy of prematurity, the incidence of type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity in births from spontaneous preterm labor, medical indication of preterm birth, and preterm premature rupture of the membranes was 37 of 218 (17%), 27 of 272 (10%), and 10 of 164 (6%), respectively. Adjusted for gestational age, birth weight, and multiparity and compared with the preterm premature rupture of the membranes group, the odds ratios of spontaneous preterm labor and medical indication of preterm birth for type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity were 6.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 20, P = .003) and 5.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 21, P = .01), respectively. Among neonates born after preterm premature rupture of the membranes, the probability of developing type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity was greatest in infants with rupture of membrane duration of up to 24 hours. After 24 hours, the probability of developing type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity declined. The odds of developing type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity was 9.0 (95% confidence interval 2.3 to 34, P = .002) in infants who had preterm premature rupture of the membranes ≤ 24 hours compared with infants who had preterm premature rupture of the membranes > 24 hours. Type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity are adverse ocular outcomes linked with not only lower gestational age and birth weight at delivery but also with events in the intrauterine environment that trigger a preterm birth. The reduced incidence of type 1 or type 2 retinopathy of prematurity in the preterm premature rupture of the membranes group compared with other causes of preterm birth may be

The Effect of Birth Weight on Academic Performance: Instrumental Variable Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shi Lin; Leung, Gabriel Matthew; Schooling, C Mary

2017-05-01

Observationally, lower birth weight is usually associated with poorer academic performance; whether this association is causal or the result of confounding is unknown. To investigate this question, we obtained an effect estimate, which can have a causal interpretation under specific assumptions, of birth weight on educational attainment using instrumental variable analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms determining birth weight combined with results from the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium study of 126,559 Caucasians. We similarly obtained an estimate of the effect of birth weight on academic performance in 4,067 adolescents from Hong Kong's (Chinese) Children of 1997 birth cohort (1997-2016), using twin status as an instrumental variable. Birth weight was not associated with years of schooling (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.006 years, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.02, 0.01) or college completion (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.03). Birth weight was also unrelated to academic performance in adolescents (per 100-g increase in birth weight, -0.004 grade, 95% CI: -0.04, 0.04) using instrumental variable analysis, although conventional regression gave a small positive association (0.02 higher grade, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03). Observed associations of birth weight with academic performance may not be causal, suggesting that interventions should focus on the contextual factors generating this correlation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comparison of effects of breast-feeding practices on birth-spacing in three societies: nomadic Turkana, Gainj, and Quechua.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, S J

1994-01-01

Variation in the duration and pattern of breast-feeding contributes significantly to inter-population differences in fertility. In this paper, measures of suckling frequency and intensity are used to compare the effects of breast-feeding practices on the duration of lactational amenorrhoea, and on the length of the birth interval in three prospective studies undertaken during the 1980s, among Quechua Indians of Peru, Turkana nomads of Kenya, and Gainj of Papua New Guinea. In all three societies, lactation is prolonged well into the second year postpartum, and frequent, on-demand breast-feeding is the norm. However, the duration of lactational amenorrhoea and the length of birth intervals vary considerably. Breast-feeding patterns among Gainj and Turkana are similar, but Turkana women resume menses some 3 months earlier than do the Gainj. The average birth interval among the Gainj exceeds that of nomadic Turkana by over 15 months. Suckling activity decreases significantly with increasing age of nurslings among both Gainj and Quechua, but not among Turkana. Earlier resumption of menses among Turkana women may be linked to the unpredictable demands of the pastoral system, which increase day-to-day variation in the number of periods of on-demand breast-feeding, although not in suckling patterns. This effect is independent of the age of infants. The short birth intervals of Turkana women, relative to those of the Gainj, may be related to early supplementation of Turkana nurslings with butterfat and animals' milk, which reduces energetic demands on lactating women at risk of negative energy balance.

Birth Satisfaction Scale/Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS/BSS-R): A large scale United States planned home birth and birth centre survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Susan E; Donovan-Batson, Colleen; Burduli, Ekaterina; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; Hollins Martin, Caroline J; Martin, Colin R

2016-10-01

to explore the prevalence of birth satisfaction for childbearing women planning to birth in their home or birth centers in the United States. Examining differences in birth satisfaction of the home and birth centers; and those who birthed in a hospital using the 30-item Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS) and the 10-item Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R). a quantitative survey using the BSS and BSS-R were employed. Additional demographic data were collected using electronic linkages (Qualtrics ™ ). a convenience sample of childbearing women (n=2229) who had planned to birth in their home or birth center from the US (United States) participated. Participants were recruited via professional and personal contacts, primarily their midwives. the total 30-item BSS score mean was 128.98 (SD 16.92) and the 10-item BSS-R mean score was 31.94 (SD 6.75). Sub-scale mean scores quantified the quality of care provision, women's personal attributes, and stress experienced during labour. Satisfaction was higher for women with vaginal births compared with caesareans deliveries. In addition, satisfaction was higher for women who had both planned to deliver in a home or a birth centre, and who had actually delivered in a home or a birth center. total and subscale birth satisfaction scores were positive and high for the overall sample IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the BSS and the BSS-R provide a robust tool to quantify women's experiences of childbirth between variables such as birth types, birth settings and providers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased risk of peripartum perinatal mortality in unplanned births outside an institution: a retrospective population-based study.

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Engjom, Hilde M; Morken, Nils-Halvdan; Høydahl, Even; Norheim, Ole F; Klungsøyr, Kari

2017-08-01

Births in midwife-led institutions may reduce the frequency of medical interventions and provide cost-effective care, while larger institutions offer medically and technically advanced obstetric care. Unplanned births outside an institution and intrapartum stillbirths have frequently been excluded in previous studies on adverse outcomes by place of birth. The objective of the study was to assess peripartum mortality by place of birth and travel time to obstetric institutions, with the hypothesis that centralization reduces institution availability but improves mortality. This was a national population-based retrospective cohort study of all births in Norway from 1999 to 2009 (n = 648,555) using data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway and Statistics Norway and including births from 22 gestational weeks or birthweight ≥500 g. Main exposures were travel time to the nearest obstetric institution and place of birth. The main clinical outcome was peripartum mortality, defined as death during birth or within 24 hours. Intrauterine fetal deaths prior to start of labor were excluded from the primary outcome. A total of 1586 peripartum deaths were identified (2.5 per 1000 births). Unplanned birth outside an institution had a 3 times higher mortality (8.4 per 1000) than institutional births (2.4 per 1000), relative risk, 3.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.5-4.9) and contributed 2% (95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.0%) of the peripartum mortality at the population level. The risk of unplanned birth outside an institution increased from 0.5% to 3.3% and 4.5% with travel time 2 hours, respectively. In obstetric institutions the mortality rate at term ranged from 0.7 per 1000 to 0.9 per 1000. Comparable mortality rates in different obstetric institutions indicated well-functioning routines for referral. Unplanned birth outside an institution was associated with increased peripartum mortality and with long travel time to obstetric institutions. Structural determinants have

Association between Breastfeeding Duration and Type of Birth Attendant

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Jordyn T. Wallenborn

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Healthcare providers play an integral role in breastfeeding education and subsequent practices; however, the education and support provided to patients may differ by type of provider. The current study aims to evaluate the association between type of birth attendant and breastfeeding duration. Methods. Data from the prospective longitudinal study, Infant Feeding Practices Survey II, was analyzed. Breastfeeding duration and exclusive breastfeeding duration were defined using the American Academy of Pediatrics’ national recommendations. Type of birth attendant was categorized into obstetricians, other physicians, and midwife or nurse midwife. If mothers received prenatal care from a different type of provider than the birth attendant, they were excluded from the analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results. Compared to mothers whose births were attended by an obstetrician, mothers with a family doctor or midwife were twice as likely to breastfeed at least six months. Similarly, mothers with a midwife birth attendant were three times as likely to exclusively breastfeed less than six months and six times more likely to exclusively breastfeed at least six months compared to those who had an obstetrician birth attendant. Conclusions. Findings from the current study highlight the importance of birth attendants in breastfeeding decisions. Interventions are needed to overcome barriers physicians encounter while providing breastfeeding support and education. However, this study is limited by several confounding factors that have not been controlled for as well as by the self-selection of the population.

Birth weight discordance and perinatal mortality among triplets

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Egić Amira

2005-01-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION. The incidence of multiple births has increased in the last decade. Perinatal mortality in triplets is significantly greater than in twin and singleton births. OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to describe the extent of birth weight discordance among triplets and to identify its association with an increased risk of perinatal mortality. METHOD A retrospective analysis of triplet births, for the period 1993-2003, was conducted at the Gynaecological-Obstetric Clinic "Narodni Front" in Belgrade. Birth weight discordance was defined as the difference in birth weight between the largest and the smallest triplet's weight of more than 20%. RESULTS. The rate of triplets has increased by almost 75% between the first (7.7% and the last (29.6% 5-year period of the last decade. Triplets are becoming more common because of the frequent use of assisted reproductive technology as a treatment for infertility. In the period 1993-2003, there were a total of 40 triplet live births (24 weeks and greater with incidence of 0.06%. There was no clear association between maternal age, parity, method of conception, birth gestational age, and disorders complicating pregnancy with birth discordance more than 20%. Regarding birth weight groups, statistical significance occurred only in the <999 grams group for discordant and in the 2000-2499 grams group for concordant triplets. Overall, the perinatal mortality rate in the group was 10.8%, the foetal mortality rate was 1.7% (2/120, and the neonatal (0-28 days mortality rate was 9.1% (11/120. An odds ratio of 95% confidence interval shows 3 times greater risk for adverse perinatal outcome in the discordant group. However, the difference was not significant. CONCLUSION. Increasing birth weight discordance may increase the risk of adverse perinatal outcome. Triplet pregnancies, being high risk, require intensive antenatal care in order to prevent preterm delivery and ultrasound in order to diagnose foetal

The ex-pat effect: presence of recent Western immigrants is associated with changes in age at first birth and birth rate in a Maya population from rural Guatemala.

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McKerracher, Luseadra; Collard, Mark; Altman, Rachel; Richards, Michael; Nepomnaschy, Pablo

2017-08-01

Economic transitions expose indigenous populations to a variety of ecological and cultural challenges, especially regarding diet and stress. These kinds of challenges are predicted by evolutionary ecological theory to have fitness consequences (differential reproduction) and, indeed, are often associated with changes in fertility dynamics. It is currently unclear whether international immigration might impact the nature of such an economic transition or its consequences for fertility. To examine measures of fertility, diet and stress in two economically transitioning Maya villages in Guatemala that have been differentially exposed to immigration by Westerners. This study compared Maya women's ages at first birth and birth rates between villages and investigated whether these fertility indicators changed through time. It also explored whether the villages differed in relation to diet and/or a proxy of stress. It was found that, in the village directly impacted by immigration, first births occurred earlier, but birth rate was slower. In both villages, over the sampled time window, age at first birth increased, while birth rate decreased. The villages do not differ significantly in dietary indicators, but the immigration-affected village scored higher on the stress proxy. Immigration can affect fertility in host communities. This relationship between immigration and fertility dynamics may be partly attributable to stress, but this possibility should be evaluated prospectively in future research.

The association of birth model with resilience variables and birth experience: Home versus hospital birth.

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Handelzalts, Jonathan E; Zacks, Arni; Levy, Sigal

2016-05-01

to study home, natural hospital, and medical hospital births, and the association of these birth models to resilience and birth experience. cross-section retrospective design. participants were recruited via an online survey system. Invitations to participate were posted in five different Internet forums for women on maternity leave, from September 2014 to August 2015. the sample comprised 381 post partum healthy women above the age of 20, during their maternity leave. Of the participants: 22% gave birth at home, 32% gave birth naturally in a hospital, and 46% of the participants had a medical birth at the hospital. life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R), General Self-Efficacy Scale, Sense of Mastery Scale, Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). women having had natural births, whether at home or at the hospital, significantly differed from women having had medical births in all aspects of the birth experience, even when controlling for age and optimism. Birth types contributed to between 14% and 24% of the explained variance of the various birth experience aspects. home and natural hospital births were associated with a better childbirth experience. Optimism was identified as a resilience factor, associated both with preference as well as with childbirth experience. physically healthy and resilient women could be encouraged to explore the prospect of home or natural hospital births as a means to have a more positive birth experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between physical activity and physical performance in later life in different birth weight groups.

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Jantunen, H; Wasenius, N S; Salonen, M K; Perälä, M-M; Kautiainen, H; Simonen, M; Pohjolainen, P; Kajantie, E; von Bonsdorff, M B; Eriksson, J G

2018-02-01

There is strong evidence that physical activity (PA) has an influence on physical performance in later life. Also, a small body size at birth has been associated with lower physical functioning in older age and both small and high birth weight have shown to be associated with lower leisure time physical activity. However, it is unknown whether size at birth modulates the association between PA and physical performance in old age. We examined 695 individuals from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born in Helsinki, Finland between 1934 and 1944. At a mean age of 70.7 years PA was objectively assessed with a multisensory activity monitor and physical performance with the Senior Fitness Test (SFT). Information on birth weight and gestational age was retrieved from hospital birth records. The study participants were divided in three birth weight groups, that is birth weight groups. However, the effect size of the association was large and significant only in men with a birth weight confidence interval 0.37-0.81, Pbirth weight. Our results suggest that men with low birth weight might benefit most from engaging in PA in order to maintain a better physical performance.

Periodontal disease treatment and risk of preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Rosa, Maria Inês da; Pires, Patrícia Duarte Simões; Medeiros, Lidia Rosi; Edelweiss, Maria Isabel; Martínez-Mesa, Jeovany

2012-10-01

The events leading to preterm birth are still not completely understood. A quantitative systematic review was performed to estimate the effects of periodontal care during pregnancy on preventing preterm birth and low birth weight. The meta-analysis included randomized trials with pregnant women with a diagnosis of periodontal disease before 20 weeks of gestation. Relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) was calculated. We evaluated the reduction in preterm and low birth weight. Thirteen trials were included, comparing 3,576 women in intervention groups with 3,412 women receiving usual care. The meta-analysis of the effects of periodontal disease treatment during pregnancy indicated a non-significant reduction in preterm births (RR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.68-1.19) and low birth weights (RR = 0.92; 95%CI: 0.71-1.20). The creation and examination of a funnel plot revealed clear evidence of publication bias. In summary, primary periodontal care during pregnancy cannot be considered an efficient way of reducing the incidence of preterm birth.

Empowering surgical nurses improves compliance rates for antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth.

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Shimoni, Zvi; Kama, Naama; Mamet, Yaakov; Glick, Joseph; Dusseldorp, Natan; Froom, Paul

2009-11-01

Empowering surgical nurses improves compliance rates for antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth. This paper is a report of a study of the effect of empowering surgical nurses to ensure that patients receive antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth. Despite the consensus that single dose antibiotic prophylaxis is beneficial for women have either elective or non-elective caesarean delivery, hospitals need methods to increase compliance rates. In a study in Israel in 2007 surgical nurses were empowered to ensure that a single dose of cefazolin was given to the mother after cord clamping. A computerized system was used to identify women having caesarean births, cultures sent and culture results. Compliance was determined by chart review. Rates of compliance, suspected wound infections, and confirmed wound infections in 2007 were compared to rates in 2006 before the policy change. Relative risks were calculated dividing 2007 rates by those in 2006, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Taylor's series that does not assume a normal distribution. Statistical significance was assessed using the chi-square test. The compliance rate was increased from 25% in 2006 to 100% in 2007 (chi-square test, P rates decreased from 16.8% (186/1104) to 12.6% (137/1089) after the intervention (relative risk 0.75, 95% confidence interval, 0.61-0.92). Surgical nurses can ensure universal compliance for antibiotic prophylaxis in women after caesarean birth, leading to a reduction in wound infections.

Where the thread of home births never broke - An interview with Susanne Houd.

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Santos, Mário J D S

2017-04-01

The option of a planned home birth defies medical and social normativity across countries. In Denmark, despite the dramatic decline in the home birth rates between 1960 and 1980, the right to choose the place of birth was preserved. Little has been produced documenting this process. To present and discuss Susanne Houd's reflection on the history and social dynamics of home birth in Denmark, based in an in-depth interview. This paper is part of wider Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM), in which this interview was framed as oral history. The whole interview transcript is presented, keeping the highest level of detail. In Susanne Houd's testimony, four factors were highlighted as contributing to the decline in the rate of home births from the 1960s to the 1970s: new maternity hospitals; the development of obstetrics as a research-based discipline; the compliance of midwives; and a shift in women's preference, favouring hospital birth. The development of the Danish home birth models was described by Susanne Houd in regard to the processes associated with the medicalisation of childbirth, the role of consumers, and the changing professional dynamics of midwifery. An untold history of home birth in Denmark was documented in this testimony. The Danish childbirth hospitalisation process was presented as the result of a complex interaction of factors. Susanne Houd's reflections reveal how the concerted action of consumers and midwives, framed as a system-challenging praxis, was the cornerstone for the sustainability of home birth models in Denmark. Copyright © 2016 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assisted reproductive technology and major birth defects in Western Australia.

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Hansen, Michele; Kurinczuk, Jennifer J; de Klerk, Nicholas; Burton, Peter; Bower, Carol

2012-10-01

To estimate the prevalence of major birth defects diagnosed by 6 years of age in all births and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly conceived by assisted reproductive technology (when this included intracytoplasmic sperm injection and in vitro fertilization [IVF]) and the remainder of nonassisted reproductive technology-conceived children born in Western Australia from 1994 to 2002. This retrospective cohort study used data linkage between three population-based registers (Reproductive Technology Register, Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies, and Midwives' Notification of Birth System) to identify all assisted reproductive technology (n=2,911) and nonassisted reproductive technology (n=210,997) births with and without birth defects diagnosed by age 6 and all terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly. A major birth defect was diagnosed in 8.7% of assisted reproductive technology and 5.4% of nonassisted reproductive technology singletons (odds ratio [OR] 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-1.79), as well as 7.1% of assisted reproductive technology twins and 5.9% of nonassisted reproductive technology twins of unlike sex (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.77-1.51). The prevalence of birth defects in assisted reproductive technology singletons and twins decreased markedly over the study period. This change was evident across all three clinics contributing data over the whole study and was particularly marked for children conceived as a result of IVF. There has been a decrease in the prevalence of birth defects over time in children born as a result of assisted reproductive technology in Western Australia; however, the prevalence of major birth defects in assisted reproductive technology singletons remains increased compared with nonassisted reproductive technology singletons. II.

Predicting live birth, preterm delivery, and low birth weight in infants born from in vitro fertilisation: a prospective study of 144,018 treatment cycles.

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Scott M Nelson

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The extent to which baseline couple characteristics affect the probability of live birth and adverse perinatal outcomes after assisted conception is unknown.We utilised the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority database to examine the predictors of live birth in all in vitro fertilisation (IVF cycles undertaken in the UK between 2003 and 2007 (n = 144,018. We examined the potential clinical utility of a validated model that pre-dated the introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI as compared to a novel model. For those treatment cycles that resulted in a live singleton birth (n = 24,226, we determined the associates of potential risk factors with preterm birth, low birth weight, and macrosomia. The overall rate of at least one live birth was 23.4 per 100 cycles (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.2-23.7. In multivariable models the odds of at least one live birth decreased with increasing maternal age, increasing duration of infertility, a greater number of previously unsuccessful IVF treatments, use of own oocytes, necessity for a second or third treatment cycle, or if it was not unexplained infertility. The association of own versus donor oocyte with reduced odds of live birth strengthened with increasing age of the mother. A previous IVF live birth increased the odds of future success (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.46-1.71 more than that of a previous spontaneous live birth (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.99-1.24; p-value for difference in estimate <0.001. Use of ICSI increased the odds of live birth, and male causes of infertility were associated with reduced odds of live birth only in couples who had not received ICSI. Prediction of live birth was feasible with moderate discrimination and excellent calibration; calibration was markedly improved in the novel compared to the established model. Preterm birth and low birth weight were increased if oocyte donation was required and ICSI was not used. Risk of macrosomia increased with advancing

Rural community birth: Maternal and neonatal outcomes for planned community births among rural women in the United States, 2004-2009.

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Nethery, Elizabeth; Gordon, Wendy; Bovbjerg, Marit L; Cheyney, Melissa

2017-11-13

Approximately 22% of women in the United States live in rural areas with limited access to obstetric care. Despite declines in hospital-based obstetric services in many rural communities, midwifery care at home and in free standing birth centers is available in many rural communities. This study examines maternal and neonatal outcomes among planned home and birth center births attended by midwives, comparing outcomes for rural and nonrural women. Using the Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project 2.0 dataset of 18 723 low-risk, planned home, and birth center births, rural women (n = 3737) were compared to nonrural women. Maternal outcomes included mode of delivery (cesarean and instrumental delivery), blood transfusions, severe events, perineal lacerations, or transfer to hospital and a composite (any of the above). The primary neonatal outcome was a composite of early neonatal intensive care unit or hospital admissions (longer than 1 day), and intrapartum or neonatal deaths. Analysis involved multivariable logistic regression, controlling for sociodemographics, antepartum, and intrapartum risk factors. Rural women had different risk profiles relative to nonrural women and reduced risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in bivariable analyses. However, after adjusting for risk factors and confounders, there were no significant differences for a composite of maternal (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.05 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.93-1.19]) or neonatal (aOR 1.13 [95% CI 0.87-1.46]) outcomes between rural and nonrural pregnancies. Among this sample of low-risk women who planned midwife-led community births, no increased risk was detected by rural vs nonrural status. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risk factors for preterm birth in five Maternal and Child Health hospitals in Beijing.

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Yun-Ping Zhang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Preterm birth, the birth of an infant prior to 37 completed weeks of gestation, is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Preterm infants are at greater risk of respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurological diseases. Despite significant research in developed countries, little is known about the causes of preterm birth in many developing countries, especially China. This study investigates the association between sciodemographic data, obstetric risk factor, and preterm birth in five Maternal and Child Health hospitals in Beijing, China. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A case-control study was conducted on 1391 women with preterm birth (case group and 1391 women with term delivery (control group, who were interviewed within 48 hours of delivery. Sixteen potential factors were investigated and statistical analysis was performed by univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis. Univariate analysis showed that 14 of the 16 factors were associated with preterm birth. Inter-pregnancy interval and inherited diseases were not risk factors. Logistic regression analysis showed that obesity (odds ratio (OR = 3.030, 95% confidence interval (CI 1.166-7.869, stressful life events (OR = 5.535, 95%CI 2.315-13.231, sexual activity (OR = 1.674, 95%CI 1.279-2.191, placenta previa (OR 13.577, 95%CI 2.563-71.912, gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 3.441, 95%CI1.694-6.991, hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy (OR = 6.034, 95%CI = 3.401-10.704, history of preterm birth (OR = 20.888, 95%CI 2.519-173.218 and reproductive abnormalities (OR = 3.049, 95%CI 1.010-9.206 were independent risk factors. Women who lived in towns and cities (OR = 0.603, 95%CI 0.430-0.846, had a balanced diet (OR = 0.533, 95%CI 0.421-0.675 and had a record of prenatal care (OR = 0.261, 95%CI 0.134-0.510 were less likely to have preterm birth. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity, stressful life events, sexual activity, placenta previa

Exercise during pregnancy in normal-weight women and risk of preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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Di Mascio, Daniele; Magro-Malosso, Elena Rita; Saccone, Gabriele; Marhefka, Gregary D; Berghella, Vincenzo

2016-11-01

Preterm birth is the major cause of perinatal mortality in the United States. In the past, pregnant women have been recommended to not exercise because of presumed risks of preterm birth. Physical activity has been theoretically related to preterm birth because it increases the release of catecholamines, especially norepinephrine, which might stimulate myometrial activity. Conversely, exercise may reduce the risk of preterm birth by other mechanisms such as decreased oxidative stress or improved placenta vascularization. Therefore, the safety of exercise regarding preterm birth and its effects on gestational age at delivery remain controversial. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of exercise during pregnancy on the risk of preterm birth. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Sciences, Scopus, ClinicalTrial.gov, OVID, and Cochrane Library were searched from the inception of each database to April 2016. Selection criteria included only randomized clinical trials of pregnant women randomized before 23 weeks to an aerobic exercise regimen or not. Types of participants included women of normal weight with uncomplicated, singleton pregnancies without any obstetric contraindication to physical activity. The summary measures were reported as relative risk or as mean difference with 95% confidence intervals. The primary outcome was the incidence of preterm birth exercise group and 1037 (50.4%) to the control group. Aerobic exercise lasted about 35-90 minutes 3-4 times per week. Women who were randomized to aerobic exercise had a similar incidence of preterm birth of exercise group had a significantly higher incidence of vaginal delivery (73.6% vs 67.5%; relative risk, 1.09, 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.15) and a significantly lower incidence of cesarean delivery (17.9% vs 22%; relative risk, 0.82, 95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.97) compared with controls. The incidence of operative vaginal delivery (12.9% vs 16.5%; relative risk, 0.78, 95% confidence interval, 0

Closeness-Centrality-Based Synchronization Criteria for Complex Dynamical Networks With Interval Time-Varying Coupling Delays.

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Park, Myeongjin; Lee, Seung-Hoon; Kwon, Oh-Min; Seuret, Alexandre

2017-09-06

This paper investigates synchronization in complex dynamical networks (CDNs) with interval time-varying delays. The CDNs are representative of systems composed of a large number of interconnected dynamical units, and for the purpose of the mathematical analysis, the leading work is to model them as graphs whose nodes represent the dynamical units. At this time, we take note of the importance of each node in networks. One way, in this paper, is that the closeness-centrality mentioned in the field of social science is grafted onto the CDNs. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, and utilizing some mathematical techniques, the sufficient and closeness-centrality-based conditions for synchronization stability of the networks are established in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Ultimately, the use of the closeness-centrality can be weighted with regard to not only the interconnection relation among the nodes, which was utilized in the existing works but also more information about nodes. Here, the centrality will be added as the concerned information. Moreover, to avoid the computational burden causing the nonconvex term including the square of the time-varying delay, how to deal with it is applied by estimating it to the convex term including time-varying delay. Finally, two illustrative examples are given to show the advantage of the closeness-centrality in point of the robustness on time-delay.

Frequency of marriage and live birth among survivors prenatally exposed to the atomic bomb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blot, W.J.; Shimizu, Y.; Kato, H.; Miller, R.W.

1975-01-01

Frequency of marriage and birth as of January 1973 was determined for persons exposed in utero to the atomic bombs in 1945 and for controls. The marriage rate was lower in persons heavily exposed in utero than in the non-exposed or lightly exposed. This difference is attributed partly to the lesser marriageability of persons with mental retardation who are significantly more numerous among the heavily exposed, and partly to unmeasured variables, possibly including social discrimination against survivors of the atomic bomb. No consistent relation was observed between radiation exposure and three reproductive indices: childless marriages, number of births, and interval between marriage and first birth

Perinatal risks of planned home births in the United States.

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Grünebaum, Amos; McCullough, Laurence B; Brent, Robert L; Arabin, Birgit; Levene, Malcolm I; Chervenak, Frank A

2015-03-01

We analyzed the perinatal risks of midwife-attended planned home births in the United States from 2010 through 2012 and compared them with recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for planned home births. Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics birth certificate data files from 2010 through 2012 were utilized to analyze the frequency of certain perinatal risk factors that were associated with planned midwife-attended home births in the United States and compare them with deliveries performed in the hospital by certified nurse midwives. Home birth deliveries attended by others were excluded; only planned home births attended by midwives were included. Hospital deliveries attended by certified nurse midwives served as the reference. Perinatal risk factors were those established by ACOG and AAP. Midwife-attended planned home births in the United States had the following risk factors: breech presentation, 0.74% (odds ratio [OR], 3.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.87-3.56); prior cesarean delivery, 4.4% (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 2.0-2.17); twins, 0.64% (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.84-2.31); and gestational age 41 weeks or longer, 28.19% (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.68-1.74). All 4 perinatal risk factors were significantly higher among midwife-attended planned home births when compared with certified nurse midwives-attended hospital births, and 3 of 4 perinatal risk factors were significantly higher in planned home births attended by non-American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB)-certified midwives (other midwives) when compared with home births attended by certified nurse midwives. Among midwife-attended planned home births, 65.7% of midwives did not meet the ACOG and AAP recommendations for certification by the American Midwifery Certification Board. At least 30% of midwife-attended planned home births are not low risk and not within

The comparison of proportional hazards and accelerated failure time models in analyzing the first birth interval survival data

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Faruk, Alfensi

2018-03-01

Survival analysis is a branch of statistics, which is focussed on the analysis of time- to-event data. In multivariate survival analysis, the proportional hazards (PH) is the most popular model in order to analyze the effects of several covariates on the survival time. However, the assumption of constant hazards in PH model is not always satisfied by the data. The violation of the PH assumption leads to the misinterpretation of the estimation results and decreasing the power of the related statistical tests. On the other hand, the accelerated failure time (AFT) models do not assume the constant hazards in the survival data as in PH model. The AFT models, moreover, can be used as the alternative to PH model if the constant hazards assumption is violated. The objective of this research was to compare the performance of PH model and the AFT models in analyzing the significant factors affecting the first birth interval (FBI) data in Indonesia. In this work, the discussion was limited to three AFT models which were based on Weibull, exponential, and log-normal distribution. The analysis by using graphical approach and a statistical test showed that the non-proportional hazards exist in the FBI data set. Based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), the log-normal AFT model was the most appropriate model among the other considered models. Results of the best fitted model (log-normal AFT model) showed that the covariates such as women’s educational level, husband’s educational level, contraceptive knowledge, access to mass media, wealth index, and employment status were among factors affecting the FBI in Indonesia.

Comparing the odds of postpartum haemorrhage in planned home birth against planned hospital birth: results of an observational study of over 500,000 maternities in the UK

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Nove Andrea

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study is to compare the odds of postpartum haemorrhage among women who opt for home birth against the odds of postpartum haemorrhage for those who plan a hospital birth. It is an observational study involving secondary analysis of maternity records, using binary logistic regression modelling. The data relate to pregnancies that received maternity care from one of fifteen hospitals in the former North West Thames Regional Health Authority Area in England, and which resulted in a live or stillbirth in the years 1988–2000 inclusive, excluding ‘high-risk’ pregnancies, unplanned home births, pre-term births, elective Caesareans and medical inductions. Results Even after adjustment for known confounders such as parity, the odds of postpartum haemorrhage (≥1000ml of blood lost are significantly higher if a hospital birth is intended than if a home birth is intended (odds ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 3.8. The ‘home birth’ group included women who were transferred to hospital during labour or shortly after birth. Conclusions Women and their partners should be advised that the risk of PPH is higher among births planned to take place in hospital compared to births planned to take place at home, but that further research is needed to understand (a whether the same pattern applies to the more life-threatening categories of PPH, and (b why hospital birth is associated with increased odds of PPH. If it is due to the way in which labour is managed in hospital, changes should be made to practices which compromise the safety of labouring women.

Mere odor exposure learning in the rat neonate immediately after birth and 1 day later.

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Miller, Stacie S; Spear, Norman E

2010-05-01

Rat pups are more resistant to retroactive associative interference 3 hr after birth than 24 hr later [Cheslock et al. [2004] Developmental Science, 7, 581-598]. The present experiments tested the effect of age, retention interval and dam presence during the retention interval on odor-induced motor activity subsequent to mere odor exposure. Rats were exposed to an hour of odor immediately after birth or approximately 1 day later and tested after a given retention interval (3 or 27 hr [Exp 1]; 0, 30, 75, or 180 min [Exp. 2]). They spent the retention interval either in the presence or absence of a foster dam (Exp. 1 and 3). After the retention interval, pups were tested in a 4-min activity test including a 2-min baseline period and 2 min of odor exposure. Overall activity was scored during tape-playback. Odor-exposed pups were more active than nonexposed pups during reexposure to the odor during testing, but this was true only for P0 pups. In contrast, P1 pups without prior odor exposure were active during testing and behaviorally quieted in the presence of the odor they were previously exposed to. Though 1 day apart, newborn rats just hours old lack many of the experiences that a 1-day-old has had including nursing, huddling, and being groomed. These experiences are associated with, among other stimuli, a barrage of olfactory cues (e.g., colostrum, saliva, dander, feces, and urine). P0 and P1 pups also differ in their proximity from the birthing experience and associated neurochemical changes. The age-related pattern of responding to odors based on previous odor exposure was discussed in relation to these and other possibilities.

Mere odor exposure learning in the rat neonate immediately after birth and one day later

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Miller, Stacie S.; Spear, Norman E.

2011-01-01

Rat pups are more resistant to retroactive associative interference 3 hrs after birth than 24 hours later (Cheslock, Sanders, & Spear, 2004). The present experiments tested the effect of age, retention interval and dam presence during the retention interval on odor-induced motor activity subsequent to mere odor exposure. Rats were exposed to an hour of odor immediately after birth or approximately one day later and tested after a given retention interval (3 hrs or 27 hrs [Exp 1]; 0, 30, 75, or 180 min [Exp. 2]). They spent the retention interval either in the presence or absence of a foster dam (Exp. 1 and 3). After the retention interval, pups were tested in a four-minute activity test including a two-minute baseline period and two minutes of odor exposure. Overall activity was scored during tape-playback. Odor-exposed pups were more active than non-exposed pups during reexposure to the odor during testing, but this was true only for P0 pups. In contrast, P1 pups without prior odor exposure were active during testing and behaviorally quieted in the presence of the odor they were previously exposed to. Though one day apart, newborn rats just hours old lack many of the experiences that a one day old has had including nursing, huddling, and being groomed. These experiences are associated with, among other stimuli, a barrage of olfactory cues (e.g., colostrum, saliva, dander, feces, and urine). P0 and P1 pups also differ in their proximity from the birthing experience and associated neurochemical changes. The age-related pattern of responding to odors based on previous odor exposure was discussed in relation to these and other possibilities. PMID:20411590

Cesarean Birth

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... QUESTIONS LABOR, DELIVERY, AND POSTPARTUM CARE FAQ006 Cesarean Birth (C-section) • What is cesarean birth? • What are the reasons for cesarean birth? • Is a cesarean birth necessary if I have ...

Understanding the role of violence as a social determinant of preterm birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Masho, Saba W; Cha, Susan; Chapman, Derek A; Chelmow, David

2017-02-01

Preterm birth is one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality. Although major strides have been made in identifying risk factors for preterm birth, the complexities between social and individual risk factors are not well understood. This study examines the association between neighborhood youth violence and preterm birth. A 10-year live birth registry data set (2004 through 2013) from Richmond, VA, a mid-sized, racially diverse city, was analyzed (N = 27,519). Data were geocoded and merged with census tract and police report data. Gestational age at birth was classified as rates were calculated for each census tract area and categorized into quartiles. Hierarchical models were examined fitting multilevel logistic regression models incorporating randomly distributed census tract-specific intercepts assuming a binary distribution and a logit link function. Nearly a fifth of all births occurred in areas with the highest quartiles of violence. After adjusting for maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, paternal presence, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, pregnancy complications, history of preterm birth, insurance, and tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, census tracts with the highest level of violence had 38% higher odds of very preterm births (adjusted odds ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.80), than census tracts with the lowest level of violence. There is an association between high rate of youth violence and very preterm birth. Findings from this study may help inform future research to develop targeted interventions aimed at reducing community violence and very preterm birth in vulnerable populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Birth tourism: socio-demographic and statistical aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anatoly V. Korotkov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study is to research birth tourism issue. The article gives the socio-demographic and statistical aspects of research problems of birth inbound tourism in the Russian Federation. Following the literature analysis, the degree of study for birth tourism lags behind its actual size. Currently, the media has accumulated a significant amount of information on birth tourism in Russia, that requires processing, systematization and understanding that can and should become an independent area of study of sociologists and demographers to develop recommendations for the management of socio-demographic processes in birth tourism in our country. It is necessary to identify the problems that will inevitably arise. At present, this process is almost not regulated.These problems are complex, it requires the joint efforts of sociologists and demographers. However, it is impossible to obtain reliable results and to develop management decisions without attention to the statistical aspect of this problem. It is necessary to create methodological support for collecting and information processing and model development of the birth tourism. At the initial stage it is necessary to identify the direction and objectives of the analysis to determine the factors in the development of this process, to develop a hierarchical system of statistical indicators, to receive the information, needed for calculating of specific indicators.The complex research of the birth tourism issues should be based on the methodology of sociology, demography and statistics, including statistical observation, interviews with residents, structure analysis and birth tourism concentration in the country, the analysis of the dynamics, classification of factors and reasons, the grouping of regions for the development of the studied processes and, of course, the development of economic-statistical indicators.The article reveals the problem of the significant influence of the

Implications of teen birth for overweight and obesity in adulthood.

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Chang, Tammy; Choi, HwaJung; Richardson, Caroline R; Davis, Matthew M

2013-08-01

The objective of this study was to examine whether teen birth was independently associated with overweight and obesity in a US cohort. We examined whether teen birth is independently associated with overweight and obesity in a multiyear US cohort using the 2001-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population. We performed multinomial logistic regression adjusting for survey cohort, age at survey, race, education, and parity. We included women 20-59 years old at the time of survey, with at least 1 live birth, not currently or recently pregnant (unweighted, n = 5220; weighted, n = 48.4 million). Our outcome measure was the effect of teen birth on subsequent overweight and obesity. In bivariate analyses, women with a teen birth were significantly more likely than women without a teen birth to be overweight (relative risk ratios [RRRs], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-1.90) or obese (RRR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.56-2.16) at the time of the survey. In multivariate models, women with a teen birth remained significantly more likely to be overweight (adjusted RRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.10-1.62) or obese (adjusted RRR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.09-1.61) than women without a teen birth. For women in the United States, giving birth as a teen is associated with subsequent overweight/obese status later in life. To inform clinical and policy interventions with the goal to improve the long-term health of teenage mothers, future studies must examine modifiable physiological and sociomedical reasons for early child-bearing and later risk of obesity. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Birth Outcomes after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: A Long-Term Retrospective Study

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Leppold, Claire; Nomura, Shuhei; Sawano, Toyoaki; Ozaki, Akihiko; Tsubokura, Masaharu; Hill, Sarah; Kanazawa, Yukio; Anbe, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

Changes in population birth outcomes, including increases in low birthweight or preterm births, have been documented after natural and manmade disasters. However, information is limited following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. In this study, we assessed whether there were long-term changes in birth outcomes post-disaster, compared to pre-disaster data, and whether residential area and food purchasing patterns, as proxy measurements of evacuation and radiation-related anxiety, were associated with post-disaster birth outcomes. Maternal and perinatal data were retrospectively collected for all live singleton births at a public hospital, located 23 km from the power plant, from 2008 to 2015. Proportions of low birthweight (increased proportions of low birthweight or preterm births in any year after the disaster (merged post-disaster risk ratio of low birthweight birth: 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–1.51; and preterm birth: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.38–1.21). No significant associations between birth outcomes and residential area or food purchasing patterns were identified, after adjustment for covariates. In conclusion, no changes in birth outcomes were found in this institution-based investigation after the Fukushima disaster. Further research is needed on the pathways that may exacerbate or reduce disaster effects on maternal and perinatal health. PMID:28534840

Birth order and risk of childhood cancer: a pooled analysis from five US States.

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Von Behren, Julie; Spector, Logan G; Mueller, Beth A; Carozza, Susan E; Chow, Eric J; Fox, Erin E; Horel, Scott; Johnson, Kimberly J; McLaughlin, Colleen; Puumala, Susan E; Ross, Julie A; Reynolds, Peggy

2011-06-01

The causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown. Birth order has been used as a proxy for prenatal and postnatal exposures, such as frequency of infections and in utero hormone exposures. We investigated the association between birth order and childhood cancers in a pooled case-control dataset. The subjects were drawn from population-based registries of cancers and births in California, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Washington. We included 17,672 cases confidence intervals using logistic regression, adjusted for sex, birth year, maternal race, maternal age, multiple birth, gestational age and birth weight. Overall, we found an inverse relationship between childhood cancer risk and birth order. For children in the fourth or higher birth order category compared to first-born children, the adjusted OR was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.93) for all cancers combined. When we examined risks by cancer type, a decreasing risk with increasing birth order was seen in the central nervous system tumors, neuroblastoma, bilateral retinoblastoma, Wilms tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma. We observed increased risks with increasing birth order for acute myeloid leukemia but a slight decrease in risk for acute lymphoid leukemia. These risk estimates were based on a very large sample size, which allowed us to examine rare cancer types with greater statistical power than in most previous studies, however the biologic mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Copyright © 2010 UICC.

Birth weight, breast cancer and the potential mediating hormonal environment.

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Radek Bukowski

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that woman's risk of breast cancer in later life is associated with her infants birth weights. The objective of this study was to determine if this association is independent of breast cancer risk factors, mother's own birth weight and to evaluate association between infants birth weight and hormonal environment during pregnancy. Independent association would have implications for understanding the mechanism, but also for prediction and prevention of breast cancer.Risk of breast cancer in relation to a first infant's birth weight, mother's own birth weight and breast cancer risk factors were evaluated in a prospective cohort of 410 women in the Framingham Study. Serum concentrations of estriol (E3, anti-estrogen alpha-fetoprotein (AFP, and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A were measured in 23,824 pregnant women from a separate prospective cohort, the FASTER trial. During follow-up (median, 14 years 31 women (7.6% were diagnosed with breast cancer. Women with large birth weight infants (in the top quintile had a higher breast cancer risk compared to other women (hazard ratio (HR, 2.5; 95% confidence interval (CI, 1.2-5.2; P = 0.012. The finding was not affected by adjustment for birth weight of the mother and traditional breast cancer risk factors (adjusted HR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2-5.6; P = 0.021. An infant's birth weight had a strong positive relationship with the mother's serum E3/AFP ratio and PAPP-A concentration during pregnancy. Adjustment for breast cancer risk factors did not have a material effect on these relationships.Giving birth to an infant with high birth weight was associated with increased breast cancer risk in later life, independently of mother's own birth weight and breast cancer risk factors and was also associated with a hormonal environment during pregnancy favoring future breast cancer development and progression.

Risk of preterm birth by subtype among Medi-Cal participants with mental illness.

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Baer, Rebecca J; Chambers, Christina D; Bandoli, Gretchen; Jelliffe-Pawlowski, Laura L

2016-10-01

Previous studies have demonstrated an association between mental illness and preterm birth (before 37 weeks). However, these investigations have not simultaneously considered gestation of preterm birth, the indication (eg, spontaneous or medically indicated), and specific mental illness classifications. The objective of the study was to examine the likelihood of preterm birth across gestational lengths and indications among Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) participants with a diagnostic code for mental illness. Mental illnesses were studied by specific illness classification. The study population was drawn from singleton live births in California from 2007 through 2011 in the birth cohort file maintained by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, which includes birth certificate and hospital discharge records. The sample was restricted to women with Medi-Cal coverage for prenatal care. Women with mental illness were identified using International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, codes from their hospital discharge record. Women without a mental illness International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, code were randomly selected at a 4:1 ratio. Adjusting for maternal characteristics and obstetric complications, relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for preterm birth comparing women with a mental illness diagnostic code with women without such a code. We identified 6198 women with a mental illness diagnostic code and selected 24,792 women with no such code. The risk of preterm birth in women with a mental illness were 1.2 times higher than women without a mental illness (adjusted relative risk, 1.2, 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.3). Among the specific mental illnesses, schizophrenia, major depression, and personality disorders had the strongest associations with preterm birth (adjusted relative risks, 2.0, 2.0 and 3.3, respectively). Women receiving prenatal care through California's low

In Utero Exposure to Compounds with Dioxin-like Activity and Birth Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vafeiadi, Marina; Agramunt, Silvia; Pedersen, Marie

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Maternal exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds may affect fetal growth and development. We evaluated the association between in utero dioxin-like activity and birth outcomes in a prospective European mother-child study. METHODS: We measured dioxin-like activity in maternal...... and cord blood plasma samples collected at delivery using the Dioxin-Responsive Chemically Activated LUciferase eXpression (DR CALUX) bioassay in 967 mother-child pairs, in Denmark, Greece, Norway, Spain, and England. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the associations with birth...... weight, gestational age, and head circumference. RESULTS: Plasma dioxin-like activity was higher in maternal sample than in cord samples. Birth weight was lower with medium (-58 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = -176 to 62]) and high (-82 g [-216 to 53]) tertiles of exposure (cord blood) compared...

Maternal immigrant status and high birth weight: implications for childhood obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Sayed, Abdulrahman M; Galea, Sandro

2011-01-01

Childhood obesity, a growing epidemic, is associated with greater risk of several chronic diseases in adulthood. Children of immigrant mothers are at higher risk for obesity than children of non-immigrant mothers. High birth weight is the most important neonatal predictor of childhood obesity in the general population. To understand the etiology of obesity in children of immigrant mothers, we assessed the relation between maternal immigrant status and risk for high birth weight. Data about all births in Michigan (N = 786,868) between 2000-2005 were collected. We used bivariate chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the relation between maternal immigrant status and risk for neonatal high birth weight. The prevalence of high birth weight among non-immigrant mothers was 10.6%; the prevalence among immigrant mothers was 8.0% (P maternal age, education, marital status, parity, and tobacco use, children of immigrant mothers had lower odds (odds ratio = 0.69, 95% confidence interval = 0.67-0.70) of high birth weight compared to those of non-immigrant mothers. Although maternal immigrant status has been shown to be associated with greater childhood obesity, surprisingly, children of immigrant mothers have lower risk of high birth weight than children of non-immigrant mothers. This suggests that factors in early childhood, potentially cultural or behavioral factors, may play a disproportionately important role in the etiology of childhood obesity in children of immigrant vs non-immigrant mothers.

Birth Defects

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A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother's body. Most birth defects happen during the first 3 months of ... in the United States is born with a birth defect. A birth defect may affect how the ...

Drinking Water Disinfection By-products, Genetic Polymorphisms, and Birth Outcomes in a European Mother-Child Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kogevinas, Manolis; Bustamante, Mariona; Gracia-Lavedán, Esther; Ballester, Ferran; Cordier, Sylvaine; Costet, Nathalie; Espinosa, Ana; Grazuleviciene, Regina; Danileviciute, Asta; Ibarluzea, Jesus; Karadanelli, Maria; Krasner, Stuart; Patelarou, Evridiki; Stephanou, Euripides; Tardón, Adonina; Toledano, Mireille B; Wright, John; Villanueva, Cristina M; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

2016-11-01

We examined the association between exposure during pregnancy to trihalomethanes, the most common water disinfection by-products, and birth outcomes in a European cohort study (Health Impacts of Long-Term Exposure to Disinfection By-Products in Drinking Water). We took into account exposure through different water uses, measures of water toxicity, and genetic susceptibility. We enrolled 14,005 mothers (2002-2010) and their children from France, Greece, Lithuania, Spain, and the UK. Information on lifestyle- and water-related activities was recorded. We ascertained residential concentrations of trihalomethanes through regulatory records and ad hoc sampling campaigns and estimated route-specific trihalomethane uptake by trimester and for whole pregnancy. We examined single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variants in disinfection by-product metabolizing genes in nested case-control studies. Average levels of trihalomethanes ranged from around 10 μg/L to above the regulatory limits in the EU of 100 μg/L between centers. There was no association between birth weight and total trihalomethane exposure during pregnancy (β = 2.2 g in birth weight per 10 μg/L of trihalomethane, 95% confidence interval = 3.3, 7.6). Birth weight was not associated with exposure through different routes or with specific trihalomethane species. Exposure to trihalomethanes was not associated with low birth weight (odds ratio [OR] per 10 μg/L = 1.02, 95% confidence interval = 0.95, 1.10), small-for-gestational age (OR = 0.99, 0.94, 1.03) and preterm births (OR = 0.98, 0.9, 1.05). We found no gene-environment interactions for mother or child polymorphisms in relation to preterm birth or small-for-gestational age. In this large European study, we found no association between birth outcomes and trihalomethane exposures during pregnancy in the total population or in potentially genetically susceptible subgroups. (See video abstract at http://links.lww.com/EDE/B104.).

Influence of season of birth on growth and reproductive development of Brahman bulls.

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Tatman, Shawn R; Neuendorff, Don A; Wilson, Timothy W; Randel, Ronald D

2004-07-01

Seasonal effects on reproduction are more dramatic in Bos indicus than Bos taurus cattle. This experiment evaluated reproductive development of fall- (n=7) versus spring- (n = 10) born Brahman bulls to determine if season of birth affects reproductive development. Measurements of growth and reproductive development began after weaning and continued at bi-weekly intervals until each bull reached sexual maturity. Different stages of sexual development were classified according to characteristics of the ejaculate and included first sperm in the ejaculate, puberty (> 50 x 10(6) sperm/ejaculate), and sexual maturity (two ejaculates with > 500 = 10(6) sperm/ejaculate). Average daily increases in all measured traits were similar in fall- and spring-born bulls and there were no differences in age, body weight, scrotal circumference, or paired testis volume between groups at first sperm or puberty. However, fall-born bulls were older (P days versus 481 days, respectively) as the interval between puberty and sexual maturity was longer (P days versus 54 days, respectively). The prolonged interval between puberty and sexual maturity in fall-born calves coincided with a short photoperiod (winter) whereas the short interval between puberty and sexual maturity in spring-born calves coincided with a long photoperiod (summer). In conclusion, season of birth affected sexual development; photoperiod might be involved in regulating testicular function immediately after puberty in Brahman bulls.

An optimal dynamic interval stabbing-max data structure?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agarwal, Pankaj Kumar; Arge, Lars; Yi, Ke

2005-01-01

In this paper we consider the dynamic stabbing-max problem, that is, the problem of dynamically maintaining a set S of n axis-parallel hyper-rectangles in Rd, where each rectangle s ∈ S has a weight w(s) ∈ R, so that the rectangle with the maximum weight containing a query point can be determined...

Validity of recalled v. recorded birth weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Shenkin, S D; Zhang, M G; Der, G; Mathur, S; Mina, T H; Reynolds, R M

2017-04-01

Low birth weight is associated with adverse health outcomes. If birth weight records are not available, studies may use recalled birth weight. It is unclear whether this is reliable. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing recalled with recorded birth weights. We followed the Meta-Analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) statement and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) to May 2015. We included studies that reported recalled birth weight and recorded birth weight. We excluded studies investigating a clinical population. Two reviewers independently reviewed citations, extracted data, assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis for correlation and mean difference. In total, 40 studies were eligible for qualitative synthesis (n=78,997 births from 78,196 parents). Agreement between recalled and recorded birth weight was high: pooled estimate of correlation in 23 samples from 19 studies (n=7406) was 0.90 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.87-0.93]. The difference between recalled and recorded birth weight in 29 samples from 26 studies (n=29,293) was small [range -86-129 g; random effects estimate 1.4 g (95% CI -4.0-6.9 g)]. Studies were heterogeneous, with no evidence for an effect of time since birth, person reporting, recall bias, or birth order. In post-hoc subgroup analysis, recall was higher than recorded birth weight by 80 g (95% CI 57-103 g) in low and middle income countries. In conclusion, there is high agreement between recalled and recorded birth weight. If birth weight is recalled, it is suitable for use in epidemiological studies, at least in high income countries.

Birth Order and Child Cognitive Outcomes: An Exploration of the Parental Time Mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Monfardini, Chiara; See, Sarah Grace

2016-01-01

Higher birth order positions are associated with poorer outcomes due to smaller shares of resources received within the household. Using a sample of Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement children, we investigate if the negative birth order effect we find in cognitive outcomes is due to unequal allocation of mother and father…

Where there is no toilet: water and sanitation environments of domestic and facility births in Tanzania.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenka Benova

Full Text Available Inadequate water and sanitation during childbirth are likely to lead to poor maternal and newborn outcomes. This paper uses existing data sources to assess the water and sanitation (WATSAN environment surrounding births in Tanzania in order to interrogate whether such estimates could be useful for guiding research, policy and monitoring initiatives.We used the most recent Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS to characterise the delivery location of births occurring between 2005 and 2010. Births occurring in domestic environments were characterised as WATSAN-safe if the home fulfilled international definitions of improved water and improved sanitation access. We used the 2006 Service Provision Assessment survey to characterise the WATSAN environment of facilities that conduct deliveries. We combined estimates from both surveys to describe the proportion of all births occurring in WATSAN-safe environments and conducted an equity analysis based on DHS wealth quintiles and eight geographic zones.42.9% (95% confidence interval: 41.6%-44.2% of all births occurred in the woman's home. Among these, only 1.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.2%-2.0% were estimated to have taken place in WATSAN-safe conditions. 74% of all health facilities conducted deliveries. Among these, only 44% of facilities overall and 24% of facility delivery rooms were WATSAN-safe. Combining the estimates, we showed that 30.5% of all births in Tanzania took place in a WATSAN-safe environment (range of uncertainty 25%-42%. Large wealth-based inequalities existed in the proportion of births occurring in domestic environments based on wealth quintile and geographical zone.Existing data sources can be useful in national monitoring and prioritisation of interventions to improve poor WATSAN environments during childbirth. However, a better conceptual understanding of potentially harmful exposures and better data are needed in order to devise and apply more empirical definitions of

Where there is no toilet: water and sanitation environments of domestic and facility births in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Benova, Lenka; Cumming, Oliver; Gordon, Bruce A; Magoma, Moke; Campbell, Oona M R

2014-01-01

Inadequate water and sanitation during childbirth are likely to lead to poor maternal and newborn outcomes. This paper uses existing data sources to assess the water and sanitation (WATSAN) environment surrounding births in Tanzania in order to interrogate whether such estimates could be useful for guiding research, policy and monitoring initiatives. We used the most recent Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) to characterise the delivery location of births occurring between 2005 and 2010. Births occurring in domestic environments were characterised as WATSAN-safe if the home fulfilled international definitions of improved water and improved sanitation access. We used the 2006 Service Provision Assessment survey to characterise the WATSAN environment of facilities that conduct deliveries. We combined estimates from both surveys to describe the proportion of all births occurring in WATSAN-safe environments and conducted an equity analysis based on DHS wealth quintiles and eight geographic zones. 42.9% (95% confidence interval: 41.6%-44.2%) of all births occurred in the woman's home. Among these, only 1.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.2%-2.0%) were estimated to have taken place in WATSAN-safe conditions. 74% of all health facilities conducted deliveries. Among these, only 44% of facilities overall and 24% of facility delivery rooms were WATSAN-safe. Combining the estimates, we showed that 30.5% of all births in Tanzania took place in a WATSAN-safe environment (range of uncertainty 25%-42%). Large wealth-based inequalities existed in the proportion of births occurring in domestic environments based on wealth quintile and geographical zone. Existing data sources can be useful in national monitoring and prioritisation of interventions to improve poor WATSAN environments during childbirth. However, a better conceptual understanding of potentially harmful exposures and better data are needed in order to devise and apply more empirical definitions of WATSAN

Impact of police-reported intimate partner violence during pregnancy on birth outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipsky, Sherry; Holt, Victoria L; Easterling, Thomas R; Critchlow, Cathy W

2003-09-01

To examine the relationship of police-reported intimate partner violence during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes. We conducted a population-based, retrospective, cohort study in Seattle, Washington, using Seattle police data and Washington State birth certificate files from January 1995 through September 1999. Exposed subjects were women with an intimate partner violence incident reported to police during pregnancy and who subsequently had a singleton live birth or fetal death registered in the state of Washington. Unexposed subjects were randomly selected Seattle residents with a singleton live birth or fetal death in the same time period and who did not report an incident. The main outcome measures were low birth weight (LBW less than 2500 g), very LBW (VLBW less than 1500 g), preterm birth (20-36 weeks' gestation), very preterm birth (20-31 weeks), and neonatal death (before discharge). Women reporting any partner violence during pregnancy were significantly more likely to have a LBW infant (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20, 2.40), a VLBW infant (aOR 2.54; 95% CI 1.32, 4.91), a preterm birth (aOR 1.61; 95% CI 1.14, 2.28), a very preterm birth (aOR 3.71; 95% CI 1.80, 7.63), and a neonatal death (aOR 3.49; 95% CI 1.43, 8.50). Police-reported partner violence during pregnancy is significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. There is a critical need to identify pregnancy among women with reported incidents and to provide women health and social service information and referrals, particularly referrals to high-risk pregnancy programs.

Association between antibiotic use among pregnant women with urinary tract infections in the first trimester and birth defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study 1997 to 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Ailes, Elizabeth C; Gilboa, Suzanne M; Gill, Simerpal K; Broussard, Cheryl S; Crider, Krista S; Berry, Robert J; Carter, Tonia C; Hobbs, Charlotte A; Interrante, Julia D; Reefhuis, Jennita

2016-11-01

Previous studies noted associations between birth defects and some antibiotics (e.g., nitrofurantoin, sulfonamides) but not others (e.g., penicillins). It is unclear if previous findings were due to antibiotic use, infections, or chance. To control for potential confounding by indication, we examined associations between antibiotic use and birth defects, among women reporting urinary tract infections (UTIs). The National Birth Defects Prevention Study is a multi-site, population-based case-control study. Case infants/fetuses have any of over 30 major birth defects and controls are live-born infants without major birth defects. We analyzed pregnancies from 1997 to 2011 to estimate the association between maternally reported periconceptional (month before conception through the third month of pregnancy) use of nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or cephalosporins and specific birth defects, among women with periconceptional UTIs. Women with periconceptional UTIs who reported penicillin use served as the comparator. Periconceptional UTIs were reported by 7.8% (2029/26,068) of case and 6.7% (686/10,198) of control mothers. Most (68.2% of case, 66.6% of control mothers) also reported antibiotic use. Among 608 case and 231 control mothers reporting at least one periconceptional UTI and certain antibiotic use, compared with penicillin, nitrofurantoin use was associated with oral clefts in the offspring (adjusted odds ratio, 1.97 [95% confidence interval, 1.10-3.53]), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole use with esophageal atresia (5.31 [1.39-20.24]) and diaphragmatic hernia (5.09 [1.20-21.69]), and cephalosporin use with anorectal atresia/stenosis (5.01 [1.34-18.76]). Periconceptional exposure to some antibiotics might increase the risk for certain birth defects. However, because individual birth defects are rare, absolute risks should drive treatment decisions.Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:940-949, 2016.© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals

The Impact of Parental Personality on Birth Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naho Morisaki

Full Text Available To investigate the effect of parental personality on birth outcomes.Prospective cohort study.727 pregnant women and 579 spouses receiving antenatal care at a single-center in rural Tokyo, Japan during 2010-2013.We measured the association between maternal effect of parental personality traits assessed by the Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory on birth outcomes, using multiple regression and adjusting for demographics.Maternal self-transcendence personality was inversely associated with gestational age [-0.26 (95% confidence interval (CI: -0.51 to -0.01 weeks per unit] and positively associated with preterm birth [odds ratio (OR 2.60 (95% CI: 1.00 to 6.75 per unit], while paternal self-transcendence personality was positively associated with gestational age [0.31 (95% CI: 0.07 to 0.55 weeks per unit]. Maternal reward dependence was positively associated with fetal growth [0.30 (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.59 per unit]. Other maternal and paternal personality traits associated with adverse maternal behavior, such as novelty seeking, harm avoidance and self-directedness, were not associated with birth outcomes.We found that specific parental personality traits can be associated with birth outcomes.

Cost-effectiveness of planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth: Results of the Dutch Birth Centre study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.F. Hitzert (Marit); M.A.A. Hermus (Marieke A.A.); Boesveld, I.I.C. (Inge I.C.); A. Franx (Arie); K.M. van der Pal-De Bruin (Karin); E.A.P. Steegers (Eric); Van Den Akker-Van Marle, E.M.E. (Eiske M.E.)

2017-01-01

textabstractObjectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth for low-risk women. In addition, a distinction has been made between different types of locations and integration profiles of birth centres. Design

Infant outcomes of certified nurse midwife attended home births: United States 2000 to 2004.

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Malloy, M H

2010-09-01

Home births attended by certified nurse midwives (CNMs) make up an extremely small proportion of births in the United States (home deliveries compared with certified nurse midwife in-hospital deliveries in the United States as measured by the risk of adverse infant outcomes among women with term, singleton, vaginal deliveries. United States linked birth and infant death files for the years 2000 to 2004 were used for the analysis. Adverse neonatal outcomes including death were determined by place of birth and attendant type for in-hospital certified nurse midwife, in-hospital 'other' midwife, home certified nurse midwife, home 'other' midwife, and free-standing birth center certified nurse midwife deliveries. For the 5-year period there were 1 237 129 in-hospital certified nurse midwife attended births; 17 389 in-hospital 'other' midwife attended births; 13 529 home certified nurse midwife attended births; 42 375 home 'other' midwife attended births; and 25 319 birthing center certified nurse midwife attended births. The neonatal mortality rate per 1000 live births for each of these categories was, respectively, 0.5 (deaths=614), 0.4 (deaths=7), 1.0 (deaths=14), 1.8 (deaths=75), and 0.6 (deaths=16). The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for neonatal mortality for home certified nurse midwife attended deliveries vs in-hospital certified nurse midwife attended deliveries was 2.02 (1.18, 3.45). Deliveries at home attended by CNMs and 'other midwives' were associated with higher risks for mortality than deliveries in-hospital by CNMs.

The effect of seasonal harvesting on a single-species discrete population model with stage structure and birth pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Shujing; Chen Lansun

2005-01-01

In this paper, we propose an exploited single-species discrete model with stage structure for the dynamics in a fish population for which births occur in a single pulse once per time period. Using the stroboscopic map, we obtain an exact cycle of the system, and obtain the threshold conditions for its stability. Bifurcation diagrams are constructed with the birth rate as the bifurcation parameter, and these are observed to display complex dynamic behaviors, including chaotic bands with period windows, pitch-fork and tangent bifurcation. This suggests that birth pulse provides a natural period or cyclicity that makes the dynamical behavior more complex. Moreover, we show that the timing of harvesting has a strong impact on the persistence of the fish population, on the volume of mature fish stock and on the maximum annual-sustainable yield. An interesting result is obtained that, after the birth pulse, the earlier culling the mature fish, the larger harvest can tolerate

Birth order and paediatric allergic disease: A nationwide longitudinal survey.

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Kikkawa, T; Yorifuji, T; Fujii, Y; Yashiro, M; Okada, A; Ikeda, M; Doi, H; Tsukahara, H

2018-05-01

Environmental factors seem to be related to the incidence of allergic disease. Children with a later birth order are often exposed to environments, where pathogens and endotoxins can be found, and thus have a higher risk of developing infectious diseases. Therefore, birth order is regarded as an indicator that reflects post-natal environment. However, longitudinal studies are limited on this subject. This study sought to elucidate the relationships between birth order and allergic disease. From a nationwide longitudinal study that followed children born in 2001 (n = 47 015), we selected doctors' visits for 3 types of allergic disease-bronchial asthma, food allergy and atopic dermatitis-from infancy to 12 years of age and conducted binomial log-linear regression analysis to evaluate the associations between birth order and these diseases. We adjusted for the child and parental factors and estimated risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each outcome. The associations between birth order and bronchial asthma were diverse; later birth order increased the risk in early childhood, but decreased the risks during school age. For example, the adjusted RR comparing third-born or higher and first-born children was 1.19 (95% CI, 1.05-1.35) between 30 and 42 months of age, but was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.65-0.89) between 10 and 11 years. Later birth order was generally protective for food allergy but increased the risk of atopic dermatitis. The influence of birth order depended on the type of allergic disease and the childhood period. Childhood is unique in terms of physical and immunological development, and the immune response to the post-natal environment in childhood appears to be heterogeneous. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Income inequality, parental socioeconomic status, and birth outcomes in Japan.

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Fujiwara, Takeo; Ito, Jun; Kawachi, Ichiro

2013-05-15

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of income inequality and parental socioeconomic status on several birth outcomes in Japan. Data were collected on birth outcomes and parental socioeconomic status by questionnaire from Japanese parents nationwide (n = 41,499) and then linked to Gini coefficients at the prefectural level in 2001. In multilevel analysis, z scores of birth weight for gestational age decreased by 0.018 (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.029, -0.006) per 1-standard-deviation (0.018-unit) increase in the Gini coefficient, while gestational age at delivery was not associated with the Gini coefficient. For dichotomous outcomes, mothers living in prefectures with middle and high Gini coefficients were 1.24 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.47) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.48) times more likely, respectively, to deliver a small-for-gestational-age infant than mothers living in more egalitarian prefectures (low Gini coefficients), although preterm births were not significantly associated with income distribution. Parental educational level, but not household income, was significantly associated with the z score of birth weight for gestational age and small-for-gestational-age status. Higher income inequality at the prefectural level and parental educational level, rather than household income, were associated with intrauterine growth but not with shorter gestational age at delivery.

Social policies, separation, and second birth spacing in Western Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michaela Kreyenfeld

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: This paper studies postseparation fertility behavior. The aim is to investigate whether, and if so how, separation affects second birth spacing in Western European countries. Methods: This analysis makes use of rich survey data from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as from Finnish register data. We thus cover the behavior of a large proportion of the population of Western Europe. We also use descriptive measures, such as Kaplan‒Meier survival functions and cumulative incidence curves. In the multivariate analysis, we employ event history modeling to show how education relates to postseparation fertility behavior. Results: There are large differences in postseparation fertility behavior across European countries. For Spain and Italy, we find that only a negligibly small proportion of the population have a second child after separating from the other parent of the firstborn child. The countries with the highest proportion of second children with a new partner are the United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland. In all countries, separation after first birth leads to a sharp increase in the birth interval between first and second births. Contribution: Our study is a contribution to the demographic literature that aims at understanding birth spacing patterns in Western Europe. Furthermore, we draw attention to the role of postseparation policies in explaining country differences in fertility behavior in contemporary societies.

Cost-effectiveness of planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth: results of the Dutch Birth Centre study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, M.; Hermus, M.M.; Boesveld, I.I.; Franx, A.; Pal-de Bruin, K.K. van der; Steegers, E.E.; Akker-van Marle, E.M. van den

2017-01-01

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth for low-risk women. In addition, a distinction has been made between different types of locations and integration profiles of birth centres. Design Economic evaluation

Cost-effectiveness of planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth : Results of the Dutch Birth Centre study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, Marit F.; Hermus, Marieke A. A.; Boesveld, Inge I.C.; Franx, Arie; van der Pal-de Bruin, Karin M.; Steegers, Eric A. P.; Van Den Akker-Van Marle, Eiske M.E.

2017-01-01

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth for low-risk women. In addition, a distinction has been made between different types of locations and integration profiles of birth centres. Design Economic evaluation

Birth Outcomes after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster: A Long-Term Retrospective Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire Leppold

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Changes in population birth outcomes, including increases in low birthweight or preterm births, have been documented after natural and manmade disasters. However, information is limited following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. In this study, we assessed whether there were long-term changes in birth outcomes post-disaster, compared to pre-disaster data, and whether residential area and food purchasing patterns, as proxy measurements of evacuation and radiation-related anxiety, were associated with post-disaster birth outcomes. Maternal and perinatal data were retrospectively collected for all live singleton births at a public hospital, located 23 km from the power plant, from 2008 to 2015. Proportions of low birthweight (<2500 g at birth and preterm births (<37 weeks gestation at birth were compared pre- and post-disaster, and regression models were conducted to assess for associations between these outcomes and evacuation and food avoidance. A total of 1101 live singleton births were included. There were no increased proportions of low birthweight or preterm births in any year after the disaster (merged post-disaster risk ratio of low birthweight birth: 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI: 0.64–1.51; and preterm birth: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.38–1.21. No significant associations between birth outcomes and residential area or food purchasing patterns were identified, after adjustment for covariates. In conclusion, no changes in birth outcomes were found in this institution-based investigation after the Fukushima disaster. Further research is needed on the pathways that may exacerbate or reduce disaster effects on maternal and perinatal health.

Interaction between parental psychosis and risk factors during pregnancy and birth for schizophrenia - the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort study.

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Keskinen, E; Miettunen, J; Koivumaa-Honkanen, H; Mäki, P; Isohanni, M; Jääskeläinen, E

2013-04-01

Our aim was to investigate the association between parental psychosis and potential risk factors for schizophrenia and their interaction. We evaluated whether the factors during pregnancy and birth have a different effect among subjects with and without a history of parental psychosis and whether parental psychosis may even explain their effects on the risk of schizophrenia. The sample comprised 10,526 individuals from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. A total of 150 (1.4%) cohort members had schizophrenia by the age of 44 years, of them 18 (12.0%) had a parent with a history of psychosis. In non-psychotic cohort members, this figure was 495 (4.8%). In the parental psychosis group, significant early biological risk factors for schizophrenia included high birth weight (hazard ratio, HR 11.4; 95% confidence interval 3.3-39.7) and length (HR 4.1; 1.3-12.5), high birth weight in relation to gestational age (HR 3.2; 1.1-9.0), and high maternal age (HR 2.6.; 1.0-6.7). High birth weight and length and high maternal education had a significant interaction with parental psychosis. The presence of any biological risk factor increased the risk of schizophrenia significantly only among the parental psychosis group (HR 4.0; 1.5-10.5), whereas the presence of any psychosocial risk factor had no interaction with parental psychosis. Parental psychosis can act as an effect modifier on early risk factors for schizophrenia. Evaluation of the mechanisms behind the risk factors should, therefore, include consideration of the parental history of psychosis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Birth weight in relation to leisure time physical activity in adolescence and adulthood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lise Geisler; Ängquist, Lars; Gamborg, Michael Orland

2009-01-01

. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the association between birth weight and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in 43,482 adolescents and adults from 13 Nordic cohorts. Random effects meta-analyses were performed on categorical estimates from cohort-, age-, sex- and birth weight specific......BACKGROUND: Prenatal life exposures, potentially manifested as altered birth size, may influence the later risk of major chronic diseases through direct biologic effects on disease processes, but also by modifying adult behaviors such as physical activity that may influence later disease risk...... weight categories of 1.26-1.75, 1.76-2.25, 2.26-2.75, and 4.76-5.25 kg, had odds ratios of 0.67 (95% confidence interval: 0.47, 0.94), 0.72 (0.59, 0.88), 0.89 (0.79, 0.99), and 0.65 (0.50, 0.86), respectively. The shape and strength of the birth weight-LTPA association was virtually independent of sex...

Perinatal mortality and morbidity up to 28 days after birth among 743 070 low-risk planned home and hospital births: a cohort study based on three merged national perinatal databases.

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de Jonge, A; Geerts, C C; van der Goes, B Y; Mol, B W; Buitendijk, S E; Nijhuis, J G

2015-04-01

To compare rates of adverse perinatal outcomes between planned home births versus planned hospital births. A nationwide cohort study. The Netherlands. Low-risk women in midwife-led care at the onset of labour. Analysis of national registration data. Intrapartum and neonatal death, Apgar scores, and admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) within 28 days of birth. Of the total of 814 979 women, 466 112 had a planned home birth and 276 958 had a planned hospital birth. For 71 909 women, their planned place of birth was unknown. The combined intrapartum and neonatal death rates up to 28 days after birth, including cases with discrepancies in the registration of the moment of death, were: for nulliparous women, 1.02‰ for planned home births versus 1.09‰ for planned hospital births, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.99, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.79-1.24; and for parous women, 0.59‰ versus 0.58‰, aOR 1.16, 95% CI 0.87-1.55. The rates of NICU admissions and low Apgar scores did not significantly differ among nulliparous women (NICU admissions up to 28 days, 3.41‰ versus 3.61‰, aOR 1.05, 95% CI 0.92-1.18). Among parous women the rates of Apgar scores below seven and NICU admissions were significantly lower among planned home births (NICU admissions up to 28 days, 1.36 versus 1.95‰, aOR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.93). We found no increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes for planned home births among low-risk women. Our results may only apply to regions where home births are well integrated into the maternity care system. © 2014 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Impact of antenatal steroids on intraventricular hemorrhage in very-low-birth weight infants.

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Wei, J C; Catalano, R; Profit, J; Gould, J B; Lee, H C

2016-05-01

To determine the association between antenatal steroids administration and intraventricular hemorrhage rates. We used cross-sectional data from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative during 2007 to 2013 for infants ⩽32 weeks gestational age. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated the effect of antenatal steroids on intraventricular hemorrhage, stratified by gestational age. In 25 979 very-low-birth weight infants, antenatal steroid use was associated with a reduction in incidence of any grade of intraventricular hemorrhage (odds ratio=0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.62, 0.75) and a reduction in incidence of severe intraventricular hemorrhage (odds ratio=0.51, 95% confidence interval: 0.45, 0.58). This association was seen across gestational ages ranging from 22 to 29 weeks. Although current guidelines recommend coverage for preterm birth at 24 to 34 weeks gestation, our results suggest that treatment with antenatal steroids may be beneficial even before 24 weeks of gestational age.

Impact of Antenatal Steroids on Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Julia C.; Catalano, Ralph; Profit, Jochen; Gould, Jeffrey B.; Lee, Henry C.

2016-01-01

Objective To determine the association between antenatal steroids administration and intraventricular hemorrhage rates. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative during 2007-2013 for infants ≤ 32 weeks gestational age. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated the effect of antenatal steroids on intraventricular hemorrhage, stratified by gestational age. Results In 25,979 very low birth weight infants, antenatal steroid use was associated with a reduction in incidence of any grade of intraventricular hemorrhage (odds ratio = 0.51, 95% confidence interval: 0.45, 0.58) and a reduction in incidence of severe intraventricular hemorrhage (odds ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval: 0.57, 0.67). This association was seen across gestational ages ranging from 22 to 29 weeks. Conclusions While current guidelines recommend coverage for preterm birth at 24 to 34 weeks gestation, our results suggest that treatment with antenatal steroids may be beneficial even before 24 weeks of gestational age. PMID:27010109

Smaller kidney size at birth in South Asians: findings from the Born in Bradford birth cohort study.

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Roderick, Paul J; Jeffrey, Robin F; Yuen, Ho M; Godfrey, Keith M; West, Jane; Wright, John

2016-03-01

Rates of advanced chronic kidney disease and renal replacement therapy are higher in South Asian than in white British populations. Low birth weight is also more frequent in South Asian populations and has been associated with increased risks of kidney disease, perhaps due to a reduced nephron endowment. Using ultrasound scans at 34 weeks of gestation, we measured fetal kidney dimensions (transverse and anteroposterior diameters, length and circumference) and derived volume in a random sample of 872 white British and 715 South Asian participants in the Born in Bradford cohort study. Kidney measurements were compared between ethnic groups. Birth weight for gestational age at 40 weeks was 200 g less in South Asian babies compared with white British babies. The mean kidney volume for gestational age was 16% lower in South Asian than in white British babies [8.79 versus 10.45 cm(3), difference 1.66 cm(3) (95% confidence interval 1.40-1.93, P < 0.001)]. The difference was robust after adjustment for maternal age, socio-economic factors, marital status, body mass index, smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy, parity, baby's gender and birth weight for gestational age [adjusted difference 1.38 cm(3) (0.97-1.84), P < 0.001]. There were smaller reductions in other fetal measures. South Asian babies have smaller kidneys compared with white British babies, even after adjusting for potential confounders including birth weight. This finding may contribute to increased risks of adult kidney disease in South Asian populations. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Integrating Family Planning with a Maternal and Newborn Health Program on Postpartum Contraceptive Use and Optimal Birth Spacing in Rural Bangladesh.

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Ahmed, Saifuddin; Ahmed, Salahuddin; McKaig, Catharine; Begum, Nazma; Mungia, Jaime; Norton, Maureen; Baqui, Abdullah H

2015-09-01

Meeting postpartum contraceptive need remains a major challenge in developing countries, where the majority of women deliver at home. Using a quasi-experimental trial design, we examine the effect of integrating family planning (FP) with a community-based maternal and newborn health (MNH) program on improving postpartum contraceptive use and reducing short birth intervals MNH activities in the intervention arm, but provided only MNH services in the control arm. The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in the intervention arm was 15 percent higher than in the control arm at 12 months, and the difference in CPRs remained statistically significant throughout the 24 months of observation. The short birth interval of less than 24 months was significantly lower in the intervention arm. The study demonstrates that it is feasible and effective to integrate FP services into a community-based MNH care program for improving postpartum contraceptive use and lengthening birth intervals. © 2015 The Population Council, Inc.

Community-level and individual-level influences of intimate partner violence on birth spacing in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Hung, Kristin J; Scott, Jennifer; Ricciotti, Hope A; Johnson, Timothy R; Tsai, Alexander C

2012-05-01

To estimate the extent to which intimate partner violence (IPV), at the levels of the individual and the community, is associated with shortened interbirth intervals among women in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed demographic and health survey data from 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Only multiparous women were included in the analysis. Interbirth interval was the primary outcome. Personal history of IPV was measured using a modified Conflict Tactics Scale. Community prevalence of IPV was measured as the proportion of women in each village reporting a personal history of IPV. We used multilevel modeling to account for the hierarchical structure of the data, allowing us to partition the variation in birth intervals to the four different levels (births, individuals, villages, and countries). Among the 46,697 women in the sample, 11,730 (25.1%) reported a personal history of physical violence and 4,935 (10.6%) reported a personal history of sexual violence. In the multivariable regression model, interbirth intervals were inversely associated with personal history of physical violence (regression coefficient b=-0.60, 95% confidence interval -0.91 to -0.28) and the community prevalence of physical violence (b=-1.41, 95% confidence interval -2.41 to -0.40). Estimated associations with sexual violence were of similar statistical significance and magnitude. Both personal history of IPV and the community prevalence of IPV have independent and statistically significant associations with shorter interbirth intervals. II.

The effects of birth order and birth interval on the phenotypic expression of autism spectrum disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loren A Martin

Full Text Available A rise in the prevalence of diagnosed cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD has been reported in several studies in recent years. While this rise in ASD prevalence is at least partially related to increased awareness and broadened diagnostic criteria, the role of environmental factors cannot be ruled out, especially considering that the cause of most cases of ASD remains unknown. The study of families with multiple affected children can provide clues about ASD etiology. While the majority of research on ASD multiplex families has focused on identifying genetic anomalies that may underlie the disorder, the study of symptom severity across ASD birth order may provide evidence for environmental factors in ASD. We compared social and cognitive measures of behavior between over 300 first and second affected siblings within multiplex autism families obtained from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange dataset. Measures included nonverbal IQ assessed with the Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices, verbal IQ assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and autism severity assessed with the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS, an instrument established as a quantitative measure of autism. The results indicated that females were more severely impacted by ASD than males, especially first affected siblings. When first and second affected siblings were compared, significant declines in nonverbal and verbal IQ scores were observed. In addition, SRS results demonstrated a significant increase in autism severity between first and second affected siblings consistent with an overall decline in function as indicated by the IQ data. These results remained significant after controlling for the age and sex of the siblings. Surprisingly, the SRS scores were found to only be significant when the age difference between siblings was less than 2 years. These results suggest that some cases of ASD are influenced by a dosage effect involving unknown epigenetic

The Health Rationale for Family Planning: Timing of Births and Child Survival.

Science.gov (United States)

United Nations, New York, NY. Population Div.

Among the most influential findings from the World Fertility Survey (WFS) were those linking fertility patterns to child survival, in particular the findings concerning the high infant and child mortality for children born after a short birth interval. This study examined the relations between fertility and child survival based on more recent data…

The sudden death and sudden birth of quantum discord.

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Xia, Wei; Hou, Jin-Xing; Wang, Xiao-Hui; Liu, Si-Yuan

2018-03-28

The interaction of quantum system and its environment brings out abundant quantum phenomenons. The sudden death of quantum resources, including entanglement, quantum discord and coherence, have been studied from the perspective of quantum breaking channels (QBC). QBC of quantum resources reveal the common features of quantum resources. The definition of QBC implies the relationship between quantum resources. However, sudden death of quantum resources can also appear under some other quantum channels. We consider the dynamics of Bell-diagonal states under a stochastic dephasing noise along the z-direction, and the sudden death and sudden birth of quantum discord are investigated. Next we explain this phenomenon from the geometric structure of quantum discord. According to the above results, the states with sudden death and sudden birth can be filtered in three-parameter space. Then we provide two necessary conditions to judge which kind of noise channels can make Bell-diagonal states sudden death and sudden birth. Moreover, the relation between quantum discord and coherence indicates that the sudden death and sudden birth of quantum discord implies the sudden death and sudden birth of coherence in an optimal basis.

Transgenerational effect of neighborhood poverty on low birth weight among African Americans in Cook County, Illinois.

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Collins, James W; David, Richard J; Rankin, Kristin M; Desireddi, Jennifer R

2009-03-15

In perinatal epidemiology, transgenerational risk factors are defined as conditions experienced by one generation that affect the pregnancy outcomes of the next generation. The authors investigated the transgenerational effect of neighborhood poverty on infant birth weight among African Americans. Stratified and multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed on an Illinois transgenerational data set with appended US Census income information. Singleton African-American infants (n = 40,648) born in 1989-1991 were considered index births. The mothers of index infants had been born in 1956-1976. The maternal grandmothers of index infants were identified. Rates of infant low birth weight (birth weight for maternal grandmother's residence in a poor neighborhood (compared with an affluent neighborhood) equaled 1.3 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.4). This study suggests that maternal grandmother's exposure to neighborhood poverty during her pregnancy is a risk factor for infant low birth weight among African Americans.

Nitrosatable Drug Exposure during Pregnancy and Preterm and Small-for-Gestational-Age Births.

Science.gov (United States)

Vuong, Ann M; Shinde, Mayura U; Brender, Jean D; Shipp, Eva M; Huber, John C; Zheng, Qi; McDonald, Thomas J; Sharkey, Joseph R; Hoyt, Adrienne T; Werler, Martha M; Kelley, Katherine E; Langlois, Peter H; Canfield, Mark A

2015-01-01

Nitrosatable drugs react with nitrite in the stomach to form N-nitroso compounds, observed in animal models to result in adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as birth defects and reduced fetal weight. Previous studies examining prenatal exposure to medications classified as nitrosatable have reported an increased risk of preterm births (PTBs) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Using data from mothers (controls) of babies without major birth defects from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, prenatal nitrosatable drug usage by trimester and month of gestation was examined in relation to PTBs and SGA infants. Positive associations were observed with nitrosatable drug use and PTBs, with the strongest relationship with second trimester exposure (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.37, [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10, 1.70]). Of the nitrosatable functional groups, secondary amines were the most notable, with a higher association among women with second (aHR 1.37, [95% CI 1.05, 1.79]) and third (aHR 1.34, [95% CI 1.02, 1.76]) trimester exposure compared with women with no prenatal nitrosatable drug use. Among SGA infants, a borderline association was noted with amide exposure during the third trimester (adjusted odds ratio 1.43 [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00, 2.05]). Prenatal exposure to nitrosatable drugs during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, particularly secondary amines, might increase the risk of PTBs. However, prenatal exposure to nitrosatable drugs was not associated with SGA infants, with the exception of amide drugs. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Early Growth and Development Study: a prospective adoption study from birth through middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Leve, Leslie D; Neiderhiser, Jenae M; Shaw, Daniel S; Ganiban, Jody; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Reiss, David

2013-02-01

The Early Growth and Development Study is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children recruited in two cohorts (N = 561 triads). The primary study aims are to examine how family, peer, and contextual processes affect children's adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Participants were recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the United States following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing, in 9-month intervals until the child reaches 3 years of age and in 1-year intervals thereafter through age 9. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, social behavior, school performance, mental health, and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, competence, stress, health, context, substance use, parenting, and marital relations; and pregnancy use of drugs and maternal stress during pregnancy. DNA and salivary cortisol samples have also been collected. Analyses have indicated evidence for genotype-environment interactions during early childhood. Study procedures, sample representativeness (including tests of potential confounds in the adoption design), and an overview of findings to date are summarized, and future plans are described.

Birth weight and stuttering: Evidence from three birth cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Jan; Collier, Jacqueline

2014-03-01

Previous studies have produced conflicting results with regard to the association between birth weight and developmental stuttering. This study sought to determine whether birth weight was associated with childhood and/or adolescent stuttering in three British birth cohort samples. Logistic regression analyses were carried out on data from the Millenium Cohort Study (MCS), British Cohort Study (BCS70) and National Child Development Study (NCDS), whose initial cohorts comprised over 56,000 individuals. The outcome variables were parent-reported stuttering in childhood or in adolescence; the predictors, based on prior research, were birth weight, sex, multiple birth status, vocabulary score and mother's level of education. Birth weight was analysed both as a categorical variable (low birth weight, stuttering during childhood (age 3, 5 and 7 and MCS, BCS70 and NCDS, respectively) or at age 16, when developmental stuttering is likely to be persistent. None of the multivariate analyses revealed an association between birth weight and parent-reported stuttering. Sex was a significant predictor of stuttering in all the analyses, with males 1.6-3.6 times more likely than females to stutter. Our results suggest that birth weight is not a clinically useful predictor of childhood or persistent stuttering. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parity Specific Birth Rates for West Germany: An Attempt to Combine Survey Data and Vital Statistics

OpenAIRE

Kreyenfeld, Michaela

2014-01-01

In this paper, we combine vital statistics and survey data to obtain parity specific birth rates for West Germany. Since vital statistics do not provide birth parity information, one is confined to using estimates. The robustness of these estimates is an issue, which is unfortunately only rarely addressed when fertility indicators for (West) Germany are reported. In order to check how reliable our results are, we estimate confidence intervals and compare them to results from survey data and e...

Birth by caesarean section and prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases in young adults: a birth cohort study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo L Horta

Full Text Available Conflicting findings on the risk of obesity among subjects born by caesarean section have been published. Caesarean section should also increase the risk of obesity related cardiovascular risk factors if type of delivery is associated with obesity later in life. This study was aimed at assessing the effect of type of delivery on metabolic cardiovascular risk factors in early adulthood.In 1982, maternity hospitals in Pelotas, southern Brazil, were visited and those livebirths whose family lived in the urban area of the city have been followed. In 2000, when male subjects undertook the Army entrance examination (n=2200, fat mass and fat free mass were estimated through bioimpedance. In 2004-2005, we attempted to follow the whole cohort (n=4297, and the following outcomes were studied: blood pressure; HDL cholesterol; triglycerides; random blood glucose, C-reactive protein, waist circumference and body mass index. The estimates were adjusted for the following confounders: family income at birth; maternal schooling; household assets index in childhood; maternal skin color; birth order; maternal age; maternal prepregnancy weight; maternal height; maternal smoking during pregnancy; birthweight and family income at early adulthood.In the crude analyses, blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure and body mass index were higher among subjects who were delivered through caesarean section. After controlling for confounders, systolic blood pressure was 1.15 mmHg (95% confidence interval: 0.05; 2.25 higher among subjects delivered by caesarean section, and BMI 0.40 kg/m(2 (95% confidence interval: 0.08; 0.71. After controlling for BMI the effect on systolic blood pressure dropped to 0.60 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -0.47; 1.67. Fat mass at 18 years of age was also higher among subjects born by caesarean section.Caesarean section was associated with a small increased in systolic blood pressure, body mass index and fat mass.

Low birth weight, small for gestational age and preterm births before and after the economic collapse in Iceland: a population based cohort study.

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Eiríksdóttir, Védís Helga; Ásgeirsdóttir, Tinna Laufey; Bjarnadóttir, Ragnheiður Ingibjörg; Kaestner, Robert; Cnattingius, Sven; Valdimarsdóttir, Unnur Anna

2013-01-01

Infants born small for gestational age (SGA) or preterm have increased rates of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Stressful events have been suggested as potential contributors to preterm birth (PB) and low birth weight (LBW). We studied the effect of the 2008 economic collapse in Iceland on the risks of adverse birth outcomes. The study population constituted all Icelandic women giving birth to live-born singletons from January 1(st) 2006 to December 31(st) 2009. LBW infants were defined as those weighing birth, PB infants as those born before 37 weeks of gestation and SGA as those with a birth weight for gestational age more than 2 standard deviations (SD's) below the mean according to the Swedish fetal growth curve. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratios [OR] and corresponding 95 percent confidence intervals [95% CI] of adverse birth outcomes by exposure to calendar time of the economic collapse, i.e. after October 6(th) 2008. Compared to the preceding period, we observed an increased adjusted odds in LBW-deliveries following the collapse (aOR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.02, 1.52]), particularly among infants born to mothers younger than 25 years (aOR = 1.85, 95% CI [1.25, 2.72]) and not working mothers (aOR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.10, 2.35]). Similarly, we found a tendency towards higher incidence of SGA-births (aOR = 1.14, 95% CI [0.86, 1.51]) particularly among children born to mothers younger than 25 years (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI [1.09, 3.23]) and not working mothers (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI [1.09, 3.17]). No change in risk of PB was observed. The increase of LBW was most distinct 6-9 months after the collapse. The results suggest an increase in risk of LBW shortly after the collapse of the Icelandic national economy. The increase in LBW seems to be driven by reduced fetal growth rate rather than shorter gestation.

Low birth weight, small for gestational age and preterm births before and after the economic collapse in Iceland: a population based cohort study.

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Védís Helga Eiríksdóttir

Full Text Available Infants born small for gestational age (SGA or preterm have increased rates of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Stressful events have been suggested as potential contributors to preterm birth (PB and low birth weight (LBW. We studied the effect of the 2008 economic collapse in Iceland on the risks of adverse birth outcomes.The study population constituted all Icelandic women giving birth to live-born singletons from January 1(st 2006 to December 31(st 2009. LBW infants were defined as those weighing <2500 grams at birth, PB infants as those born before 37 weeks of gestation and SGA as those with a birth weight for gestational age more than 2 standard deviations (SD's below the mean according to the Swedish fetal growth curve. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratios [OR] and corresponding 95 percent confidence intervals [95% CI] of adverse birth outcomes by exposure to calendar time of the economic collapse, i.e. after October 6(th 2008.Compared to the preceding period, we observed an increased adjusted odds in LBW-deliveries following the collapse (aOR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.02, 1.52], particularly among infants born to mothers younger than 25 years (aOR = 1.85, 95% CI [1.25, 2.72] and not working mothers (aOR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.10, 2.35]. Similarly, we found a tendency towards higher incidence of SGA-births (aOR = 1.14, 95% CI [0.86, 1.51] particularly among children born to mothers younger than 25 years (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI [1.09, 3.23] and not working mothers (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI [1.09, 3.17]. No change in risk of PB was observed. The increase of LBW was most distinct 6-9 months after the collapse.The results suggest an increase in risk of LBW shortly after the collapse of the Icelandic national economy. The increase in LBW seems to be driven by reduced fetal growth rate rather than shorter gestation.

Outcomes of independent midwifery attended births in birth centres and home births: a retrospective cohort study in Japan.

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Kataoka, Yaeko; Eto, Hiromi; Iida, Mariko

2013-08-01

the objective of this study was to describe and compare perinatal and neonatal outcomes of women who received care from independent midwives practicing home births and at birth centres in Tokyo. a retrospective cohort study. birth centres and homes serviced by independent midwives in Tokyo. of the 43 eligible independent midwives 19 (44%) (10 assisted birth at birth centres, nine assisted home birth) participated in the study. A total of 5477 women received care during their pregnancy and gave birth assisted by these midwives between 2001 and 2006. researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of women's individual data. Collected data included demographic characteristics, process of pregnancy and perinatal and neonatal outcomes. We also collected data about independent midwives and their practice. of the 5477 women, 83.9% gave birth at birth centres and 16.1% gave birth at home. The average age was 31.7 years old and the majority (70.6%) were multiparas. All women had vaginal spontaneous deliveries, with no vacuum, forceps or caesarean section interventions. No maternal fatalities were reported, nor were breech or multiple births. The average duration of the first and second stages of labour was 14.9 hours for primiparas and 6.2 hours for multiparas. Most women (97.1%) gave birth within 24 hours of membrane rupture. Maternal position during labour varied and family attended birth was common. The average blood loss was 371.3mL, while blood loss over 500mL was 22.6% and over 1000mL was 3.6%. Nearly 60% of women had intact perinea. There were few preterm births (0.6%) and post mature births (1.3%). Infant's average birth weight was 3126g and 0.5% were low-birthweight-infants, while 3.3% had macrosomia. Among primiparas, the birth centre group had more women experiencing an excess of 500mL blood loss compared to the home birth group (27.2% versus 17.6% respectively; RR 1.54; 95%CI 1.10 to 2.16). Multiparas delivering at birth centres were more likely to have a

A population-based study of effect of multiple birth on infant mortality in Nigeria

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Uthman Mubashir B

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Multi-foetal pregnancies and multiple births including twins and higher order multiples births such as triplets and quadruplets are high-risk pregnancy and birth. These high-risk groups contribute to the higher rate of childhood mortality especially during early period of life. Methods We examined the relationship between multiple births and infant mortality using univariable and multivariable survival regression procedure with Weibull hazard function, controlling for child's sex, birth order, prenatal care, delivery assistance; mother's age at child birth, nutritional status, education level; household living conditions and several other risk factors. Results Children born multiple births were more than twice as likely to die during infancy as infants born singleton (hazard ratio = 2.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.50, 3.19 holding other factors constant. Maternal education and household asset index were associated with lower risk of infant mortality. Conclusion Multiple births are strongly negatively associated with infant survival in Nigeria independent of other risk factors. Mother's education played a protective role against infant death. This evidence suggests that improving maternal education may be key to improving child survival in Nigeria. A well-educated mother has a better chance of satisfying important factors that can improve infant survival: the quality of infant feeding, general care, household sanitation, and adequate use of preventive and curative health services.

Birth outcome measures and prenatal exposure to 4-tert-octylphenol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lv, Shenliang; Wu, Chunhua; Lu, Dasheng; Qi, Xiaojuan; Xu, Hao; Guo, Jianqiu; Liang, Weijiu; Chang, XiuLi

2016-01-01

Exposure to 4-tert-octylphenol (tOP) has been linked with adverse health outcomes in animals and humans, while epidemiological studies about associations between prenatal exposure to tOP and fetal growth are extremely limited. We measured urinary tOP concentrations in 1100 pregnant women before their delivery, and examined whether tOP levels were associated with birth outcomes, including weight, length, head circumference and ponderal index at birth. tOP could be detected in all samples, and the median uncorrected and creatinine-corrected tOP concentrations were 0.90 μg/L (range from 0.25 to 20.05 μg/L) and 1.33 μg/g creatinine (range from 0.15 to 42.49 μg/g creatinine), respectively. Maternal urinary log-transformed tOP concentrations were significantly negatively associated with adjusted birth weight [β (g) = −126; 95% confidence interval (CI): −197, −55], birth length [β (cm) = −0.53; 95% CI:−0.93, −0.14], and head circumference [β (cm) = −0.30; 95% CI: −0.54, −0.07], respectively. Additionally, considering sex difference, these significant negative associations were also found among male neonates, while only higher maternal tOP concentrations were associated with a significant decrease in birth weight among female neonates. This study suggested significant negative associations between maternal urinary tOP concentrations and neonatal sizes at birth, and they differed by neonatal sex. Further epidemiological studies are required to more fully elaborate the associations between prenatal tOP exposure and birth outcomes. - Highlights: • We measured 4-tert-octylphenol (tOP) in urine from 1100 Chinese pregnant women. • The associations between maternal tOP levels and birth outcomes were investigated. • Prenatal exposure to tOP in the selected area was widespread at higher levels. • Maternal tOP levels were significantly negatively associated with birth sizes. • The associations between tOP and birth outcomes might

More Than Four Walls: The Meaning of Home in Home Birth Experiences

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Emily Burns

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The “home versus hospital” as places of birth debate has had a long and at times vicious history. From academic literature to media coverage, the two have often been pitted against each other not only as opposing physical spaces, but also as opposing ideologies of birth. The hospital has been heavily critiqued as a site of childbirth since the 1960s, with particular focus on childbirth and medicalisation. The focus of much of the hospital and home birthing research exists on a continuum of medicalisation, safety, risk, agency, and maternal and neonatal health and wellbeing. While the hospital birthing space has been interrogated, a critique of home birthing space has remained largely absent from the social sciences. The research presented in this article unpacks the complex relationship between home birthing women and the spaces in which they birth. Using qualitative data collected with 59 home birthing women in Australia in 2010, between childbearing and the home should not be considered as merely an alternative to hospital births, but rather as an experience that completely renegotiates the home space. Home, for the participants in this study, is a dynamic, changing, and even spiritual element in the childbirth experience, and not simply the building in which it occurs.

Mothers with alcoholic liver disease and the risk for preterm and small-for-gestational-age birth.

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Stokkeland, Knut; Ebrahim, Fereshte; Hultcrantz, Rolf; Ekbom, Anders; Stephansson, Olof

2013-01-01

To study pregnancy outcome in women with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Using the Swedish nation-wide Patient and Medical Birth Registers, we investigated risk of adverse pregnancy outcome in 720 women diagnosed with ALD before and 1720 diagnosed after birth and compared them with 24 460 population-based control births. Women with ALD diagnosed before or after birth were generally of higher age and body mass index, more likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy and to have a low socio-economic status compared with controls. Women diagnosed with ALD before birth had an increased risk of moderately and very preterm birth, adjusted odd ratio (OR) = 1.53 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.37-1.72 and 1.15-2.06 95%), respectively. Infants of mothers with ALD before birth were more often small-for-gestational age, adjusted OR = 1.22 (95% CI: 1.05-1.43), and were at increased risk for low Apgar scores (<7) at 5 min, adjusted OR = 1.49 (95% CI: 1.15-1.92) compared with controls. Similar associations with slightly lower-risk estimates were found among women diagnosed with ALD after birth. ALD is associated with adverse-birth outcomes, highlighting the importance of screening women for alcohol dependence in antenatal care.

The Australian baby bonus maternity payment and birth characteristics in Western Australia.

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Kristjana Einarsdóttir

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Australian baby bonus maternity payment introduced in 2004 has been reported to have successfully increased fertility rates in Australia. We aimed to investigate the influence of the baby bonus on maternal demographics and birth characteristics in Western Australia (WA. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This study included 200,659 birth admissions from WA during 2001-2008, identified from administrative birth and hospital data-systems held by the WA Department of Health. We estimated average quarterly birth rates after the baby bonus introduction and compared them with expected rates had the policy not occurred. Rate and percentage differences (including 95% confidence intervals were estimated separately by maternal demographics and birth characteristics. WA birth rates increased by 12.8% following the baby bonus implementation with the greatest increase being in mothers aged 20-24 years (26.3%, 95%CI = 22.0,30.6, mothers having their third (1.6%, 95%CI = 0.9,2.4 or fourth child (2.2%, 95%CI = 2.1,2.4, mothers living in outer regional and remote areas (32.4%, 95%CI = 30.2,34.6, mothers giving birth as public patients (1.5%, 95%CI = 1.3,1.8, and mothers giving birth in public hospitals (3.5%, 95%CI = 2.6,4.5. Interestingly, births to private patients (-4.3%, 95%CI = -4.8,-3.7 and births in private hospitals (-6.3%, 95%CI = -6.8,-5.8 decreased following the policy implementation. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of the baby bonus maternity payment may have served as an incentive for women in their early twenties and mothers having their third or fourth child and may have contributed to the ongoing pressure and staff shortages in Australian public hospitals, particularly those in outer regional and remote areas.

Low birth weight,very low birth weight rates and gestational age-specific birth weight distribution of korean newborn infants.

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Shin, Son-Moon; Chang, Young-Pyo; Lee, Eun-Sil; Lee, Young-Ah; Son, Dong-Woo; Kim, Min-Hee; Choi, Young-Ryoon

2005-04-01

To obtain the low birth weight (LBW) rate, the very low birth weight (VLBW) rate, and gestational age (GA)-specific birth weight distribution based on a large population in Korea, we collected and analyzed the birth data of 108,486 live births with GA greater than 23 weeks for 1 yr from 1 January to 31 December 2001, from 75 hospitals and clinics located in Korea. These data included birth weight, GA, gender of the infants, delivery type, maternal age, and the presence of multiple pregnancy. The mean birth weight and GA of a crude population are 3,188 +/-518 g and 38.7+/-2.1 weeks, respectively. The LBW and the VLBW rates are 7.2% and 1.4%, respectively. The preterm birth rate (less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) is 8.4% and the very preterm birth rate (less than 32 completed weeks of gestation) is 0.7%. The mean birth weights for female infants, multiple births, and births delivered by cesarean section were lower than those for male, singletons, and births delivered vaginally. The risk of delivering LBW or VLBW infant was higher for the teenagers and the older women (aged 35 yr and more). We have also obtained the percentile distribution of GA-specific birth weight in infants over 23 weeks of gestation.

Birth order, sibship size, and risk for germ-cell testicular cancer.

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Richiardi, Lorenzo; Akre, Olof; Lambe, Mats; Granath, Fredrik; Montgomery, Scott M; Ekbom, Anders

2004-05-01

Several studies have reported an inverse association between birth order and testicular cancer risk, but estimates vary greatly and the biologic mechanism underlying the association is not established. We have evaluated the effect of birth order, sibship size, and the combined effect of these 2 variables in relation to risk for testicular cancer in a large, nested case-control study. Specifically, we compared 3051 patients with germ-cell testicular cancer (diagnosed between 1958 and 1998 and identified through the Swedish Cancer Registry) with 9007 population control subjects. Using record linkage with the Multi-Generation Register and the Census, we obtained information on number, order, and sex of the subjects' siblings, parental age, and paternal socioeconomic status. Both birth order and sibship size had an inverse and monotonically decreasing association with testicular cancer risk after adjusting for parental age, paternal socioeconomic status, and twin status. The associations were modified by subjects' cohort of birth and were not present among those born after 1959. The odds ratio for having at least 3 siblings, compared with none, was 0.63 (95% confidence interval = 0.53-0.75) among subjects born before 1960. Stratified analyses showed that birth order and number of younger siblings had a similar inverse association with the risk for testicular cancer. Sibship size, and not only birth order, is associated with testicular cancer risk. This suggests a higher prevalence of parental subfertility among patients with testicular cancer.

Profile and birthing practices of Maranao traditional birth attendants

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Maghuyop-Butalid R

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Roselyn Maghuyop-Butalid, Norhanifa A Mayo, Hania T Polangi College of Nursing, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, Philippines Abstract: This study determined the profile and birthing practices in both modern and traditional ways among Maranao traditional birth attendants (TBAs in Lanao del Norte, Philippines. It employed a descriptive research design. The respondents were 50 Maranao TBAs selected through the snowball sampling technique. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers to identify the respondents’ modern birthing practices utilizing the Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care (EINC Protocol. To determine their profile and traditional birthing practices, items from a previous study and the respondents’ personal claims were adapted. This study shows that Maranao TBAs have less compliance to the EINC Protocol and they often practice the traditional birthing interventions, thus increasing the risk of complications to both mother and newborn. Keywords: intrapartum and newborn care, modern birthing practices, traditional birthing practices 

Pediatric Reference Intervals for Free Thyroxine and Free Triiodothyronine

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Jang, Megan; Guo, Tiedong; Soldin, Steven J.

2009-01-01

Background The clinical value of free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) analysis depends on the reference intervals with which they are compared. We determined age- and sex-specific reference intervals for neonates, infants, and children 0–18 years of age for FT4 and FT3 using tandem mass spectrometry. Methods Reference intervals were calculated for serum FT4 (n = 1426) and FT3 (n = 1107) obtained from healthy children between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2008, from Children's National Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center Bioanalytical Core Laboratory, Washington, DC. Serum samples were analyzed using isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with deuterium-labeled internal standards. Results FT4 reference intervals were very similar for males and females of all ages and ranged between 1.3 and 2.4 ng/dL for children 1 to 18 years old. FT4 reference intervals for 1- to 12-month-old infants were 1.3–2.8 ng/dL. These 2.5 to 97.5 percentile intervals were much tighter than reference intervals obtained using immunoassay platforms 0.48–2.78 ng/dL for males and 0.85–2.09 ng/dL for females. Similarly, FT3 intervals were consistent and similar for males and females and for all ages, ranging between 1.5 pg/mL and approximately 6.0 pg/mL for children 1 month of age to 18 years old. Conclusions This is the first study to provide pediatric reference intervals of FT4 and FT3 for children from birth to 18 years of age using LC/MS/MS. Analysis using LC/MS/MS provides more specific quantification of thyroid hormones. A comparison of the ultrafiltration tandem mass spectrometric method with equilibrium dialysis showed very good correlation. PMID:19583487

Stochastic Evolution Dynamic of the Rock-Scissors-Paper Game Based on a Quasi Birth and Death Process.

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Yu, Qian; Fang, Debin; Zhang, Xiaoling; Jin, Chen; Ren, Qiyu

2016-06-27

Stochasticity plays an important role in the evolutionary dynamic of cyclic dominance within a finite population. To investigate the stochastic evolution process of the behaviour of bounded rational individuals, we model the Rock-Scissors-Paper (RSP) game as a finite, state dependent Quasi Birth and Death (QBD) process. We assume that bounded rational players can adjust their strategies by imitating the successful strategy according to the payoffs of the last round of the game, and then analyse the limiting distribution of the QBD process for the game stochastic evolutionary dynamic. The numerical experiments results are exhibited as pseudo colour ternary heat maps. Comparisons of these diagrams shows that the convergence property of long run equilibrium of the RSP game in populations depends on population size and the parameter of the payoff matrix and noise factor. The long run equilibrium is asymptotically stable, neutrally stable and unstable respectively according to the normalised parameters in the payoff matrix. Moreover, the results show that the distribution probability becomes more concentrated with a larger population size. This indicates that increasing the population size also increases the convergence speed of the stochastic evolution process while simultaneously reducing the influence of the noise factor.

Interval selection with machine-dependent intervals

OpenAIRE

Bohmova K.; Disser Y.; Mihalak M.; Widmayer P.

2013-01-01

We study an offline interval scheduling problem where every job has exactly one associated interval on every machine. To schedule a set of jobs, exactly one of the intervals associated with each job must be selected, and the intervals selected on the same machine must not intersect.We show that deciding whether all jobs can be scheduled is NP-complete already in various simple cases. In particular, by showing the NP-completeness for the case when all the intervals associated with the same job...

Atopy risk factors at birth and in adulthood.

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Ferraz, Erica; Garcia, Clécia Aparecida; Bettiol, Heloísa; Caldeira, Roseane Durães; Cardoso, Viviane Cunha; Arruda, Luiza Karla; Barbieri, Marco Antônio; Vianna, Elcio Oliveira

2011-01-01

To study the association between atopy and variables such as weight, length, and socioeconomic level at birth and in young adulthood. A total of 2,063 subjects were investigated in a prospective birth cohort study of individuals born in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in 1978/1979, and examined at the age of 23-25 years. Skin prick tests (SPT) for eight common allergens in Brazil were performed. Subjects with a wheal reaction ≥ 3 mm to one or more of the eight allergens tested were considered to be atopic. We used the log-binomial model (generalized linear model) in order to assess the association between atopy and birth or adult variables. The prevalence of positive SPT was 47.6%. Male gender was associated with an increased risk of atopy (relative risk [RR] = 1.18; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.07-1.30). Low level of schooling was a protective factor against atopy, with a RR = 0.74; 95%CI 0.62-0.89. Living with a smoker in childhood was also associated with lower risk of atopy (RR = 0.87; 95%CI 0.79-0.96). Birth weight, length and order, maternal age, and intrauterine growth restriction were not associated with positive SPT. This study showed that male gender was associated with an increased risk of atopy. Low socioeconomic status, assessed by low level of schooling, was a protective factor against atopy. These data agree with the hygiene hypothesis.

Multiscale multifractal DCCA and complexity behaviors of return intervals for Potts price model

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Wang, Jie; Wang, Jun; Stanley, H. Eugene

2018-02-01

To investigate the characteristics of extreme events in financial markets and the corresponding return intervals among these events, we use a Potts dynamic system to construct a random financial time series model of the attitudes of market traders. We use multiscale multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MM-DCCA) and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) perform numerical research of the return intervals for two significant China's stock market indices and for the proposed model. The new MM-DCCA method is based on the Hurst surface and provides more interpretable cross-correlations of the dynamic mechanism between different return interval series. We scale the LZC method with different exponents to illustrate the complexity of return intervals in different scales. Empirical studies indicate that the proposed return intervals from the Potts system and the real stock market indices hold similar statistical properties.

Birth Control

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Birth control, also known as contraception, is designed to prevent pregnancy. Birth control methods may work in a number of different ... eggs that could be fertilized. Types include birth control pills, patches, shots, vaginal rings, and emergency contraceptive ...

[Home births].

Science.gov (United States)

Welffens, K; Kirkpatrick, C; Daelemans, C; Derisbourg, S

In Belgium, very few women give birth outside the delivery room. In the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands, they are more numerous. Several studies evaluated obstetric and neonatal outcomes of home births compared with hospital births. We selected seven recent and large studies (with cohorts of more than 5.000 women) using PubMed, Science Direct and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Several questions were examined. Is there any difference in maternal and neonatal outcomes depending on the intended place of birth? Does parity affect outcomes ? What are the characteristics of women who choose to deliver at home ? We conclude that giving birth at home improves obstetric outcomes but is riskier for the baby, especially for the first one. The women delivering at home are mainly white Europeans, between 25 and 35 years old, in a relationship, multiparous and wealthier. In order to avoid this increased risk for the baby while preserving the obstetric advantages, alongside birth centers offer an intermediate solution. They combine the reassuring home-like atmosphere with the safety of the hospital. In Belgium, the first alongside birth center " Le Cocon " (a low technicity unit distinct from the delivery room) offers now this type of alternative place of birth for women in Hôpital Erasme in Brussels.

The influence of multiple birth and bereavement on maternal and family outcomes 2 and 7years after very preterm birth.

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Treyvaud, Karli; Aldana, Andrea C; Scratch, Shannon E; Ure, Alexandra M; Pace, Carmen C; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Peter J

2016-09-01

Psychological distress has been reported by mothers of infants born very preterm (VPT) and by mothers of multiples (twins and triplets). This study examined the influence of i) multiple birth and ii) bereavement associated with a multifetal pregnancy, on mental health, parenting stress and family functioning for mothers of children born VPT across early childhood. Participants were 162 mothers of 194 infants (129 singletons, 65 multiples) born at family functioning were assessed using the Parenting Stress Index and Family Assessment Device. Maternal mental health, stress and family functioning were similar in mothers of VPT singletons and multiples. However compared with mothers who had not experienced bereavement, mothers who had were 3.6 times [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.05, 12.5] more likely to report elevated anxiety symptoms and 3.6 times [95% CI 1.05, 12.3] more likely to report elevated depressive symptoms when their VPT child was seven years old. The results of this study highlight the need for monitoring and offering ongoing support to bereaved mothers with surviving VPT children. However, within the context of VPT birth, multiple birth does not increase the risk for maternal psychological distress in early childhood. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical violence during pregnancy: maternal complications and birth outcomes.

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Cokkinides, V E; Coker, A L; Sanderson, M; Addy, C; Bethea, L

1999-05-01

To assess the association between physical violence during the 12 months before delivery and maternal complications and birth outcomes. We used population-based data from 6143 women who delivered live-born infants between 1993 and 1995 in South Carolina. Data on women's physical violence during pregnancy were based on self-reports of "partner-inflicted physical hurt and being involved in a physical fight." Outcome data included maternal antenatal hospitalizations, labor and delivery complications, low birth weights, and preterm births. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to measure the associations between physical violence, maternal morbidity, and birth outcomes. The prevalence of physical violence was 11.1%. Among women who experienced physical violence, 54% reported having been involved in physical fights only and 46% had been hurt by husbands or partners. In the latter group, 70% also reported having been involved in fighting. Compared with those not reporting physical violence, women who did were more likely to deliver by cesarean and be hospitalized before delivery for maternal complications such as kidney infection, premature labor, and trauma due to falls or blows to the abdomen. Physical violence during the 12 months before delivery is common and is associated with adverse maternal conditions. The findings support the need for research on how to screen for physical violence early in pregnancy and to prevent its consequences.

The Influence of Meteorological Factors and Atmospheric Pollutants on the Risk of Preterm Birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Giorgis-Allemand, Lise; Pedersen, Marie; Bernard, Claire; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Beelen, Rob M J; Chatzi, Leda; Cirach, Marta; Danileviciute, Asta; Dedele, Audrius; van Eijsden, Manon; Estarlich, Marisa; Fernández-Somoano, Ana; Fernández, Mariana F; Forastiere, Francesco; Gehring, Ulrike; Grazuleviciene, Regina; Gruzieva, Olena; Heude, Barbara; Hoek, Gerard; de Hoogh, Kees; van den Hooven, Edith H; Håberg, Siri E; Iñiguez, Carmen; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Korek, Michal; Lertxundi, Aitana; Lepeule, Johanna; Nafstad, Per; Nystad, Wenche; Patelarou, Evridiki; Porta, Daniela; Postma, Dirkje; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Rudnai, Peter; Siroux, Valérie; Sunyer, Jordi; Stephanou, Euripides; Sørensen, Mette; Eriksen, Kirsten Thorup; Tuffnell, Derek; Varró, Mihály J; Vrijkotte, Tanja G M; Wijga, Alet; Wright, John; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Pershagen, Göran; Brunekreef, Bert; Kogevinas, Manolis; Slama, Rémy

2017-02-15

Atmospheric pollutants and meteorological conditions are suspected to be causes of preterm birth. We aimed to characterize their possible association with the risk of preterm birth (defined as birth occurring before 37 completed gestational weeks). We pooled individual data from 13 birth cohorts in 11 European countries (71,493 births from the period 1994-2011, European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE)). City-specific meteorological data from routine monitors were averaged over time windows spanning from 1 week to the whole pregnancy. Atmospheric pollution measurements (nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) were combined with data from permanent monitors and land-use data into seasonally adjusted land-use regression models. Preterm birth risks associated with air pollution and meteorological factors were estimated using adjusted discrete-time Cox models. The frequency of preterm birth was 5.0%. Preterm birth risk tended to increase with first-trimester average atmospheric pressure (odds ratio per 5-mbar increase = 1.06, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.11), which could not be distinguished from altitude. There was also some evidence of an increase in preterm birth risk with first-trimester average temperature in the -5°C to 15°C range, with a plateau afterwards (spline coding, P = 0.08). No evidence of adverse association with atmospheric pollutants was observed. Our study lends support for an increase in preterm birth risk with atmospheric pressure. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ovarian follicular dynamics during the interovulatory interval in Najdi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Results indicated the presence of either four (n = 2 estrus cycles) or five (n = 3 estrus cycles) waves of follicular growth during the interovulatory interval. Each wave was characterized by the development of at least 1 large follicle (dominant) and a variable number of small follicles (subordinate). The mean number of follicular ...

Association between Birth Characteristics and Cardiovascular Autonomic Function at Mid-Life.

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Nelli Perkiömäki

Full Text Available Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. As abnormal cardiac autonomic function is a common feature in cardiovascular diseases, we tested the hypothesis that low birth weight may also be associated with poorer cardiac autonomic function in middle-aged subjects.At the age of 46, the subjects of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 were invited to examinations including questionnaires about health status and life style and measurement of vagally-mediated heart rate variability (rMSSD from R-R intervals (RRi and spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS in both seated and standing positions. Maternal parameters had been collected in 1965-1966 since the 16th gestational week and birth variables immediately after delivery. For rMSSD, 1,799 men and 2,279 women without cardiorespiratory diseases and diabetes were included and 902 men and 1,020 women for BRS. The analyses were adjusted for maternal (age, anthropometry, socioeconomics, parity, gestational smoking and adult variables (life style, anthropometry, blood pressure, glycemic and lipid status potentially confounding the relationship between birth weight and autonomic function.In men, birth weight correlated negatively with seated (r = -0.058, p = 0.014 and standing rMSSD (r = -0.090, p<0.001, as well as with standing BRS (r = -0.092, p = 0.006. These observations were verified using relevant birth weight categories (<2,500 g; 2,500-3,999 g; ≥4,000 g. In women, birth weight was positively correlated with seated BRS (r = 0.081, p = 0.010, but none of the other measures of cardiovascular autonomic function. These correlations remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders (p<0.05 for all.In men, higher birth weight was independently associated with poorer cardiac autonomic function at mid-life. Same association was not observed in women. Our findings suggest that higher, not lower, birth weight in males may contribute to less

Factors associated with low birth weight in Nepal using multiple imputation

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Usha Singh

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Survey data from low income countries on birth weight usually pose a persistent problem. The studies conducted on birth weight have acknowledged missing data on birth weight, but they are not included in the analysis. Furthermore, other missing data presented on determinants of birth weight are not addressed. Thus, this study tries to identify determinants that are associated with low birth weight (LBW using multiple imputation to handle missing data on birth weight and its determinants. Methods The child dataset from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2011 was utilized in this study. A total of 5,240 children were born between 2006 and 2011, out of which 87% had at least one measured variable missing and 21% had no recorded birth weight. All the analyses were carried out in R version 3.1.3. Transform-then impute method was applied to check for interaction between explanatory variables and imputed missing data. Survey package was applied to each imputed dataset to account for survey design and sampling method. Survey logistic regression was applied to identify the determinants associated with LBW. Results The prevalence of LBW was 15.4% after imputation. Women with the highest autonomy on their own health compared to those with health decisions involving husband or others (adjusted odds ratio (OR 1.87, 95% confidence interval (95% CI = 1.31, 2.67, and husband and women together (adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.35 were less likely to give birth to LBW infants. Mothers using highly polluting cooking fuels (adjusted OR 1.49, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.22 were more likely to give birth to LBW infants than mothers using non-polluting cooking fuels. Conclusion The findings of this study suggested that obtaining the prevalence of LBW from only the sample of measured birth weight and ignoring missing data results in underestimation.

Plastic bags for prevention of hypothermia in preterm and low birth weight infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Leadford, Alicia E; Warren, Jamie B; Manasyan, Albert; Chomba, Elwyn; Salas, Ariel A; Schelonka, Robert; Carlo, Waldemar A

2013-07-01

Hypothermia contributes to neonatal mortality and morbidity, especially in preterm and low birth weight infants in developing countries. Plastic bags covering the trunk and extremities of very low birth weight infants reduces hypothermia. This technique has not been studied in larger infants or in many resource-limited settings. The objective was to determine if placing preterm and low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth maintains normothermia. Infants at 26 to 36 weeks' gestational age and/or with a birth weight of 1000 to 2500 g born at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, were randomized by using a 1:1 allocation and parallel design to standard thermoregulation (blanket or radiant warmer) care or to standard thermoregulation care plus placement inside a plastic bag at birth. The primary outcome measure was axillary temperature in the World Health Organization-defined normal range (36.5-37.5°C) at 1 hour after birth. A total of 104 infants were randomized. At 1 hour after birth, infants randomized to plastic bag (n = 49) were more likely to have a temperature in the normal range as compared with infants in the standard thermoregulation care group (n = 55; 59.2% vs 32.7%; relative risk 1.81; 95% confidence interval 1.16-2.81; P = .007). The temperature at 1 hour after birth in the infants randomized to plastic bag was 36.5 ± 0.5°C compared with 36.1 ± 0.6°C in standard care infants (P 38.0°C) did not occur in any infant. Placement of preterm/low birth weight infants inside a plastic bag at birth compared with standard thermoregulation care reduced hypothermia without resulting in hyperthermia, and is a low-cost, low-technology tool for resource-limited settings.

The incidence of histological chorioamnionitis in IVF/GIFT preterm births.

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Williams, H; Jeffery, H

1994-08-01

A retrospective case control study was designed to investigate the role of subclinical infection as a risk factor for the high rate of preterm deliveries in IVF/GIFT pregnancies. The cases and the controls were identified from the records of consecutive livebirths of preclampsia and antepartum haemorrhage. As a marker of subclinical infection, the incidence of histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) in the 2 groups (as defined by the standardized, semiquantitative method of Benirschke) was compared. The matched variables did not differ significantly between the IVF/GIFT group and the control group. No significant difference in the incidence of HCA was detected between IVF/GIFT and control groups for singletons or twins. Overall 24% of IVF/GIFT and 30% of controls showed evidence of HCA, odds ratio (95% confidence intervals), 0.72 (0.40-1.31). This study showed no evidence that the incidence of HCA, is significantly increased in IVF/GIFT preterm births compared with other matched, preterm births. Therefore, we conclude that subclinical infection/inflammation cannot explain the 4-fold increase in preterm births in the IVF/GIFT population.

Exposure to Traffic-related Air Pollution During Pregnancy and Term Low Birth Weight: Estimation of Causal Associations in a Semiparametric Model

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Padula, Amy M.; Mortimer, Kathleen; Hubbard, Alan; Lurmann, Frederick; Jerrett, Michael; Tager, Ira B.

2012-01-01

Traffic-related air pollution is recognized as an important contributor to health problems. Epidemiologic analyses suggest that prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants may be associated with adverse birth outcomes; however, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that the relation is causal. The Study of Air Pollution, Genetics and Early Life Events comprises all births to women living in 4 counties in California's San Joaquin Valley during the years 2000–2006. The probability of low birth weight among full-term infants in the population was estimated using machine learning and targeted maximum likelihood estimation for each quartile of traffic exposure during pregnancy. If everyone lived near high-volume freeways (approximated as the fourth quartile of traffic density), the estimated probability of term low birth weight would be 2.27% (95% confidence interval: 2.16, 2.38) as compared with 2.02% (95% confidence interval: 1.90, 2.12) if everyone lived near smaller local roads (first quartile of traffic density). Assessment of potentially causal associations, in the absence of arbitrary model assumptions applied to the data, should result in relatively unbiased estimates. The current results support findings from previous studies that prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution may adversely affect birth weight among full-term infants. PMID:23045474

Inter-Pregnancy Intervals and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results of a Population-Based Study

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Durkin, Maureen S.; DuBois, Lindsay A.; Maenner, Matthew J.

2015-01-01

Recent studies have reported an increased risk of autism among second-born children conceived 36 months after the birth of a sibling. Confirmation of this finding would point to inter-pregnancy interval (IPI) as a potentially modifiable risk factor for autism. This study evaluated the relationship between IPI and autism spectrum…

Infant temperament: stability by age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status.

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Bornstein, Marc H; Putnick, Diane L; Gartstein, Maria A; Hahn, Chun-Shin; Auestad, Nancy; O'Connor, Deborah L

2015-01-01

Two complementary studies focused on stability of infant temperament across the 1st year and considered infant age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status (SES) as moderators. Study 1 consisted of 73 mothers of firstborn term girls and boys queried at 2, 5, and 13 months of age. Study 2 consisted of 335 mothers of infants of different gender, birth order, term status, and SES queried at 6 and 12 months. Consistent positive and negative affectivity factors emerged at all time points across both studies. Infant temperament proved stable and robust across gender, birth order, term status, and SES. Stability coefficients for temperament factors and scales were medium to large for shorter ( 10 months) intervals. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Good practices according to WHO's recommendation for normal labor and birth and women's assessment of the care received: the "birth in Brazil" national research study, 2011/2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldisserotto, Marcia Leonardi; Theme Filha, Mariza Miranda; da Gama, Silvana Granado Nogueira

2016-10-17

The World Health Organization recommends good practices for the conduct of uncomplicated labor and birth, with the aim of improving the quality of and assessment by women of childbirth care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adoption of good practices according to WHO's recommendation for normal labor and birth and assessment by women of the care received. Birth in Brazil is a national hospital-based study with countrywide representation consisting of 23,894 mothers and their newborns, conducted between February 2011 and October 2012. The present study analysed a subsample of this national survey. Postpartum women classified as low risk during pregnancy who had experienced either spontaneous or induced labor were included in this study, totalling 4102 mothers. To estimate the association between assessment by women of the childbirth care received (dependent variable) and good practices according to WHO's recommendation during normal labor and birth (independent variables), a multinomial logistic regression analysis was used and crude and adjusted odds ratios calculated with their 95 % confidence intervals. The good practices associated with positive assessment of the care received by women during labor and birth included the partner's presence, privacy in the birthing place, time available to ask questions, clarity of information received, and empathic support from caregivers during labor and birth. Freedom of movement, free nutrition offered, choice of companions, nonpharmacological analgesia, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the childbirth room were not associated with the assessment by women of the care received. Our findings reveal the importance to mothers of their relationship with the team of caregivers during labor and birth. Therefore, caregiver teams must be qualified within a more humanistic vision of childbirth health care.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of triplets or higher-order extremely low birth weight infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Wadhawan, Rajan; Oh, William; Vohr, Betty R; Wrage, Lisa; Das, Abhik; Bell, Edward F; Laptook, Abbot R; Shankaran, Seetha; Stoll, Barbara J; Walsh, Michele C; Higgins, Rosemary D

2011-03-01

Extremely low birth weight twins have a higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment than singletons. Higher-order extremely low birth weight multiple births may have an even higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Extremely low birth weight (birth weight 401-1000 g) multiple births born in participating centers of the Neonatal Research Network between 1996 and 2005 were assessed for death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined by the presence of 1 or more of the following: moderate to severe cerebral palsy; mental developmental index score or psychomotor developmental index score less than 70; severe bilateral deafness; or blindness. Infants who died within 12 hours of birth were excluded. Maternal and infant demographic and clinical variables were compared among singleton, twin, and triplet or higher-order infants. Logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the association between singletons, twins, and triplet or higher-order multiples and death or neurodevelopmental impairment, controlling for confounding variables that may affect death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Our cohort consisted of 8296 singleton, 2164 twin, and 521 triplet or higher-order infants. The risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment was increased in triplets or higher-order multiples when compared with singletons (adjusted odds ratio: 1.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.29-2.24]), and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins (adjusted odds ratio: 1.27 [95% confidence: 0.95-1.71]). Triplet or higher-order births are associated with an increased risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age when compared with extremely low birth weight singleton infants, and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins.

"PREVALENCE, MATERNAL COMPLICATIONS AND BIRTH OUTCOME OF PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING PREGNANCY"

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M. Faramarzi

2005-05-01

Full Text Available The prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy varies widely in different societies. To assess the incidence of self-reported physical, emotional and sexual violence in pregnancy and describe the association with maternal complication and birth outcomes, 3275 women who gave birth to live-born infants from October 2002 to November 2003 were assessed for self-reported violence in postpartum units of Obstetrics Department of Babol university of Medical Sciences. Outcome data included maternal antenatal hospitalizations, labor and delivery complications and low birth weights and preterm births. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to measure the association between violence, maternal morbidity and birth outcomes. The prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional domestic violence was respectively 9.1%, 30.8% and 19.2%. Compared with those not reporting physical, sexual and emotional violence, women who did were more likely to deliver by cesarean and to have abnormal progress of labor, premature rupture of membranes, low birth weight, preterm birth and any hospitalization before delivery. Prevalence of physical, emotional or sexual violence during pregnancy was high and was associated with adverse fetal and maternal conditions. These findings support routine screening for physical, emotional and sexual violence in pregnancy and postpartum period to prevent consequences of domestic violence.

Characteristics and outcome of unplanned out-of-institution births in Norway from 1999 to 2013: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnarsson, Björn; Smárason, Alexander K; Skogvoll, Eirik; Fasting, Sigurd

2014-10-01

To study the incidence, maternal characteristics and outcome of unplanned out-of-institution births (= unplanned births) in Norway. Register-based cross-sectional study. All births in Norway (n = 892 137) from 1999 to 2013 with gestational age ≥22 weeks. Analysis of data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway from 1999 to 2013. Unplanned births (n = 6062) were compared with all other births (reference group). The annual incidence rate of unplanned births was 6.8/1000 births and remained stable during the period of study. Young multiparous women residing in remote municipalities were at the highest risk of experiencing unplanned births. The unplanned birth group had higher perinatal mortality rate for the period, 11.4/1000 compared with 4.9/1000 for the reference group (incidence rate ratio 2.31, 95% confidence interval 1.82-2.93, p life, compared with reference births in the same birthweight category. Unplanned births are associated with adverse outcome. Excessive mortality is possibly caused by reduced availability of necessary medical interventions for vulnerable newborns out-of-hospital. © 2014 The Authors. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG).

An intervention involving traditional birth attendants and perinatal and maternal mortality in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Jokhio, Abdul Hakeem; Winter, Heather R; Cheng, Kar Keung

2005-05-19

There are approximately 4 million neonatal deaths and half a million maternal deaths worldwide each year. There is limited evidence from clinical trials to guide the development of effective maternity services in developing countries. We performed a cluster-randomized, controlled trial involving seven subdistricts (talukas) of a rural district in Pakistan. In three talukas randomly assigned to the intervention group, traditional birth attendants were trained and issued disposable delivery kits; Lady Health Workers linked traditional birth attendants with established services and documented processes and outcomes; and obstetrical teams provided outreach clinics for antenatal care. Women in the four control talukas received usual care. The primary outcome measures were perinatal and maternal mortality. Of the estimated number of eligible women in the seven talukas, 10,114 (84.3 percent) were recruited in the three intervention talukas, and 9443 (78.7 percent) in the four control talukas. In the intervention group, 9184 women (90.8 percent) received antenatal care by trained traditional birth attendants, 1634 women (16.2 percent) were seen antenatally at least once by the obstetrical teams, and 8172 safe-delivery kits were used. As compared with the control talukas, the intervention talukas had a cluster-adjusted odds ratio for perinatal death of 0.70 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.59 to 0.82) and for maternal mortality of 0.74 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.45 to 1.23). Training traditional birth attendants and integrating them into an improved health care system were achievable and effective in reducing perinatal mortality. This model could result in large improvements in perinatal and maternal health in developing countries. Copyright 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society.

Effects of socioeconomic position and clinical risk factors on spontaneous and iatrogenic preterm birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, K S; Fahey, John; Shankardass, Ketan; Allen, Victoria M; O'Campo, Patricia; Dodds, Linda; Liston, Robert M; Allen, Alexander C

2014-03-27

The literature shows a variable and inconsistent relationship between socioeconomic position and preterm birth. We examined risk factors for spontaneous and iatrogenic preterm birth, with a focus on socioeconomic position and clinical risk factors, in order to explain the observed inconsistency. We carried out a retrospective population-based cohort study of all singleton deliveries in Nova Scotia from 1988 to 2003. Data were obtained from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database and the federal income tax T1 Family Files. Separate logistic models were used to quantify the association between socioeconomic position, clinical risk factors and spontaneous preterm birth and iatrogenic preterm birth. The study population included 132,714 singleton deliveries and the rate of preterm birth was 5.5%. Preterm birth rates were significantly higher among the women in the lowest (versus the highest) family income group for spontaneous (rate ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 1.25) but not iatrogenic preterm birth (rate ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.75, 1.19). Adjustment for maternal characteristics attenuated the family income-spontaneous preterm birth relationship but strengthened the relationship with iatrogenic preterm birth. Clinical risk factors such as hypertension were differentially associated with spontaneous (rate ratio 3.92, 95% CI 3.47, 4.44) and iatrogenic preterm (rate ratio 14.1, 95% CI 11.4, 17.4) but factors such as diabetes mellitus were not (rate ratio 4.38, 95% CI 3.21, 5.99 for spontaneous and 4.02, 95% CI 2.07, 7.80 for iatrogenic preterm birth). Socioeconomic position and clinical risk factors have different effects on spontaneous and iatrogenic preterm. Recent temporal increases in iatrogenic preterm birth appear to be responsible for the inconsistent relationship between socioeconomic position and preterm birth.

Profile and birthing practices of Maranao traditional birth attendants.

Science.gov (United States)

Maghuyop-Butalid, Roselyn; Mayo, Norhanifa A; Polangi, Hania T

2015-01-01

This study determined the profile and birthing practices in both modern and traditional ways among Maranao traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in Lanao del Norte, Philippines. It employed a descriptive research design. The respondents were 50 Maranao TBAs selected through the snowball sampling technique. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers to identify the respondents' modern birthing practices utilizing the Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care (EINC) Protocol. To determine their profile and traditional birthing practices, items from a previous study and the respondents' personal claims were adapted. This study shows that Maranao TBAs have less compliance to the EINC Protocol and they often practice the traditional birthing interventions, thus increasing the risk of complications to both mother and newborn.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: from delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Bennett, Matthew R; Josić, Krešimir; Ott, William

2014-05-28

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: From delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Ott, William [Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004 (United States); Bennett, Matthew R. [Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77204, USA and Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States); Josić, Krešimir [Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004 (United States); Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 (United States)

2014-05-28

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: From delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Ott, William; Bennett, Matthew R.; Josić, Krešimir

2014-01-01

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay

Where There Is No Toilet: Water and Sanitation Environments of Domestic and Facility Births in Tanzania

Science.gov (United States)

Benova, Lenka; Cumming, Oliver; Gordon, Bruce A.; Magoma, Moke; Campbell, Oona M. R.

2014-01-01

Background Inadequate water and sanitation during childbirth are likely to lead to poor maternal and newborn outcomes. This paper uses existing data sources to assess the water and sanitation (WATSAN) environment surrounding births in Tanzania in order to interrogate whether such estimates could be useful for guiding research, policy and monitoring initiatives. Methods We used the most recent Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) to characterise the delivery location of births occurring between 2005 and 2010. Births occurring in domestic environments were characterised as WATSAN-safe if the home fulfilled international definitions of improved water and improved sanitation access. We used the 2006 Service Provision Assessment survey to characterise the WATSAN environment of facilities that conduct deliveries. We combined estimates from both surveys to describe the proportion of all births occurring in WATSAN-safe environments and conducted an equity analysis based on DHS wealth quintiles and eight geographic zones. Results 42.9% (95% confidence interval: 41.6%–44.2%) of all births occurred in the woman's home. Among these, only 1.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.2%–2.0%) were estimated to have taken place in WATSAN-safe conditions. 74% of all health facilities conducted deliveries. Among these, only 44% of facilities overall and 24% of facility delivery rooms were WATSAN-safe. Combining the estimates, we showed that 30.5% of all births in Tanzania took place in a WATSAN-safe environment (range of uncertainty 25%–42%). Large wealth-based inequalities existed in the proportion of births occurring in domestic environments based on wealth quintile and geographical zone. Conclusion Existing data sources can be useful in national monitoring and prioritisation of interventions to improve poor WATSAN environments during childbirth. However, a better conceptual understanding of potentially harmful exposures and better data are needed in order to devise and apply

Facilitating home birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Finigan, Valerie; Chadderton, Diane

2015-06-01

The birth of a baby is a family experience. However, in the United Kingdom birth often occurs outside the family environment, in hospital. Both home and hospital births have risks and benefits, but research shows that, for most women, it is as safe to give birth at home as it is in hospital. Women report home-birth to be satisfying with lowered risks of intervention and less likelihood of being separated from their family. It is also more cost effective for the National Health Service. Yet, whilst midwives are working hard to promote home birth as an option, it remains controversial. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness of the safety of home birth and the needs of women and midwives when a home birth is chosen. It provides an overview of care required and the role of the midwife in the ensuring care is woman-centred and personalised.

Robotic fish tracking method based on suboptimal interval Kalman filter

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Tong, Xiaohong; Tang, Chao

2017-11-01

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) research focused on tracking and positioning, precise guidance and return to dock and other fields. The robotic fish of AUV has become a hot application in intelligent education, civil and military etc. In nonlinear tracking analysis of robotic fish, which was found that the interval Kalman filter algorithm contains all possible filter results, but the range is wide, relatively conservative, and the interval data vector is uncertain before implementation. This paper proposes a ptimization algorithm of suboptimal interval Kalman filter. Suboptimal interval Kalman filter scheme used the interval inverse matrix with its worst inverse instead, is more approximate nonlinear state equation and measurement equation than the standard interval Kalman filter, increases the accuracy of the nominal dynamic system model, improves the speed and precision of tracking system. Monte-Carlo simulation results show that the optimal trajectory of sub optimal interval Kalman filter algorithm is better than that of the interval Kalman filter method and the standard method of the filter.

Low Birth Weight, Very Low Birth Weight Rates and Gestational Age-Specific Birth Weight Distribution of Korean Newborn Infants

OpenAIRE

Shin, Son-Moon; Chang, Young-Pyo; Lee, Eun-Sil; Lee, Young-Ah; Son, Dong-Woo; Kim, Min-Hee; Choi, Young-Ryoon

2005-01-01

To obtain the low birth weight (LBW) rate, the very low birth weight (VLBW) rate, and gestational age (GA)-specific birth weight distribution based on a large population in Korea, we collected and analyzed the birth data of 108,486 live births with GA greater than 23 weeks for 1 yr from 1 January to 31 December 2001, from 75 hospitals and clinics located in Korea. These data included birth weight, GA, gender of the infants, delivery type, maternal age, and the presence of multiple pregnancy. ...

Chaos on the interval

CERN Document Server

Ruette, Sylvie

2017-01-01

The aim of this book is to survey the relations between the various kinds of chaos and related notions for continuous interval maps from a topological point of view. The papers on this topic are numerous and widely scattered in the literature; some of them are little known, difficult to find, or originally published in Russian, Ukrainian, or Chinese. Dynamical systems given by the iteration of a continuous map on an interval have been broadly studied because they are simple but nevertheless exhibit complex behaviors. They also allow numerical simulations, which enabled the discovery of some chaotic phenomena. Moreover, the "most interesting" part of some higher-dimensional systems can be of lower dimension, which allows, in some cases, boiling it down to systems in dimension one. Some of the more recent developments such as distributional chaos, the relation between entropy and Li-Yorke chaos, sequence entropy, and maps with infinitely many branches are presented in book form for the first time. The author gi...

Does planning of births affect childhood undernutrition? Evidence from demographic and health surveys of selected South Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Md Juel; Goli, Srinivas

2018-03-01

The prevalence of child undernutrition in South Asia is high, as is also the unmet need for family planning. In previous literature, the biodemographic relationship of family planning, particularly birth order and birth spacing, and nutritional status of children have been assessed separately. The aim of this study was to work on the hypothesis that the planning of births comprising timing, spacing, and number of births improves child undernutrition, especially in the areas with high prevalence of stunting and underweight. We used recent Demographic and Health Survey data from four selected South Asian countries. Binary logistic regression models were applied to estimate the adjusted percentage of stunting and underweight by identified independent factors. Findings suggested that after controlling for other socioeconomic factors, children in the first birth order with >24 mo of interval between marriage and first birth have a lower risk for stunting (20%; p planning of births. The probability of child undernutrition is lower among children born with >24 mo of birth spacing than its counterpart in all birth orders, but the significance of birth spacing reduces with increasing birth orders. Appropriate planning of births using family planning methods in countries with high birth rates has the potential to reduce childhood undernutrition. Thus, the planning of births emerges as an important biodemographic approach to eradicate childhood undernutrition especially in developing regions like South Asia and thereby to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Randomised trial of structured antenatal training sessions to improve the birth process.

Science.gov (United States)

Maimburg, R D; Vaeth, M; Dürr, J; Hvidman, L; Olsen, J

2010-07-01

To compare the birth process in nulliparous women enrolled in a structured antenatal training programme, the 'Ready for Child' programme, with women allocated to routine care. A randomised controlled trial. A Danish university hospital. Thousand hundred and ninety-three nulliparous women, recruited before week 22 + 0. Methods Compliance to the protocol was monitored by questionnaires sent to the women by email, and by data from the local birth cohort database. Data were analysed according to the 'intention-to-treat' principle. Women were randomised to receive 9 hours of antenatal training or no formalised training. Of the 1193 women, 603 were randomised to the intervention group and 590 were allocated to the reference group. Cervix dilatation on arrival at the maternity ward, use of pain relief and medical interventions during the birth process, and the women's birth experience. Women who attended the 'Ready for Child' programme arrived at the maternity ward in active labour more often than the reference group [relative risk (RR) 1.45, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.26-1.65, P less epidural analgesia during labour (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.97, P less pain relief overall (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.94-1.04, P women's self-reported birth experiences were similar in the two groups. We found no adverse effects of the intervention. Attending the 'Ready for Child' programme may help women to cope better with the birth process. Adverse effects are few, if any.

Ambient air pollution exposure and full-term birth weight in California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadd James L

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies have identified relationships between air pollution and birth weight, but have been inconsistent in identifying individual pollutants inversely associated with birth weight or elucidating susceptibility of the fetus by trimester of exposure. We examined effects of prenatal ambient pollution exposure on average birth weight and risk of low birth weight in full-term births. Methods We estimated average ambient air pollutant concentrations throughout pregnancy in the neighborhoods of women who delivered term singleton live births between 1996 and 2006 in California. We adjusted effect estimates of air pollutants on birth weight for infant characteristics, maternal characteristics, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and year and season of birth. Results 3,545,177 singleton births had monitoring for at least one air pollutant within a 10 km radius of the tract or ZIP Code of the mother's residence. In multivariate models, pollutants were associated with decreased birth weight; -5.4 grams (95% confidence interval -6.8 g, -4.1 g per ppm carbon monoxide, -9.0 g (-9.6 g, -8.4 g per pphm nitrogen dioxide, -5.7 g (-6.6 g, -4.9 g per pphm ozone, -7.7 g (-7.9 g, -6.6 g per 10 μg/m3 particulate matter under 10 μm, -12.8 g (-14.3 g, -11.3 g per 10 μg/m3 particulate matter under 2.5 μm, and -9.3 g (-10.7 g, -7.9 g per 10 μg/m3 of coarse particulate matter. With the exception of carbon monoxide, estimates were largely unchanged after controlling for co-pollutants. Effect estimates for the third trimester largely reflect the results seen from full pregnancy exposure estimates; greater variation in results is seen in effect estimates specific to the first and second trimesters. Conclusions This study indicates that maternal exposure to ambient air pollution results in modestly lower infant birth weight. A small decline in birth weight is unlikely to have clinical relevance for individual infants, and there is debate about whether

Birth order and Risk of Childhood Cancer: A Pooled Analysis from Five U.S. States

Science.gov (United States)

Von Behren, Julie; Spector, Logan G.; Mueller, Beth A.; Carozza, Susan E.; Chow, Eric J.; Fox, Erin E.; Horel, Scott; Johnson, Kimberly J.; McLaughlin, Colleen; Puumala, Susan E.; Ross, Julie A.; Reynolds, Peggy

2010-01-01

The causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown. Birth order has been used as a proxy for prenatal and postnatal exposures, such as frequency of infections and in utero hormone exposures. We investigated the association between birth order and childhood cancers in a pooled case-control dataset. The subjects were drawn from population-based registries of cancers and births in California, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Washington. We included 17,672 cases less than 15 years of age who were diagnosed from1980-2004 and 57,966 randomly selected controls born 1970-2004, excluding children with Down syndrome. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression, adjusted for sex, birth year, maternal race, maternal age, multiple birth, gestational age, and birth weight. Overall, we found an inverse relationship between childhood cancer risk and birth order. For children in the fourth or higher birth order category compared to first-born children, the adjusted OR was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.93) for all cancers combined. When we examined risks by cancer type, a decreasing risk with increasing birth order was seen in the central nervous system (CNS) tumors, neuroblastoma, bilateral retinoblastoma, Wilms tumor, and rhabdomyosarcoma. We observed increased risks with increasing birth order for acute myeloid leukemia but a slight decrease in risk for acute lymphoid leukemia. These risk estimates were based on a very large sample size which allowed us to examine rare cancer types with greater statistical power than in most previous studies, however the biologic mechanisms remain to be elucidated. PMID:20715170

What has high fertility got to do with the low birth weight problem in Africa?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivy Kodzi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND There has been much concern about adverse individual and societal consequences of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. One concern is that children of high birth orders may have low birth weight. However, the evidence for such an effect is not strong. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to investigate whether a woman's high parity status might increase her risks of having a baby with low birth weight. METHODS Pooling 60 Demographic and Health Surveys data-sets from 32 sub-Saharan countries, we selected children of mothers who had at least two births of order two or higher within the five years preceding the surveys. We modeled the probability of having a child with low birth weight and controlled for all mother-specific, household, or community characteristics that are constant over the period of analysis, by including fixed-effects for the mother. We also controlled for salient factors including sex, maternal age, preceding birth interval, and whether prenatal care was received. RESULTS We found no adverse effect of increasing parity on the odds of having a child with low birth weight at normative ranges; such effects only manifest at extremely high parities - nine or more children. At moderately high parities, the chance of low birth weight is actually lower than at very low parities. CONCLUSIONS While high fertility may lead to various adverse outcomes for African families, low birth weight appears not to be among these outcomes. Other factors, such as adolescent childbearing, poverty, and inadequate prenatal care may be more important determinants of low birth weight in Africa.

The Impact of Computing Interpregnancy Intervals Without Accounting for Intervening Pregnancy Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Conzuelo-Rodriguez, Gabriel; Naimi, Ashley I

2018-03-01

Short interpregnancy intervals (IPI) are associated with poor birth outcomes. Often, only livebirths are considered to estimate IPI. The objective of our work is to explore whether the associations between demographic, behavioural, and pregnancy variables and IPI change when events other than livebirth are included. We used data from the 2006-10 and 2011-13 period of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). We defined IPI using the conception date of the index pregnancy and the event date of the previous one ending in (i) livebirth; (ii) stillbirth; (iii) miscarriage; (iv) abortion; or (v) any of these events. Risk ratios (RR) were estimated for short IPI (definition, especially for unintended versus intended pregnancies (only livebirth risk ratio [RR] 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2, 1.5) versus livebirth and miscarriage RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.0, 1.3) and women older than 30 vs. younger than 20 at resolution of the previous pregnancy (only livebirth RR 1.22, 95% CI 1.0, 1.5 versus livebirth and miscarriage RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.2, 1.6). Including miscarriage as an intervening event in the calculation of IPI changes the association between several risk factors and short IPI. However, the association between short IPI and preterm birth does not vary when different IPI calculations are used. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Risk factors and birth prevalence of birth defects and inborn errors of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

raoul

2011-02-23

Feb 23, 2011 ... methylmalonic aciduria, and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) had their diagnoses confirmed by enzyme assay. The diagnosis of all ... Personal information like date of birth, sex, area of residence, mother's age at birth, father's age, order of birth, birth weight, gestational age on birth, medical history and ...

Infertility and preterm delivery, birthweight, and Caesarean section: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basso, Olga; Baird, Donna D.

2003-01-01

, longitudinal studies enrolling couples irrespective of infertility treatment. METHODS: We used data from the Danish National Birth Cohort: 55 906 singleton live births from women who reported their waiting time to pregnancy (TTP) and other covariates in an interview during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy....... RESULTS: A TTP >1 year was associated with an increased risk of all outcomes studied, including preterm birth [odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were 1.5 (1.2, 1.8) among primiparas and 1.9 (1.5, 2.4) among multiparas]. Odds ratios for preterm remained elevated after adjustment for covariates....... Among couples with a TTP >1 year, infertility treatment was associated with added risk only among multiparas. CONCLUSION: Infertile women are at higher risk of adverse birth outcomes even if they conceive without treatment. With >10% of babies born to infertile couples, it is important to consider...

A Pleasing Birth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, De Raymond

2005-01-01

Women have long searched for a pleasing birth-a birth with a minimum of fear and pain, in the company of supportive family, friends, and caregivers, a birth that ends with a healthy mother and baby gazing into each other's eyes. For women in the Netherlands, such a birth is defined as one at home

The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights and Adverse Birth Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Maeve Ellen; Evans, Melissa Goldin; Theall, Katherine

Reproductive rights-the ability to decide whether and when to have children-shape women's socioeconomic and health trajectories across the life course. The objective of this study was to examine reproductive rights in association with preterm birth (PTB; birth weight (LBW; births in the United States in 2012 grouped by state. A reproductive rights composite index score was assigned to records from each state based on the following indicators for the year before birth (2011): mandatory sex education, expanded Medicaid eligibility for family planning services, mandatory parental involvement for minors seeking abortion, mandatory abortion waiting periods, public funding for abortion, and percentage of women in counties with abortion providers. Scores were ranked by tertile with the highest tertile reflecting states with strongest reproductive rights. We fit logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to estimate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for PTB and LBW associated with reproductive rights score controlling for maternal race, age, education, and insurance and state-level poverty. States with the strongest reproductive rights had the lowest rates of LBW and PTB (7.3% and 10.6%, respectively) compared with states with more restrictions (8.5% and 12.2%, respectively). After adjustment, women in more restricted states experienced 13% to 15% increased odds of PTB and 6% to 9% increased odds of LBW compared with women in states with the strongest rights. State-level reproductive rights may influence likelihood of adverse birth outcomes among women residents. Copyright © 2016 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gestational weight gain among minority adolescents predicts term birth weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekambaram, Maheswari; Irigoyen, Matilde; DeFreitas, Johelin; Rajbhandari, Sharina; Geaney, Jessica Lynn; Braitman, Leonard Edward

2018-03-07

In adolescents, there is limited evidence on the independent and additive effect of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain on infant birth weight. Data also show that this effect may vary by race. We sought to examine the impact of maternal prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain on birth weight and risk of large for gestational age (LGA) in term newborns of minority adolescent mothers. This was a retrospective cohort study of 411 singleton live term infants born to mothers ≤ 18 years. Data were abstracted from electronic medical records. Gestational weight gain was related to infant birth weight (ρ = 0.36, P gain, gestational age and Hispanic ethnicity were independent predictors of birth weight, controlling for maternal age, BMI, parity, tobacco/drug use and preeclampsia. The probability of having an LGA infant increased with weight gain [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.21] but not with BMI. Mothers who gained weight in excess of 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations had a greater risk of having an LGA infant compared to those who gained within recommendations (aOR 5.7, 95% CI 1.6-19.5). Minority adolescents with greater gestational weight gain had infants with higher birth weight and greater risk of LGA; BMI was not associated with either outcome. Further studies are needed to examine the applicability of the 2009 BMI-specific IOM gestational weight gain recommendations to adolescents in minority populations.

Associations between birth weight and colon and rectal cancer risk in adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Natalie R; Jensen, Britt W; Zimmermann, Esther; Gamborg, Michael; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Baker, Jennifer L

2016-06-01

Birth weight has inconsistent associations with colorectal cancer, possibly due to different anatomic features of the colon versus the rectum. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between birth weight and colon and rectal cancers separately. 193,306 children, born from 1936 to 1972, from the Copenhagen School Health Record Register were followed prospectively in Danish health registers. Colon and rectal cancer cases were defined using the International Classification of Disease version 10 (colon: C18.0-18.9, rectal: 19.9 and 20.9). Only cancers classified as adenocarcinomas were included in the analyses. Cox regressions were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Analyses were stratified by birth cohort and sex. During 3.8 million person-years of follow-up, 1465 colon and 961 rectal adenocarcinomas were identified. No significant sex differences were observed; therefore combined results are presented. Birth weight was positively associated with colon cancers with a HR of 1.14 (95% CI, 1.04-1.26) per kilogram of birth weight. For rectal cancer a significant association was not observed for birth weights below 3.5kg. Above 3.5kg an inverse association was observed (at 4.5kg, HR=0.77 [95% CI, 0.61-0.96]). Further, the associations between birth weight and colon and rectal cancer differed significantly from each other (p=0.006). Birth weight is positively associated with the risk of adult colon cancer, whereas the results for rectal cancer were inverse only above values of 3.5kg. The results underline the importance of investigating colon and rectal cancer as two different entities. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Selected Birth Defects in the San Joaquin Valley of California

Science.gov (United States)

Padula, Amy M.; Tager, Ira B.; Carmichael, Suzan L.; Hammond, S. Katharine; Yang, Wei; Lurmann, Frederick W.; Shaw, Gary M.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Birth defects are a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Studies suggest associations between environmental contaminants and some structural anomalies, although evidence is limited and several anomalies have not been investigated previously. METHODS We used data from the California Center of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study and the Children's Health and Air Pollution Study to estimate the odds of 26 congenital birth defect phenotypes with respect to quartiles of seven ambient air pollutant and traffic exposures in California during the first 2 months of pregnancy, 1997 to 2006 (874 cases and 849 controls). We calculated odds ratios (adjusted for maternal race/ethnicity, education, and vitamin use; aOR) for 11 phenotypes that had at least 40 cases. RESULTS Few odds ratios had confidence intervals that did not include 1.0. Odds of esophageal atresia were increased for the highest versus lowest of traffic density (aOR = 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–7.4) and PM10 exposure (aOR 4.9; 95% CI, 1.4–17.2). PM10 was associated with a decreased risk of hydrocephaly (aOR= 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1–0.9) and CO with decreased risk of anotia/microtia (aOR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.8) and transverse limb deficiency (aOR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.9), again reflecting highest versus lowest quartile comparisons. CONCLUSION Most analyses showed no substantive association between air pollution and the selected birth defects with few exceptions of mixed results. PMID:24108522

Maternal resolution of grief after preterm birth: implications for infant attachment security.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Prachi E; Clements, Melissa; Poehlmann, Julie

2011-02-01

This study explored the association between mothers' unresolved grief regarding their infant's preterm birth and infant-mother attachment security. We hypothesized that mothers with unresolved grief would be more likely to have insecurely attached infants at 16 months and that this association would be partially mediated by maternal interaction quality. This longitudinal study focused on 74 preterm infants (age of infants. The present analysis included assessment of neonatal and socioeconomic risks at NICU discharge; maternal depression, Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview findings, and quality of parenting at a postterm age of 9 months; and infant-mother attachment at postterm age of 16 months. Associations among findings of grief resolution with the Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview, quality of parenting interactions, and attachment security were explored by using relative risk ratios and logistic and multivariate regression models. The relative risk of developing insecure attachment when mothers had unresolved grief was 1.59 (95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.44). Controlling for covariates (adjusted odds ratio: 2.94), maternal feelings of resolved grief regarding the preterm birth experience were associated with secure infant-mother attachment at 16 months. Maternal grief resolution and interaction quality were independent predictors of attachment security. Maternal grief resolution regarding the experience of preterm birth and the quality of maternal interactions have important implications for emerging attachment security for infants born prematurely.

Parental occupation and preterm births: a nationwide epidemiological study in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinjun; Sundquist, Jan; Kane, Kimberly; Jin, Qianren; Sundquist, Kristina

2010-11-01

The hypothesis was that some occupations could lead to preterm birth (PTB) because of potential exposures to various agents. The objective in this nationwide follow-up study was to analyse the association between PTB and parental occupational groups, controlling for potential confounders. Data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, in which all children born in Sweden from 1990 onward are registered with their parents, were linked to census data. Inclusion criteria for the study population were employment (both women and men) and age >20 years (women). There were 816,743 first singleton live births from 1990 to 2004, of whom 43,956 were PTBs. A total of 7659 of the 43,956 PTBs were very PTBs. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated separately for mothers and fathers to estimate the odds of PTB and very PTB in 51 occupational groups (reference groups: mothers or fathers who were 'Technical, science research-related workers and physicians') and by family income level. Women and men with low family incomes had increased ORs of PTB and very PTB. Significantly increased ORs of PTB (including very PTB) were found in four maternal and nine paternal occupational groups after accounting for family income, geographic region of residence, civil status, smoking habits, maternal age at infant's birth and period of birth. Further studies should examine specific agents in those parental occupations that were associated with increased odds of PTB and very PTB. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Late recognition of pregnancy as a predictor of adverse birth outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayoola, Adejoke B; Stommel, Manfred; Nettleman, Mary D

2009-08-01

We examined the relationship between the time of recognition of pregnancy and birth outcomes, such as premature births, low birthweight (LBW), admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and infant mortality. A secondary analysis was performed using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) multistate data from 2000-2004. The sample consisted of 136,373 women who had a live childbirth. Analysis involved multiple logistic regression models, appropriately weighted for point and variance estimation to reflect the complex survey design of the PRAMS using STATA 9.2 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX). Approximately 27.6% recognized their pregnancy late (after 6 weeks of gestation). Late recognition was significantly associated with an increased odds of having premature births (odds ratio [OR], 1.09; 99% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19), LBW (OR, 1.08; 99% CI, 1.01-1.15), and NICU admissions (OR, 1.12; 99% CI, 1.03-1.21). These results provide a rationale and an impetus for developing interventions that promote early recognition of pregnancy.

Randomized trial of BCG vaccination at birth to low-birth-weight children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aaby, Peter; Roth, Adam Anders Edvin; Ravn, Henrik

2011-01-01

Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG.......Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG....

Association of Prenatal Ibuprofen Exposure with Birth Weight and Gestational Age: A Population-Based Sibling Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nezvalová-Henriksen, Kateřina; Wood, Mollie; Spigset, Olav; Nordeng, Hedvig

2016-01-01

Three studies so far have investigated the effect of prenatal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) exposure on birth weight and gestational age. The aim in this study was to evaluate the association of prenatal ibuprofen with birth weight and gestational age at birth, using a sibling design in an attempt to adjust for the possibility of familial confounding. Using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN), we identified 28 597 siblings, of whom 1080 were prenatally exposed to ibuprofen and 26 824 were not exposed to any NSAID. Random and fixed effects models with propensity score adjustment were used to evaluate the effects of ibuprofen exposure on birth weight and gestational age. Ibuprofen exposure during the first trimester was associated with a decrease in birth weight of 79 grams (95% confidence interval -133 to -25 grams). In contrast, second and/or third trimester exposure, and duration of exposure had no impact on the effect estimates. We found no association between ibuprofen exposure and gestational age at birth. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to ibuprofen during the first trimester is associated with a slight decrease in birth weight. The association does not seem to be attributable to shared genetics and family environment, and could be explained by either exposure to ibuprofen, or to non-shared confounding between pregnancies.

Planned hospital birth versus planned home birth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, O.; Clausen, J.A.

2012-01-01

Observational studies of increasingly better quality and in different settings suggest that planned home birth in many places can be as safe as planned hospital birth and with less intervention and fewer complications. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 1998....

[Live birth distribution by time and place from 1981 to 1998 in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Matsushima, Noriko; Morita, Noriko; Ogata, Nozomi; Saeki, Keigo; Matsuda, Ryozo; Kurumatani, Norio

2003-01-01

To investigate the diurnal rhythm of live births labored spontaneously, and the effects of obstetric intervention on birth time distributions. The data of live births tabulated by time (one-hour intervals), date and birthplace throughout Japan between 1981 and 1998 were obtained with permission from the former Ministry of Health and Welfare. Together with an investigation of hourly birth numbers by place in each year, an annual transition of hourly birth rates in medical institutions and the diurnal rhythm of birth numbers in maternity homes and at home were analyzed using regression analysis. In every calendar year studied the hourly live birth numbers at hospitals showed a single-peak distribution pattern with maximum values at 13:00-15:00. The annual transition of hourly birth rates showed a 10% (birth numbers base) decrease in the 11:00-13:00 period in 1998 as compared with that in 1981, while there was a corresponding increase of 8% in the 13:00-15:00 period. Hourly birth numbers at clinics showed a double-peak distribution pattern with maximum values during the 11:00-12:00 and 14:00-15:00 periods in early 1980, while a single-peak distribution with a maximum value during the 13:00-15:00 period appeared in 1989 and has remained thereafter. Hourly birth rates (birth numbers base) increased by over 6% in the 13:00-15:00 and 17:00-20:00 periods over the past 18 years, while they decreased by 10% in the 9:00-13:00 period. The results at maternity homes were clearly different from those at hospitals and clinics. The live birth numbers totaled for the 18 years showed a double-phase distribution with a maximum value in the 6:00-7:00 period and a minimum value in the 19:00-20:00 period. The best-fit regression model for the obtained data was a sine curve with a maximum value at 6:00 (coefficient of determination 0.97). Hourly distributions of live births at home also fitted best to a since curve with the maximum value again at 6:00 (coefficient of determination 0

Beating Birth Defects

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

Each year in the U.S., one in 33 babies is affected by a major birth defect. Women can greatly improve their chances of giving birth to a healthy baby by avoiding some of the risk factors for birth defects before and during pregnancy. In this podcast, Dr. Stuart Shapira discusses ways to improve the chances of giving birth to a healthy baby.

Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Jonsson, Ari; Frank, Jeremy

2013-01-01

In this paper we describe Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning (CAIP), a paradigm for representing and reasoning about plans. The paradigm enables the description of planning domains with time, resources, concurrent activities, mutual exclusions among sets of activities, disjunctive preconditions and conditional effects. We provide a theoretical foundation for the paradigm, based on temporal intervals and attributes. We then show how the plans are naturally expressed by networks of constraints, and show that the process of planning maps directly to dynamic constraint reasoning. In addition, we de ne compatibilities, a compact mechanism for describing planning domains. We describe how this framework can incorporate the use of constraint reasoning technology to improve planning. Finally, we describe EUROPA, an implementation of the CAIP framework.

Experiences of women who planned birth in a birth centre compared to alternative planned places of birth. Results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, M.; Hermes, M.A.; Scheerhagen, M.; Boesveld, L.C.; Wiegers, T.A.; Akker-van Marle, M.E.; Dommelen, P. van; Pal-de Bruin, K.M. de; Graaf, J.P. de

2016-01-01

Objective to assess the experiences with maternity care of women who planned birth in a birth centre and to compare them to alternative planned places of birth, by using the responsiveness concept of the World Health Organization. Design this study is a cross-sectional study using the ReproQ

Experiences of women who planned birth in a birth centre compared to alternative planned places of birth. Results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hitzert, M.; Hermus, M.; Scheerhagen, M.; Boesveld, I.C.; Wiegers, T.; Akker-van Marle, M.E. van den; Dommelen, P. van; Pal-de Bruin, K.M. van der; Graal, J. P. de

2016-01-01

Objective: to assess the experiences with maternity care of women who planned birth in a birth centre and to compare them to alternative planned places of birth, by using the responsiveness concept of the World Health Organization. Design: this study is a cross-sectional study using the ReproQ

Twin-singleton differences in intelligence: a register-based birth cohort study of Norwegian males.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksen, Willy; Sundet, Jon M; Tambs, Kristian

2012-10-01

The aim was to determine the difference in intelligence between singletons and twins in young adulthood. Data from the Medical Birth Register of Norway were linked with register data from the Norwegian National Conscript Service. The study base consisted of data on the 445,463 males who were born alive in either single or twin births in Norway during 1967-1984 and who were examined at the time of the mandatory military conscription (age 18-20). Within this study base, there were data on 1,653 sibships of full brothers that included at least one man born in single birth and at least one man born in twin birth (4,307 persons, including 2,378 twins and 1,929 singletons). The intelligence scores of the singletons were 11% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9-14%) of a standard deviation higher than those of the twins, after adjustment for birth year, birth order, parental ages at delivery, parental education levels, and other factors. The adjusted within-family difference was also 11% (95 % CI: 6-16%) of a standard deviation, indicating that unmeasured factors shared by siblings (e.g., maternal body height) have not influenced the estimate in important ways. When gestational age at birth was added to the model, the estimate for the difference in intelligence score was approximately the same. Including birth weight in the model strongly reduced the estimate. In conclusion, twins born in Norway during 1967-1984 had slightly lower intelligence in early adulthood compared with the singletons.

Association between ABO blood type and live-birth outcomes in single-embryo transfer cycles.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Nigel; Patel, Hency H; Stone, Logan D; Christos, Paul J; Elias, Rony T; Spandorfer, Steven D; Rosenwaks, Zev

2017-11-01

To investigate the association between ABO blood type and live-birth outcomes in patients undergoing IVF with day 5 single-embryo transfer (SET). Retrospective cohort study. University-affiliated center. Normal responders, blood type and live birth, while controlling for confounders. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for live birth were estimated. A total of 2,329 patients were included. The mean age of the study cohort was 34.6 ± 4.78 years. The distribution of blood types was as follows: A = 897 (38.5%); B = 397 (17.0%); AB = 120 (5.2%); and, O = 1,915 (39.3%) patients. There was no difference in the baseline demographics, ovarian stimulation, or embryo quality parameters between the blood types. The unadjusted ORs for live birth when comparing blood type A (referent) with blood types B, AB, and O were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.6-1.7), 0.72 (95% CI, 0.4-1.2), and 0.96 (95% CI. 0.6-1.7), respectively. The adjusted ORs for live birth remained not significant when comparing blood type A to blood types B, AB, and O individually. No difference in birth weight or gestational age at delivery was noted among the four blood types. Our findings suggest that ABO blood type is not associated with live-birth rate, birth weight, or gestational age at delivery in patients undergoing IVF with day 5 SET. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Economic implications of home births and birth centers: a structured review.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Jane; Petrou, Stavros

2008-06-01

It is widely perceived that home births and birth centers may help decrease the costs of maternity care for women with uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries. This structured review examines the literature relating to the economic implications of home births and birth center care compared with hospital maternity care. The bibliographic databases MEDLINE (from 1950), CINAHL (from 1982), EMBASE (from 1980), and an "in-house" database, Econ2, were searched for relevant English language publications using MeSH and free text terms. Data were extracted with respect to the study design, inclusion criteria, clinical and cost results, and details of what was included in the cost calculations. Eleven studies were included from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada. Two studies focused on home births versus other forms and locations of care, whereas nine focused on birth centers versus other forms and locations of care. Resource use was generally lower for women cared for at home and in birth centers due to lower rates of intervention, shorter lengths of stay, or both. However, this fact did not always translate into lower costs because, in the U.K. where many studies were conducted, more midwives of a higher grade were employed to manage the birth centers than are usually employed in maternity units, and because of costs of converting existing facilities into delivery rooms. The quality of much of the literature was poor, although no studies were excluded for this reason. Selection bias was likely to be a problem in those studies not based on randomized controlled trials because, even where birth center eligibility was applied throughout, women who choose to deliver at home or in a birth center are likely to be different in terms of expectations and approach from women choosing to deliver in hospital. This review highlights the paucity of economic literature relating to home births and birth centers. Differences in results between studies may be

Preterm Birth Associated With Group B Streptococcus Maternal Colonization Worldwide: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi-Jassir, Fiorella; Seale, Anna C; Kohli-Lynch, Maya; Lawn, Joy E; Baker, Carol J; Bartlett, Linda; Cutland, Clare; Gravett, Michael G; Heath, Paul T; Ip, Margaret; Le Doare, Kirsty; Madhi, Shabir A; Saha, Samir K; Schrag, Stephanie; Sobanjo-Ter Meulen, Ajoke; Vekemans, Johan; Rubens, Craig E

2017-11-06

Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of deaths among children birth in order to inform estimates of the burden of GBS. We conducted systematic literature reviews (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature [LILACS], World Health Organization Library Information System [WHOLIS], and Scopus) and sought unpublished data from investigator groups on the association of preterm birth (birth with maternal GBS colonization to be 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], .99-1.48; P = .061) in cohort and cross-sectional studies, and the odds ratio to be 1.85 (95% CI, 1.24-2.77; P = .003) in case-control studies. Preterm birth was associated with GBS bacteriuria in cohort studies (RR, 1.98 [95% CI, 1.45-2.69]; P birth is associated with maternal GBS colonization, especially where there is evidence of ascending infection (bacteriuria). Several biases reduce the chance of detecting an effect. Equally, however, results, including evidence for the association, may be due to confounding, which is rarely addressed in studies. Assessment of any effect on preterm delivery should be included in future maternal GBS vaccine trials. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Timing of translocation influences birth rate and population dynamics in a forest carnivore

Science.gov (United States)

Facka, Aaron N; Lewis, Jeffrey C.; Happe, Patricia; Jenkins, Kurt J.; Callas, Richard; Powell, Roger A.

2016-01-01

Timing can be critical for many life history events of organisms. Consequently, the timing of management activities may affect individuals and populations in numerous and unforeseen ways. Translocations of organisms are used to restore or expand populations but the timing of translocations is largely unexplored as a factor influencing population success. We hypothesized that the process of translocation negatively influences reproductive rates of individuals that are moved just before their birthing season and, therefore, the timing of releases could influence translocation success. Prior to reintroducing fishers (Pekania pennanti) into northern California and onto the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, we predicted that female fishers released in November and December (early) would have a higher probability of giving birth to kits the following March or April than females released in January, February, and March (late), just prior to or during the period of blastocyst implantation and gestation. Over four winters (2008–2011), we translocated 56 adult female fishers that could have given birth in the spring immediately after release. Denning rates, an index of birth rate, for females released early were 92% in California and 38% in Washington. In contrast, denning rates for females released late were 40% and 11%, in California and Washington, a net reduction in denning rate of 66% across both sites. To understand how releasing females nearer to parturition could influence population establishment and persistence, we used stochastic population simulations using three-stage Lefkovitch matrices. These simulations showed that translocating female fishers early had long-term positive influences on the mean population size and on quasi-extinction thresholds compared to populations where females were released late. The results from both empirical data and simulations show that the timing of translocation, with respect to life history events, should be considered during

Beyond the Cross-Sectional: Neighborhood Poverty Histories and Preterm Birth

Science.gov (United States)

Margerison-Zilko, Claire; Jun, Jina; Marchi, Kristen; Fingar, Kathryn; Braveman, Paula

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined associations between longitudinal neighborhood poverty trajectories and preterm birth (PTB). Methods. Using data from the Neighborhood Change Database (1970–2000) and the American Community Survey (2005–2009), we categorized longitudinal trajectories of poverty for California neighborhoods (i.e., census tracts). Birth data included 23 291 singleton California births from the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (2003–2009). We estimated associations (adjusted for individual-level covariates) between PTB and longitudinal poverty trajectories and compared these to associations using traditional, cross-sectional measures of poverty. Results. Compared to neighborhoods with long-term low poverty, those with long-term high poverty and those that experienced increasing poverty early in the study period had 41% and 37% increased odds of PTB (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18, 1.69 and 1.09, 1.72, respectively). High (compared with low) cross-sectional neighborhood poverty was not associated with PTB (odds ratio = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.91, 1.28). Conclusions. Neighborhood poverty histories may contribute to an understanding of perinatal health and should be considered in future research. PMID:25880941

Recurrence determinism and Li-Yorke chaos for interval maps

OpenAIRE

Špitalský, Vladimír

2017-01-01

Recurrence determinism, one of the fundamental characteristics of recurrence quantification analysis, measures predictability of a trajectory of a dynamical system. It is tightly connected with the conditional probability that, given a recurrence, following states of the trajectory will be recurrences. In this paper we study recurrence determinism of interval dynamical systems. We show that recurrence determinism distinguishes three main types of $\\omega$-limit sets of zero entropy maps: fini...

CDC WONDER: Births

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Births (Natality) online databases in CDC WONDER report birth rates, fertility rates and counts of live births occurring within the United States to U.S....

Complexities of sibling analysis when exposures and outcomes change with time and birth order.

Science.gov (United States)

Sudan, Madhuri; Kheifets, Leeka I; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Divan, Hozefa A; Olsen, Jørn

2014-01-01

In this study, we demonstrate the complexities of performing a sibling analysis with a re-examination of associations between cell phone exposures and behavioral problems observed previously in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Children (52,680; including 5441 siblings) followed up to age 7 were included. We examined differences in exposures and behavioral problems between siblings and non-siblings and by birth order and birth year. We estimated associations between cell phone exposures and behavioral problems while accounting for the random family effect among siblings. The association of behavioral problems with both prenatal and postnatal exposure differed between siblings (odds ratio (OR): 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-1.66) and non-siblings (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.36-1.74) and within siblings by birth order; the association was strongest for first-born siblings (OR: 1.72; 95% CI: 0.86-3.42) and negative for later-born siblings (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.31-1.25), which may be because of increases in cell phone use with later birth year. Sibling analysis can be a powerful tool for (partially) accounting for confounding by invariant unmeasured within-family factors, but it cannot account for uncontrolled confounding by varying family-level factors, such as those that vary with time and birth order.

Vaginal birth after cesarean: neonatal outcomes and United States birth setting.

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Tilden, Ellen L; Cheyney, Melissa; Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Emeis, Cathy; Lapidus, Jodi; Biel, Frances M; Wiedrick, Jack; Snowden, Jonathan M

2017-04-01

Women who seek vaginal birth after cesarean delivery may find limited in-hospital options. Increasing numbers of women in the United States are delivering by vaginal birth after cesarean delivery out-of-hospital. Little is known about neonatal outcomes among those who deliver by vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in- vs out-of-hospital. The purpose of this study was to compare neonatal outcomes between women who deliver via vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in-hospital vs out-of-hospital (home and freestanding birth center). We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2007-2010 linked United States birth and death records to compare singleton, term, vertex, nonanomolous, and liveborn neonates who delivered by vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in- or out-of-hospital. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to estimate unadjusted, absolute, and relative birth-setting risk differences. Analyses were stratified by parity and history of vaginal birth. Sensitivity analyses that involved 3 transfer status scenarios were conducted. Of women in the United States with a history of cesarean delivery (n=1,138,813), only a small proportion delivered by vaginal birth after cesarean delivery with the subsequent pregnancy (n=109,970; 9.65%). The proportion of home vaginal birth after cesarean delivery births increased from 1.78-2.45%. A pattern of increased neonatal morbidity was noted in unadjusted analysis (neonatal seizures, Apgar score birthing their second child by vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in out-of-hospital settings had higher odds of neonatal morbidity and death compared with women of higher parity. Women who had not birthed vaginally prior to out-of-hospital vaginal birth after cesarean delivery had higher odds of neonatal morbidity and mortality compared with women who had birthed vaginally prior to out-of-hospital vaginal birth after cesarean delivery. Sensitivity analyses generated distributions of plausible

Dynamic QT Interval Changes from Supine to Standing in Healthy Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Dionne, Audrey; Fournier, Anne; Dahdah, Nagib; Abrams, Dominic; Khairy, Paul; Abadir, Sylvia

2018-01-01

QT-interval variations in response to exercise-induced increases in heart rate have been reported in children and adults in the diagnosis of long QT syndrome (LQTS). A quick standing challenge has been proposed as an alternative provocative test in adults, with no pediatric data yet available. A standing test was performed in 100 healthy children (mean age, 9.7 ± 3.1 years) after 10 minutes in a supine position with continuous electrocardiographic recording. QT intervals were measured at baseline, at maximal heart rate, at maximal QT, and at each minute of a 5-minute recovery while standing. Measurements were taken in leads II/V 5 and were corrected for heart rate (QTc). On standing, the heart rate increased by 29 ± 10 beats per minute (bpm). The QT interval was similar at baseline and on standing (394 ± 34 ms vs 394 ± 34 ms; P = 1.0). However, QTc increased from 426 ± 21 to 509 ± 41 ms (P < 0.001). The 95th percentile for QTc at baseline and maximal heart rate was 457 ms and 563 ms, respectively. At 1 minute of recovery, the QT interval was shorter (375 ± 31 ms) compared with baseline (394 ± 34 ms; P < 0.001) and standing (394 ± 34 ms; P < 0.001). QTc reached baseline values after 1 minute of recovery and remained stable thereafter (423 ± 23 ms at 1 minute; 426 ± 22 ms at 5 minutes; P = 1.0). This first characterization of QTc changes on standing in children shows substantial alterations, which are greater than those seen in adults. Two-thirds of the children would have been misclassified as having LQTS by adult criteria, indicating the need to create child-specific standards. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maternal asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure are associated with low birth weight and increased hospital birth and delivery charges; Hawai'i hospital discharge data 2003-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Donald K; Feigal, David W; Smith, Ruben A; Fuddy, Loretta J

2014-02-01

Asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure are common maternal conditions that can impact birth outcomes. Data from hospital discharges in Hawai'i were analyzed for 107,034 singleton births from 2003-2008. Categories were determined using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, ninth revision (ICD-9) from linked delivery records of mother and infant. Prevalence estimates of asthma (ICD-9: 493), diabetes (ICD-9: 250,648.0, 648.8), high blood pressure (ICD-9: 401-405,642) as coded on the delivery record, low birth weight (4500 grams), Cesarean delivery, and median hospital charges were calculated. Median regression analysis assessed total hospital charges adjusting for maternal age, maternal race, insurance, and Cesarean delivery. Maternal asthma was present in 4.3% (95% confidence interval=4.1-4.4%), maternal diabetes was present in 7.7% (95% CI=7.6-7.9%), and maternal high blood pressure was present in 9.2% (95% CI=9.0-9.3%) of births. In the adjusted median regression analysis, mothers with asthma had $999 (95% CI: $886 to $1,112) higher hospital charges compared to those without; mothers with diabetes had $743 (95% CI: $636 to $850) higher charges compared to those without; and mothers with high blood pressure had $2,314 (95% CI: $2,194 to $2,434) higher charges compared to those without. Asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure are associated with higher hospital delivery charges and low birth weight. Diabetes and high blood pressure were also associated with Cesarean delivery. An increased awareness of the impact of these conditions on both adverse birth outcomes and the development of chronic disease is needed.

Using Bayesian Models to Assess the Effects of Under-reporting of Cannabis Use on the Association with Birth Defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997–2005

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, Marleen M. H. J.; Rogier, A.; Donders, T.; Devine, Owen; Roeleveld, Nel; Reefhuis, Jennita

2015-01-01

Background Studies on associations between periconceptional cannabis exposure and birth defects have mainly relied on self-reported exposure. Therefore, the results may be biased due to underreporting of the exposure. The aim of this study was to quantify the potential effects of this form of exposure misclassification. Methods Using multivariable logistic regression, we re-analyzed associations between periconceptional cannabis use and 20 specific birth defects using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study from 1997–2005 for 13 859 case infants and 6556 control infants. For seven birth defects, we implemented four Bayesian models based on various assumptions concerning the sensitivity of self-reported cannabis use to estimate odds ratios (ORs), adjusted for confounding and underreporting of the exposure. We used information on sensitivity of self-reported cannabis use from the literature for prior assumptions. Results The results unadjusted for underreporting of the exposure showed an association between cannabis use and anencephaly (posterior OR 1.9 [95% credible interval (CRI) 1.1, 3.2]) which persisted after adjustment for potential exposure misclassification. Initially, no statistically significant associations were observed between cannabis use and the other birth defect categories studied. Although adjustment for underreporting did not notably change these effect estimates, cannabis use was associated with esophageal atresia (posterior OR 1.7 [95% CRI 1.0, 2.9]), diaphragmatic hernia (posterior OR 1.8 [95% CRI 1.1, 3.0]) and gastroschisis (posterior OR 1.7 [95% CRI 1.2, 2.3]) after correction for exposure misclassification. Conclusions Underreporting of the exposure may have obscured some cannabis-birth defect associations in previous studies. However, the resulting bias is likely to be limited. PMID:25155701

Determinants of infant growth: Evidence from Hong Kong's "Children of 1997" birth cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, L L; Leung, Gabriel M; Cowling, Benjamin J; Lam, T H; Schooling, C Mary

2010-11-01

A high rate of infant growth may be associated with adult cardiovascular disease. We investigated factors associated with infant weight growth in a large sample from the recently transitioned population of Hong Kong. We used a nonlinear shape invariant model with random effects among 5949 term, singletons (77% follow-up) from a population-representative Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort "Children of 1997" to investigate factors associated with weight growth in the first year of life. Overall birth weight was lower but infant growth was more rapid than the 2006 WHO standards. Shorter gestation and lower birth order were associated with lower birth weight and faster infant growth. Female sex, maternal smoking in pregnancy, and a mother born in Hong Kong were associated with lower birth weight, but not with faster growth. Higher maternal education was associated with faster infant growth, grades 10-11 (1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03-1.05), greater than or equal to grade12 (1.07, CI = 1.04-1.09) compared with less than or equal to grade 9. Infant growth may respond more rapidly to socio-economic development than birth weight. Whether mother's education is associated with rapid infant growth via current conditions or her own "constitution" is unclear, nevertheless we believe this study illustrates the importance of contextually specific research for understanding the determinants of population health. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Planned and unplanned home births and hospital births in Calgary, Alberta, 1984-87.

Science.gov (United States)

Abernathy, T J; Lentjes, D M

1989-01-01

Information collected on all home births in Calgary (Canada) between the years 1984 and 1987, was examined and analyzed according to whether the home birth environment had been planned or unplanned. The two groups were compared to each other and to all hospital births according to demographic characteristics of mothers, indicators of prenatal care, and birth outcome. Mothers who had planned their home birth were more likely to be primiparous, attend prenatal classes, obtain regular prenatal care from a physician, and have babies with a higher birth weight than either the unplanned or hospital group. Of particular concern, however, were the subset of unplanned home births who were primiparous. These mothers attended prenatal classes less frequently than any other group, reported the lowest number of physician visits, were youngest, and least likely to be married. In addition their babies averaged the shortest gestational age and the lowest birth weight. Findings in general show that planned and unplanned home births must be considered as heterogeneous groups in any comparison of risk factors and of birth outcome between home and hospital births. Further, within the unplanned group, multiparous women differ from primiparous women. Given the limitations inherent in this and similar studies, the apparent better outcome in the planned home birth group, as measured by birth weight, must be viewed with caution.

Quantitative trait locus affecting birth weight on bovine chromosome 5 in a F2 Gyr x Holstein population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Gasparin

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Segregation between a genetic marker and a locus influencing a quantitative trait in a well delineated population is the basis for success in mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL. To detect bovine chromosome 5 (BTA5 birth weight QTL we genotyped 294 F2 Gyr (Bos indicus x Holstein (Bos taurus crossbreed cattle for five microsatellite markers. A linkage map was constructed for the markers and an interval analysis for the presence of QTL was performed. The linkage map indicated differences in the order of two markers relative to the reference map (http://www.marc.usda.gov. Interval analysis detected a QTL controlling birth weight (p < 0.01 at 69 centimorgans (cM from the most centromeric marker with an effect of 0.32 phenotypic standard-error. These results support other studies with crossbred Bos taurus x Bos indicus populations.

Birth Weight, Gestational Age, and Infantile Colic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milidou, Ioanna; Søndregaard, Charlotte; Jensen, Morten Søndergaard

Background Infantile colic is a condition of unknown origin characterized by paroxysms of crying during the first months of life. A few studies have identified low birth weight (BW) as a risk factor among infants born at term, while the association between gestational age (GA) and infantile colic...... interviews of the mother during pregnancy and post partum. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (in brackets) are presented. Infantile colic was defined as crying for more than three hours per day and for more than three days per week (modified Wessel’s criteria). Results A total of 4...... with GA gestational weeks 32-40. Finally, after adjusting for GA...

Effect of birth year on birth weight and obesity in adulthood: comparison between subjects born prior to and during the great depression in Iceland.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cindy Mari Imai

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many epidemiological studies have linked small size at birth to adverse adult health outcomes but the relative influence of environmental exposures is less well established. METHODS: The authors investigated the impact of prenatal environmental exposure by comparing 2750 participants born before (1925-1929 and during (1930-1934 the Great Depression in Reykjavik, Iceland. Calendar year served as proxy for environmental effects. Anthropometric measurements at birth and school-age (8-13 years were collected from national registries. Participants were medically examined as adults (33-65 years. RESULTS: Mean birth weight, adjusted for maternal age and parity, decreased by 97 g (95% confidence interval (CI: 39, 156 for men and 70 g (95% CI: 11, 129 for women from 1925 to 1934; growth at school-age was significantly reduced for participants growing during the Depression. As adults, women prenatally exposed to the Depression had higher body mass index (Δ0.6 kg/m(2, 95% CI: 0.2, 1.1, higher fasting blood glucose levels (Δ0.16 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.23 and greater odds of being obese 1.43 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.02 compared to unexposed counterparts. Non-significant associations were observed in men. CONCLUSION: Reduction in birth weight due to rapid shifts in the economic environment appears to have a modest but significant association with later obesity for women while male offspring appear to be less affected by these conditions.

Effect of birth year on birth weight and obesity in adulthood: comparison between subjects born prior to and during the great depression in Iceland.

Science.gov (United States)

Imai, Cindy Mari; Halldorsson, Thorhallur Ingi; Gunnarsdottir, Ingibjorg; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Aspelund, Thor; Jonsson, Gudmundur; Birgisdottir, Bryndis Eva; Thorsdottir, Inga

2012-01-01

Many epidemiological studies have linked small size at birth to adverse adult health outcomes but the relative influence of environmental exposures is less well established. The authors investigated the impact of prenatal environmental exposure by comparing 2750 participants born before (1925-1929) and during (1930-1934) the Great Depression in Reykjavik, Iceland. Calendar year served as proxy for environmental effects. Anthropometric measurements at birth and school-age (8-13 years) were collected from national registries. Participants were medically examined as adults (33-65 years). Mean birth weight, adjusted for maternal age and parity, decreased by 97 g (95% confidence interval (CI): 39, 156) for men and 70 g (95% CI: 11, 129) for women from 1925 to 1934; growth at school-age was significantly reduced for participants growing during the Depression. As adults, women prenatally exposed to the Depression had higher body mass index (Δ0.6 kg/m(2), 95% CI: 0.2, 1.1), higher fasting blood glucose levels (Δ0.16 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.23) and greater odds of being obese 1.43 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.02) compared to unexposed counterparts. Non-significant associations were observed in men. Reduction in birth weight due to rapid shifts in the economic environment appears to have a modest but significant association with later obesity for women while male offspring appear to be less affected by these conditions.

Good practices according to WHO’s recommendation for normal labor and birth and women’s assessment of the care received: the “birth in Brazil” national research study, 2011/2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcia Leonardi Baldisserotto

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The World Health Organization recommends good practices for the conduct of uncomplicated labor and birth, with the aim of improving the quality of and assessment by women of childbirth care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adoption of good practices according to WHO’s recommendation for normal labor and birth and assessment by women of the care received. Methods Birth in Brazil is a national hospital-based study with countrywide representation consisting of 23,894 mothers and their newborns, conducted between February 2011 and October 2012. The present study analysed a subsample of this national survey. Postpartum women classified as low risk during pregnancy who had experienced either spontaneous or induced labor were included in this study, totalling 4102 mothers. To estimate the association between assessment by women of the childbirth care received (dependent variable and good practices according to WHO’s recommendation during normal labor and birth (independent variables, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was used and crude and adjusted odds ratios calculated with their 95 % confidence intervals. Results The good practices associated with positive assessment of the care received by women during labor and birth included the partner’s presence, privacy in the birthing place, time available to ask questions, clarity of information received, and empathic support from caregivers during labor and birth. Freedom of movement, free nutrition offered, choice of companions, nonpharmacological analgesia, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the childbirth room were not associated with the assessment by women of the care received. Conclusions Our findings reveal the importance to mothers of their relationship with the team of caregivers during labor and birth. Therefore, caregiver teams must be qualified within a more humanistic vision of childbirth health care.

Extremely Preterm Birth

Science.gov (United States)

... Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Extremely Preterm Birth Home For Patients Search FAQs Extremely Preterm Birth ... Spanish FAQ173, June 2016 PDF Format Extremely Preterm Birth Pregnancy When is a baby considered “preterm” or “ ...

Fetal growth and preterm birth in children exposed to maternal or paternal rheumatoid arthritis. A nationwide cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rom, Ane L; Wu, Chunsen; Olsen, Jørn

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess indicators of fetal growth and risk of preterm birth in children of parents with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Through linkage of Danish national registries, we identified all children born in Denmark between 1977 and 2008. We used general linear regression models...... to estimate mean differences in indicators of fetal growth among children with a parent with RA compared to unexposed children. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of preterm birth were calculated using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Of the 1,917,723 children included, a total...... of 13,556 children were exposed to maternal RA or maternal preclinical RA. Children exposed to maternal RA (n = 2,101) had approximately similar length, head circumference, and abdominal circumference at birth compared with children of mothers without RA. Birth weight was 87 gm lower (mean difference...

Trends in contraceptive use and distribution of births with demographic risk factors in Ethiopia: a sub-national analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiferaw, Solomon; Abdullah, Muna; Mekonnen, Yared; Maïga, Abdoulaye; Akinyemi, Akanni; Amouzou, Agbessi; Friedman, Howard; Barros, Aluisio J D; Hounton, Sennen

2015-01-01

Evidence shows that family planning contributes to the decline in child mortality by decreasing the proportions of births that are considered high risk. The main objective of the present analysis was to examine the trends in use of modern contraceptives and their relationship with total fertility rate (TFR) and distribution of births by demographic risk factors as defined by mother's age, birth interval, and birth order at the sub-national level in Ethiopia. Analyses used data from three Demographic and Health Surveys in Ethiopia (2000, 2005, and 2011), which are nationally representative data collected through questionnaire-based interviews from women 15-49 using a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling. First, we examined the trends of and relationship between TFR (in the 3 years before each survey) and modern contraceptive use among currently married women in all administrative regions over the time period 2000-2011 using linear regression analysis. We also examined the relationship between birth risks and under-five mortality using the no-risk group as a reference. Finally, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between the effect of being a resident in one of the regions and having an avoidable birth risk (which includes births to mothers younger than 18 and older than 34 years, birth interval of less than 24 months and birth order higher than third) after adjusting for select covariates including wealth, educational status, residence, religion and exposure to family planning information. Sub-national-level regression analysis showed an inverse relationship between modern contraceptive use among married women and the TFR, with an average decrease of TFR by one child per woman associated with a 13 percentage point increase in modern contraceptive use between 2000 and 2011. A high percentage of births in Ethiopia (62%) fall in one of the risk categories (excluding first births), with wide regional variation from 55% in

Trends in contraceptive use and distribution of births with demographic risk factors in Ethiopia: a sub-national analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solomon Shiferaw

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Evidence shows that family planning contributes to the decline in child mortality by decreasing the proportions of births that are considered high risk. The main objective of the present analysis was to examine the trends in use of modern contraceptives and their relationship with total fertility rate (TFR and distribution of births by demographic risk factors as defined by mother's age, birth interval, and birth order at the sub-national level in Ethiopia. Design: Analyses used data from three Demographic and Health Surveys in Ethiopia (2000, 2005, and 2011, which are nationally representative data collected through questionnaire-based interviews from women 15–49 using a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling. First, we examined the trends of and relationship between TFR (in the 3 years before each survey and modern contraceptive use among currently married women in all administrative regions over the time period 2000–2011 using linear regression analysis. We also examined the relationship between birth risks and under-five mortality using the no-risk group as a reference. Finally, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between the effect of being a resident in one of the regions and having an avoidable birth risk (which includes births to mothers younger than 18 and older than 34 years, birth interval of less than 24 months and birth order higher than third after adjusting for select covariates including wealth, educational status, residence, religion and exposure to family planning information. Results: Sub-national-level regression analysis showed an inverse relationship between modern contraceptive use among married women and the TFR, with an average decrease of TFR by one child per woman associated with a 13 percentage point increase in modern contraceptive use between 2000 and 2011. A high percentage of births in Ethiopia (62% fall in one of the risk categories (excluding first

Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Following Icsi- Pregnancies

OpenAIRE

Aygül Demirol; Süleyman Güven; Timur Gürgan

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To report preterm birth and low birth weight rate of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) related pregnancies and to compare our data with literature findings. STUDY DESIGN: Three-hundred and eighty-nine pregnancies following controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection were retrospectively evaluated. Patients’ characteristics including age, gestational age at delivery and birth weight were noted from special clinic files. Women with early pregnanc...

The effectiveness of periodontal disease treatment during pregnancy in reducing the risk of experiencing preterm birth and low birth weight: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Uppal, Anna; Uppal, Shitanshu; Pinto, Andres; Dutta, Moushumi; Shrivatsa, Shwetha; Dandolu, Vani; Mupparapu, Mel

2010-12-01

Treating periodontal disease during pregnancy to improve outcomes is controversial, and the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are conflicting. The authors performed meta-analysis of these RCTs to assess the overall effect of treating periodontal disease during pregnancy. The authors performed a meta-analysis of studies found by means of two database aggregators OvidSP (12 databases) and EBSCOhost (11 databases). They included RCTs in pregnant women with periodontal disease who were assigned to a treatment arm (scaling and root planing with polishing) or a control arm (no treatment or only prophylaxis). Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria for preterm birth (PTB), and eight RCTs met the inclusion criteria for low birth weight (LBW). The odds ratio of PTB in the treatment group was 0.589 (95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 0.396-0.875) and of LBW was 0.717 (95 percent CI = 0.440-1.169). Level of bias was the only significant predictor (P periodontal disease during pregnancy.

Relationship between birth order and birth weight of the pig

OpenAIRE

Charneca, Rui; Freitas, Amadeu; Nunes, José; Le Dividich, Jean

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine whether birth weight of the pig is related to its birth order. The study involved 292 sows from 2 genotypes (Large White x Landrace crossbred (LL), n= 247 and Alentejano (AL), n=45) of mixed parity and their piglets. Most sows farrowed naturally. Each piglet was identified, weighed (± 1g) (mummies excepted) and its birth order (BO) recorded within 2 min of birth. A total of 3418 LL and 375 AL piglets were born of which 43 and 7 were mummified, a...

Using bayesian models to assess the effects of under-reporting of cannabis use on the association with birth defects, national birth defects prevention study, 1997-2005.

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, Marleen M H J; Donders, A Rogier T; Devine, Owen; Roeleveld, Nel; Reefhuis, Jennita

2014-09-01

Studies on associations between periconceptional cannabis exposure and birth defects have mainly relied on self-reported exposure. Therefore, the results may be biased due to under-reporting of the exposure. The aim of this study was to quantify the potential effects of this form of exposure misclassification. Using multivariable logistic regression, we re-analysed associations between periconceptional cannabis use and 20 specific birth defects using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study from 1997-2005 for 13 859 case infants and 6556 control infants. For seven birth defects, we implemented four Bayesian models based on various assumptions concerning the sensitivity of self-reported cannabis use to estimate odds ratios (ORs), adjusted for confounding and under-reporting of the exposure. We used information on sensitivity of self-reported cannabis use from the literature for prior assumptions. The results unadjusted for under-reporting of the exposure showed an association between cannabis use and anencephaly (posterior OR 1.9 [95% credible interval (CRI) 1.1, 3.2]) which persisted after adjustment for potential exposure misclassification. Initially, no statistically significant associations were observed between cannabis use and the other birth defect categories studied. Although adjustment for under-reporting did not notably change these effect estimates, cannabis use was associated with esophageal atresia (posterior OR 1.7 [95% CRI 1.0, 2.9]), diaphragmatic hernia (posterior OR 1.8 [95% CRI 1.1, 3.0]), and gastroschisis (posterior OR 1.7 [95% CRI 1.2, 2.3]) after correction for exposure misclassification. Under-reporting of the exposure may have obscured some cannabis-birth defect associations in previous studies. However, the resulting bias is likely to be limited. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of infants' birth order, maternal age, and socio-economic status on birth weight.

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Ghaemmaghami, Seyed J; Nikniaz, Leila; Mahdavi, Reza; Nikniaz, Zeinab; Razmifard, Farzad; Afsharnia, Farzaneh

2013-09-01

To determine the effects of infants' birth order, maternal age, and socioeconomic status (SES) on birth weight. This cross-sectional study included a sample of 858 mothers recruited over a 6-month period in 2010, in a defined population of 9 urban health centers, and who were admitted for their infants' first vaccination. Maternal clinical data, demographic data, and infants' birth weight were obtained from the interview and maternal hospital files. Multiple regression and analysis of variance were used for data analysis. First and fourth births had lower birth weights compared with second and third births in all maternal ages in controlling parity, birth weight increases with maternal age up to the early 24, and then tends to level off. Male gender, maternal age 20-24 years, second and third births had a significant positive effect on birth weight. Lower family economic status and higher educational attainment were significantly associated with lower birth weight. For women in the 15-19 and 40-44 years age groups, the second birth order was associated with the most undesirable effect on birth weight. Accessibility of health care services, parity, maternal age, and socioeconomic factors are strongly associated with infants' birth weight.

Preconceptional antithyroid peroxidase antibodies, but not thyroid-stimulating hormone, are associated with decreased live birth rates in infertile women.

Science.gov (United States)

Seungdamrong, Aimee; Steiner, Anne Z; Gracia, Clarisa R; Legro, Richard S; Diamond, Michael P; Coutifaris, Christos; Schlaff, William D; Casson, Peter; Christman, Gregory M; Robinson, Randal D; Huang, Hao; Alvero, Ruben; Hansen, Karl R; Jin, Susan; Eisenberg, Esther; Zhang, Heping; Santoro, Nanette

2017-10-25

To study whether preconceptual thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and antithyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies are associated with poor reproductive outcomes in infertile women. Secondary analysis of data from two multicenter, randomized, controlled trials conducted by the Reproductive Medicine Network of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between preconceptual TSH levels and anti-TPO antibodies. Not applicable. Serum samples from 1,468 infertile women were utilized. None. Cumulative conception, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rates were calculated. Conception, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rates did not differ between patients with TSH ≥2.5 mIU/L vs. TSH < 2.5 mIU/L. Women with anti-TPO antibodies had similar conception rates (33.3% vs. 36.3%) but higher miscarriage rates (43.9% vs. 25.3%) and lower live birth rates (17.1% vs. 25.4%) than those without anti-TPO antibodies. Adjusted, multivariable logistic regression models confirmed elevated odds of miscarriage (odds ratio 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.12-4.22) and lower odds of live birth (oddr ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.96) in patients with anti-TPO antibodies. In infertile women, preconceptional TSH ≥2.5 mIU/L is not associated with adverse reproductive outcomes; however, anti-TPO antibodies are associated with increased risk of miscarriage and decreased probability of live birth. PPCOS II NCT00719186; AMIGOS NCT01044862. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Maternal occupation during pregnancy, birth weight, and length of gestation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Casas, Maribel; Cordier, Sylvaine; Martínez, David

2015-01-01

to be present. The comparison group comprised all other employed women not included in the occupational sector being assessed. We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates and explored heterogeneity. RESULTS: Employees had a lower risk of preterm delivery than non-employees [adjusted odds ratio....... METHODS: We used data from >200 000 mother-child pairs enrolled in 13 European birth cohorts and compared employed versus non-employed women. Among employees, we defined groups of occupations representing the main sectors of employment for women where potential reproductive hazards are considered...... (ORadj) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.81-0.91]. Working in most of the occupational sectors studied was not associated with adverse birth outcomes. Being employed as a nurse was associated with lower risk SGA infants (ORadj 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99) whereas food industry workers had an increased...

The changing timing of births in Iran: an explanation of the rise and fall in fertility after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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Erfani, Amir; McQuillan, Kevin

2014-01-01

Studies exploring the course of period fertility in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution have not examined systematically the role played by changes in the timing of births. Using retrospective data from the 2000 Iran Demographic and Health Survey and frailty hazard models, this study finds that the rise in fertility in the early 1980s was due to faster transitions to the first birth among all social groups of women and to the fourth birth largely among illiterate and less educated women. In contrast, the rapid fertility decline after 1985 is attributed to slower transition to successive births, especially to the second, third, and fourth births. These findings point to the importance of education and contraceptive use (measured by length of previous birth interval) as key determinants of birth timing in Iran. Interaction between age at marriage and education positively influenced the timing of births, with stronger effects among highly educated women, suggesting that the onset of rapid fertility decline was likely driven by these highly educated women. Another interaction between the gender of prior children and education shows that birth timing, even among highly educated women, appears to have been influenced by son preference in Iran.

From institutionalized birth to home birth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Fróes de Oliveira Sanfelice

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The study aimed to describe the experiences of a group of nurse-midwives from the city of Campinas, SP, Brasil, regarding the transition process from attending institutionalized births to attending home births, in the period 2011 – 2013. The study is of the experience report type; the reflections, perceptions and challenges experienced in this process were collected using the technique of brainstorming. Content analysis, as proposed by Bardin, was used, which yielded four thematic categories: a the hospital experience; b living with obstetric violence; c returning home and d the challenges of home care. It is concluded that attending home births offers greater satisfaction to the nurses, even in the face of various obstacles, as it is possible to offer a care to the woman and new-born which covers both the concept of comprehensiveness and the current scientific recommendations.

Maternal Asthma, Diabetes, and High Blood Pressure are Associated with Low Birth Weight and Increased Hospital Birth and Delivery Charges; Hawai‘i Hospital Discharge Data 2003–2008

Science.gov (United States)

Feigal, David W; Smith, Ruben A; Fuddy, Loretta J

2014-01-01

Asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure are common maternal conditions that can impact birth outcomes. Data from hospital discharges in Hawai‘i were analyzed for 107,034 singleton births from 2003–2008. Categories were determined using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, ninth revision (ICD-9) from linked delivery records of mother and infant. Prevalence estimates of asthma (ICD-9: 493), diabetes (ICD-9: 250,648.0, 648.8), high blood pressure (ICD-9: 401–405,642) as coded on the delivery record, low birth weight (4500 grams), Cesarean delivery, and median hospital charges were calculated. Median regression analysis assessed total hospital charges adjusting for maternal age, maternal race, insurance, and Cesarean delivery. Maternal asthma was present in 4.3% (95% confidence interval=4.1–4.4%), maternal diabetes was present in 7.7% (95% CI=7.6–7.9%), and maternal high blood pressure was present in 9.2% (95% CI=9.0–9.3%) of births. In the adjusted median regression analysis, mothers with asthma had $999 (95% CI: $886 to $1,112) higher hospital charges compared to those without; mothers with diabetes had $743 (95% CI: $636 to $850) higher charges compared to those without; and mothers with high blood pressure had $2,314 (95% CI: $2,194 to $2,434) higher charges compared to those without. Asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure are associated with higher hospital delivery charges and low birth weight. Diabetes and high blood pressure were also associated with Cesarean delivery. An increased awareness of the impact of these conditions on both adverse birth outcomes and the development of chronic disease is needed. PMID:24567868

Birth order and suicide in adulthood: evidence from Swedish population data.

Science.gov (United States)

Rostila, Mikael; Saarela, Jan; Kawachi, Ichiro

2014-06-15

Each year, almost 1 million people die from suicide, which is among the leading causes of death in young people. We studied how birth order was associated with suicide and other main causes of death. A follow-up study based on the Swedish population register was conducted for sibling groups born from 1932 to 1980 who were observed during the period 1981-2002. Focus was on the within-family variation in suicide risk, meaning that we studied sibling groups that consisted of 2 or more children in which at least 1 died from suicide. These family-fixed effects analyses revealed that each increase in birth order was related to an 18% higher suicide risk (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.23, P = 0.000). The association was slightly lower among sibling groups born in 1932-1955 (hazard ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.21, P = 0.000) than among those born in 1967-1980 (hazard ratio = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.97, 1.57, P = 0.080). Further analyses suggested that the association between birth order and suicide was only modestly influenced by sex, birth spacing, size of the sibling group, own socioeconomic position, own marital status, and socioeconomic rank within the sibling group. Causes of death other than suicide and other external causes were not associated with birth order. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Timing of births in sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus).

Science.gov (United States)

Strier, K B; Mendes, S L; Santos, R R

2001-10-01

We monitored the birth patterns of sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus) during a 4-yr period from October 1996 to August 2000 at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Brown howler monkey births (n = 34) occurred throughout the year, and birth frequencies did not differ between rainy and dry season months. The aseasonal birth patterns of the howler monkeys differed significantly from the dry season concentration and dry month peak in muriqui births (n = 23). We found no effects of infant sex or the number of females on interbirth intervals (IBIs) in our 10 howler monkey study troops. IBIs of brown howler monkeys averaged 21.2 +/- 2.5 mo (n = 8, median = 21.0 mo), and were significantly shorter following dry season births than rainy season births. Their IBIs and yearling survivorship (74%) were similar to those reported for other species of howler monkeys, but yearling survivorship was much lower than that of muriquis (94%), whose IBIs were more than 12 mo longer than those of the howler monkeys. Our study extends comparative knowledge of birth patterns in Alouatta to a poorly known species, and provides insights into the different ways in which diet and life history may affect the timing of births in large-bodied platyrrhines under the same seasonal ecological conditions. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

INTERVAL STATE ESTIMATION FOR SINGULAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION SYSTEMS WITH DELAYS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. Kharkovskaia

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with linear differential equation systems with algebraic restrictions (singular systems and a method of interval observer design for this kind of systems. The systems contain constant time delay, measurement noise and disturbances. Interval observer synthesis is based on monotone and cooperative systems technique, linear matrix inequations, Lyapunov function theory and interval arithmetic. The set of conditions that gives the possibility for interval observer synthesis is proposed. Results of synthesized observer operation are shown on the example of dynamical interindustry balance model. The advantages of proposed method are that it is adapted to observer design for uncertain systems, if the intervals of admissible values for uncertain parameters are given. The designed observer is capable to provide asymptotically definite limits on the estimation accuracy, since the interval of admissible values for the object state is defined at every instant. The obtained result provides an opportunity to develop the interval estimation theory for complex systems that contain parametric uncertainty, varying delay and nonlinear elements. Interval observers increasingly find applications in economics, electrical engineering, mechanical systems with constraints and optimal flow control.

[Birthing institutions and births in Norwegian counties in the early 1990s].

Science.gov (United States)

Bergsjø, P; Daltveit, A K

1996-05-20

Between 1972 and 1993 the number of hospitals and maternity homes providing obstetric help in Norway fell from 158 to 67. Most of the decline is explained by the closing down of maternity homes and obstetrical units in small hospitals, partly due to a reduction in number of births and partly to a deliberate drive towards giving birth in larger units. 16 of the 19 counties of Norway contained four or fewer obstetric institutions in 1993. Nevertheless, most of the 60,000 births took place in institutions with between 500 and 2,999 births annually. Births at home accounted for 0.3%, and births during transport for 0.2% of the total in 1990 and 1993.

Breech birth

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000623.htm Breech birth To use the sharing features on this page, ... safer for your baby to pass through the birth canal. In the last weeks of pregnancy, your ...

Normal Range of Head-to-body Delivery Interval by Two-step Delivery

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Hong-Yu Zhang

2016-01-01

Conclusions: The average time of head-to-body delivery interval was longer than 60 s by two-step delivery. Majority shoulders were delivered at the first contraction. Majority shoulders emerged from perineum rather from under pubic arch. The routine one-step method of shoulder delivery where the downward force applied is not necessary and is not the right direction. Baby's breath, making faces, sucking, bubble from noses and mouth, and the light blue color of the faces, all those signs during shoulder delivery indicated a normal live birth.

Discrete-time optimal control and games on large intervals

CERN Document Server

Zaslavski, Alexander J

2017-01-01

Devoted to the structure of approximate solutions of discrete-time optimal control problems and approximate solutions of dynamic discrete-time two-player zero-sum games, this book presents results on properties of approximate solutions in an interval that is independent lengthwise, for all sufficiently large intervals. Results concerning the so-called turnpike property of optimal control problems and zero-sum games in the regions close to the endpoints of the time intervals are the main focus of this book. The description of the structure of approximate solutions on sufficiently large intervals and its stability will interest graduate students and mathematicians in optimal control and game theory, engineering, and economics. This book begins with a brief overview and moves on to analyze the structure of approximate solutions of autonomous nonconcave discrete-time optimal control Lagrange problems.Next the structures of approximate solutions of autonomous discrete-time optimal control problems that are discret...

High Birth Weight Increases the Risk for Bone Tumor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Songfeng Chen

2015-09-01

Full Text Available There have been several epidemiologic studies on the relationship between high birth weight and the risk for bone tumor in the past decades. However, due to the rarity of bone tumors, the sample size of individual studies was generally too small for reliable conclusions. Therefore, we have performed a meta-analysis to pool all published data on electronic databases with the purpose to clarify the potential relationship. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 independent studies with more than 2796 cases were included. As a result, high birth weight was found to increase the risk for bone tumor with an Odds Ratio (OR of 1.13, with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI ranging from 1.01 to 1.27. The OR of bone tumor for an increase of 500 gram of birth weight was 1.01 (95% CI 1.00–1.02; p = 0.048 for linear trend. Interestingly, individuals with high birth weight had a greater risk for osteosarcoma (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.06–1.40, p = 0.006 than those with normal birth weight. In addition, in the subgroup analysis by geographical region, elevated risk was detected among Europeans (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.00–1.29, p = 0.049. The present meta-analysis supported a positive association between high birth weight and bone tumor risk.

Breast cancer and ages at first marriage and first birth: a new hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinlen, Leo J

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine available data on breast cancer and age at first marriage from a new perspective: that is, marriage involves the closest contact and contact effects are relevant to the question of infection, a possibility long considered in this disorder. The large Seven Country Study, carried out in 1964-1968, investigated age at first marriage; its reports were examined carefully for details of possible relevance. Intriguing gaps were noted in the grounds for the conclusion by this study that late age at first birth explained an earlier reported association with late age at marriage, with risks presented by age at first marriage for nulliparous, but not for parous, married women. Only in one centre, Glamorgan Wales, and only for two age groups could risks by combined ages at first marriage and first birth be derived. When both events occurred at age 30 or older, the risk estimate was 7.0 (95% confidence interval: 5.2, 9.1) relative to when both events occurred younger than age 20, whereas the corresponding risk was 1.4 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.8) when age at first birth was 30 or older but marriage was younger than age 30. The above findings are consistent with an effect of age at first marriage, and a basis in contacts or infection is considered plausible. However, other explanations may exist, and this report primarily aims to encourage examination of the subject in other datasets, particularly where intersexual contrasts in infective exposures have probably existed.

First birth and the trajectory of women's empowerment in Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Samari, Goleen

2017-11-08

Women's empowerment is often used to explain changes in reproductive behavior, but no consideration is given to how reproductive events can shape women's empowerment over time. Fertility may cause changes in women's empowerment, or they may be mutually influencing. Research on women's empowerment and fertility relies on cross-sectional data from South Asia, which limits the understanding of the direction of association between women's empowerment and fertility in other global contexts. This study uses two waves of a panel survey from a prominent Middle Eastern country, Egypt, to examine the trajectory of women's empowerment and the relationship between first and subsequent births and empowerment over time. Using longitudinal data from the 2006 and 2012 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey, a nationally representative sample of households in Egypt, for 4660 married women 15 to 49 years old, multilevel negative binomial, ordinary least squares, and logistic regression models estimate women's empowerment and consider whether a first and subsequent births are associated with empowerment later in life. Women's empowerment is operationalized through four measures of agency: individual household decision-making, joint household decision-making, mobility, and financial autonomy. A first birth and subsequent births are significantly positively associated with all measures of empowerment except financial autonomy in 2012. Women who have not had a birth make 30% fewer individual household decisions and 14% fewer joint household decisions in 2012 compared to women with a first birth. There is also a positive relationship with mobility, as women with a first birth have more freedom of movement compared to women with no births. Earlier empowerment is also an important predictor of empowerment later in life. Incorporating the influence of life events like first and subsequent births helps account for the possibility that empowerment is dynamic and that life course experiences shape

Sex-specific associations between birth weight and adult primary liver cancer in a large cohort of Danish children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zimmermann, Esther; Berentzen, Tina L.; Gamborg, Michael

2016-01-01

Whether the prenatal period is critical for the development of adult primary liver cancer (PLC) is sparsely investigated. Recently, attention has been drawn to potential sex-differences in the early origins of adult disease. We investigated the association between birth weight and adult PLC...... separately in men and women, using a large cohort of 217,227 children (51% boys), born from 1936 to 1980, from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, and followed them until 2010 in national registers. Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of PLC (30 years or older) were estimated by Cox...... regression models stratified by birth cohort. During 5.1 million person-years of follow-up, 185 men and 65 women developed PLC. Sex modified the association between birth weight and adult PLC (p-value for interaction=0.0005). Compared with a sex-specific reference group of birth weights between 3.25-3.75 kg...

Effect of training traditional birth attendants on neonatal mortality (Lufwanyama Neonatal Survival Project): randomised controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Christopher J; Phiri-Mazala, Grace; Guerina, Nicholas G; Kasimba, Joshua; Mulenga, Charity; MacLeod, William B; Waitolo, Nelson; Knapp, Anna B; Mirochnick, Mark; Mazimba, Arthur; Fox, Matthew P; Sabin, Lora; Seidenberg, Philip; Simon, Jonathon L; Hamer, Davidson H

2011-02-03

To determine whether training traditional birth attendants to manage several common perinatal conditions could reduce neonatal mortality in the setting of a resource poor country with limited access to healthcare. Prospective, cluster randomised and controlled effectiveness study. Lufwanyama, an agrarian, poorly developed district located in the Copperbelt province, Zambia. All births carried out by study birth attendants occurred at mothers' homes, in rural village settings. 127 traditional birth attendants and mothers and their newborns (3559 infants delivered regardless of vital status) from Lufwanyama district. Using an unblinded design, birth attendants were cluster randomised to intervention or control groups. The intervention had two components: training in a modified version of the neonatal resuscitation protocol, and single dose amoxicillin coupled with facilitated referral of infants to a health centre. Control birth attendants continued their existing standard of care (basic obstetric skills and use of clean delivery kits). The primary outcome was the proportion of liveborn infants who died by day 28 after birth, with rate ratios statistically adjusted for clustering. Secondary outcomes were mortality at different time points; and comparison of causes of death based on verbal autopsy data. Among 3497 deliveries with reliable information, mortality at day 28 after birth was 45% lower among liveborn infants delivered by intervention birth attendants than control birth attendants (rate ratio 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.90). The greatest reductions in mortality were in the first 24 hours after birth: 7.8 deaths per 1000 live births for infants delivered by intervention birth attendants compared with 19.9 per 1000 for infants delivered by control birth attendants (0.40, 0.19 to 0.83). Deaths due to birth asphyxia were reduced by 63% among infants delivered by intervention birth attendants (0.37, 0.17 to 0.81) and by 81% within the first two days

Birthweight and thinness at birth independently predict symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome in adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, M J; March, W A; Willson, K J; Giles, L C; Moore, V M

2012-05-01

The aetiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is unknown and contested. While it has been suggested that PCOS could have origins in perturbed development, epidemiological findings have been inconclusive. We aimed to examine potential fetal origins of PCOS. A retrospective birth cohort of 948 singleton female babies born at one hospital in South Australia in 1973-1975 was assembled. Birth characteristics were obtained from hospital records and PCOS symptoms were identified through interview and clinical examination when women were ~30 years old. Based on the combination of PCOS symptoms, women formed seven outcome groups. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to investigate associations between birth characteristics and these outcome groups. After adjusting for gestational age, two distinct birth characteristics were associated with two PCOS symptom groups. Each 100 g increase in birthweight increased the risk of hyperandrogenism (as a single symptom) in adulthood by 5% [relative risk ratio: 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.09]. In contrast, each one unit increase in the ponderal index at birth decreased the risk of all three key PCOS symptoms (hyperandrogenism, menstrual dysfunction and polycystic ovaries) by 21% (0.79, 95% CI: 0.66-0.93). These results suggest two discrete fetal programming pathways (related to high birthweight and to thinness at birth) are operating. Our findings point to differing aetiologies for symptom clusters, and inform the debate over symptoms that best represent the disorder.

Births: preliminary data for 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Brady E; Martin, Joyce A; Ventura, Stephanie J

2006-12-28

This report presents preliminary data for 2005 on births in the United States. U.S. data on births are shown by age, live-birth order, race, and Hispanic origin of mother. Data on marital status, cesarean delivery, preterm births, and low birthweight (LBW) are also presented. Data in this report are based on 99.2 percent of births for 2005. The records are weighted to independent control counts of all births received in state vital statistics offices in 2005. Comparisons are made with 2004 data. The crude birth rate in 2005 was 14.0 births per 1,000 total population, unchanged from 2004. The general fertility rate, however, rose to 66.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years in 2005, the highest level since 1993. The birth rate for teenagers declined by 2 percent in 2005, falling to 40.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years, the lowest ever recorded in the 65 years for which a consistent series of rates are available. The rate declined for teenagers 15-17 years to 21.4 births per 1,000, but was essentially stable for older teenagers 18-19 years. The birth rate for women aged 20-24 years rose in 2005, whereas the rate for women aged 25-29 years was essentially unchanged. The birth rates for women aged 30 years and over rose to levels not seen in almost 40 years. Childbearing by unmarried women increased to record levels for the Nation in 2005. The birth rate rose 3 percent to 47.6 births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15-44 years; the proportion of all births to unmarried women increased to 36.8 percent. The cesarean delivery rate rose by 4 percent in 2005 to 30.2 percent of all births, another record high for the Nation. The preterm birth rate continued to rise (to 12.7 percent in 2005) as did the rate for LBW births (8.2 percent).

Birth order and myopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Guggenheim, Jeremy A; McMahon, George; Northstone, Kate; Mandel, Yossi; Kaiserman, Igor; Stone, Richard A; Lin, Xiaoyu; Saw, Seang Mei; Forward, Hannah; Mackey, David A; Yazar, Seyhan; Young, Terri L; Williams, Cathy

2013-12-01

An association between birth order and reduced unaided vision (a surrogate for myopia) has been observed previously. We examined the association between birth order and myopia directly in four subject groups. Subject groups were participants in (1) the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; UK; age 15 years; N = 4401), (2) the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM; Singapore; age 13 years; N = 1959), (3) the Raine Eye Health Study (REHS; Australia; age 20 years; N = 1344), and (4) Israeli Defense Force Pre-recruitment Candidates (IDFC; Israel; age 16-22 years; N = 888,277). The main outcome was odds ratios (OR) for myopia in first-born versus non-first-born individuals after adjusting for potential risk factors. The prevalence of myopia was numerically higher in first-born versus non-first-born individuals in all study groups, but the strength of evidence varied widely. Adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals, CIs) were: ALSPAC, 1.31 (1.05-1.64); SCORM, 1.25 (0.89-1.77); REHS, 1.18 (0.90-1.55); and IDFC, 1.04 (1.03-1.06). In the large IDFC sample, the effect size was greater (a) for the first-born versus fourth- or higher-born comparison than for the first-born versus second/third-born comparison (p 4000 participants provided strong statistical support for the association. The available evidence suggested the relationship was independent of established risk factors such as time outdoors/reading, and thus may arise through a different causal mechanism.

Birth characteristics, maternal reproductive history, and the risk of infant leukemia: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Spector, Logan G; Davies, Stella M; Robison, Leslie L; Hilden, Joanne M; Roesler, Michelle; Ross, Julie A

2007-01-01

Leukemias with MLL gene rearrangements predominate in infants (birth weight, higher birth order, and prior fetal loss have, with varying consistency, been associated with infant leukemia, but no studies have reported results with respect to MLL status. Here, we report for the first time such an analysis. During 1999 to 2003, mothers of 240 incident cases (113 MLL(+), 80 MLL(-), and 47 indeterminate) and 255 random digit dialed controls completed a telephone interview. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for quartile of birth weight, birth order, gestational age, maternal age at delivery, prior fetal loss, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and weight gain during pregnancy were obtained using unconditional logistic regression; P for linear trend was obtained by modeling continuous variables. There was a borderline significant linear trend of increasing birth weight with MLL(+) (P = 0.06), but not MLL(-) (P = 0.93), infant leukemia. Increasing birth order showed a significant inverse linear trend, independent of birth weight, with MLL(+) (P = 0.01), but not MLL(-) (P = 0.18), infant leukemia. Other variables of interest were not notably associated with infant leukemia regardless of MLL status. This investigation further supports the contention that molecularly defined subtypes of infant leukemia have separate etiologies.

Evaluation of factors affecting birth weight and preterm birth in southern Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araz, N. C.

2013-01-01

Objective: To identify factors affecting birth weight and pre-term birth, and to find associations with electromagnetic devices such as television, computer and mobile phones. Methods: The study was conducted in Turkey at Gazintep University, Faculty of Medicine Outpatient Clinic at the Paediatric Ward. It comprised 500 patients who presented at the clinic from May to December 2009. All participants were administered a questionnaire regarding their pregnancy history. SPSS 13 was used for statistical analysis. Results: In the study, 90 (19%) patients had pre-term birth , and 64 (12.9%) had low birth weight rate Birth weight was positively correlated with maternal age and baseline maternal weight (r= 0.115, p= 0.010; r= 0.168, p=0.000, respectively). Pre-term birth and birth weight less than 2500g were more common in mothers with a history of disease during pregnancy (p=0.046 and p=0.008, respectively). The habit of watching television and using mobile phones and computer by mothers did not demonstrate any relationship with birth weight. Mothers who used mobile phones or computers during pregnancy had more deliveries before 37 weeks (p=0.018, p=0.034; respectively). Similarly, pregnancy duration was shorter in mothers who used either mobile phone or computers during pregnancy (p=0.005, p=0.048, respectively). Conclusion: Mobile phones and computers may have an effect on pre-term birth. (author)

Prediction of small-for-gestational-age neonate by third-trimester fetal biometry and impact of ultrasound-delivery interval.

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Reboul, Q; Delabaere, A; Luo, Z C; Nuyt, A-M; Wu, Y; Chauleur, C; Fraser, W; Audibert, F

2017-03-01

To compare third-trimester ultrasound screening methods to predict small-for-gestational age (SGA), and to evaluate the impact of the ultrasound-delivery interval on screening performance. In this prospective study, data were collected from a multicenter singleton cohort study investigating the links between various exposures during pregnancy with birth outcome and later health in children. We included women, recruited in the first trimester, who had complete outcome data and had undergone third-trimester ultrasound examination. Demographic, clinical and biological variables were also collected from both parents. We compared prediction of delivery of a SGA neonate (birth weight third trimesters (FGVAC). We also assessed the following ultrasound-delivery intervals: ≤ 4 weeks, ≤ 6 weeks and ≤ 10 weeks. Third-trimester ultrasound was performed in 1805 patients with complete outcome data, of whom 158 (8.8%) delivered a SGA neonate. Ultrasound examination was at a median gestational age of 32 (interquartile range, 31-33) weeks. The ultrasound-delivery interval was ≤ 4 weeks in 17.2% of cases, ≤ 6 weeks in 48.1% of cases and ≤ 10 weeks in 97.3% of cases. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUC) were 0.772 for Salomon AC, 0.768 for Hadlock EFW, 0.766 for Hadlock AC, 0.765 for Intergrowth AC, 0.708 for Gardosi EFW and 0.674 for FGVAC (all P Third-trimester ultrasound measurements provide poor to moderate prediction of SGA. A shorter ultrasound-delivery interval provides better prediction than does a longer interval. Further studies are needed to test the effect of including maternal or biological characteristics in SGA screening. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

BMI at birth and overweight at age four.

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Jonathan D; Taylor, Yhenneko; Mowrer, Lauren; Winter, Katherine M; Dulin, Michael F

Extensive investigation has established that an elevated weight at birth is associated with subsequent obesity and obesity related negative health outcomes. The significance of overweight at birth, however, remains ill-defined. Historically, it has been difficult to approximate adiposity in infancy in a way that is both simple and meaningful. Body-mass-index (BMI) growth charts for children younger than two years of age only became available in 2006 when published by the WHO. This retrospective cohort analysis utilised anthropometric data extracted from the electronic medical record of a large integrated healthcare system in North Carolina. BMI and weight-for-age (WFA) >85% of WHO growth charts measured newborn overweight and macrosomia respectively. Logistic regression models assessed the associations between newborn macrosomia and overweight and overweight at 4 years of age, as well as associations with maternal BMI. Models included demographic data, gestational age, and maternal diabetes status as covariates. Both BMI and WFA >85% at birth were significantly associated with overweight at age 4 years. However, the greater odds of overweight was associated with newborn BMI >85%, with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.08 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-3.08) versus 1.57 (95% CI: 1.08-2.27). Maternal obesity was also more robustly correlated with newborn BMI >85%, AOR of 4.14 (95% CI: 1.6-10.7), than with newborn WFA >85%, AOR of 3.09 (95% CI: 1.41-6.77). BMI >85% at birth is independently associated with overweight at 4 years. Newborn overweight is perhaps superior to newborn macrosomia in predicting overweight at age 4. Copyright © 2016 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epigenetic Consequences of Low Birth-Weight and Preterm Birth in Adult Twins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tan, Qihua

2018-01-01

could be detrimental to health later in life. Current epigenetic studies using genome-wide DNA methylation profiling have discovered molecular evidence confirming that, as important early life events, both low birth-weight and premature birth can result in long-lasting epigenetic consequences...... that impact health at adult ages. Results from our epigenome-wide association studies indicate that the two moderately correlated traits of adverse pregnancy outcome could be linked to increased susceptibility to different health problems with low birth-weight more relevant to metabolic disorders, while......Adverse birth outcomes including low birth-weight and preterm birth are associated with long-term morbidity and health consequences at adult ages. Molecular mechanisms including epigenetic modification may have been involved in the adaptation to the stressful condition in peridelivery period which...

Birth by cesarean section in relation to adult offspring overweight and biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, S; Halldorsson, T I; Olsen, S F

2018-01-01

insulin, leptin and adiponectin, and lipid concentrations. RESULTS: In the cohort, 7% were born by C-section, and at age 20 years, 18% of the offspring had a BMI ⩾25 kg m-2. Birth by C-section was associated with increased odds of overweight or obesity at 20 years (Odds ratio=2.17 (95% confidence interval...

Breastfeeding Trends Among Very Low Birth Weight, Low Birth Weight, and Normal Birth Weight Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Angela G; Miranda, Patricia Y

2018-05-18

To examine the change in breastfeeding behaviors over time, among low birth weight (LBW), very low birth weight (VLBW), and normal birth weight (NBW) infants using nationally representative US data. Univariate statistics and bivariate logistic models were examined using the Early Child Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (2001) and National Study of Children's Health (2007 and 2011/2012). Breastfeeding behaviors improved for infants of all birth weights from 2007 to 2011/2012. In 2011/2012, a higher percentage of VLBW infants were ever breastfed compared with LBW and NBW infants. In 2011/2012, LBW infants had a 28% lower odds (95% CI, 0.57-0.92) of ever breastfeeding and a 52% lower odds (95% CI, 0.38-0.61) of breastfeeding for ≥6 months compared with NBW infants. Among black infants, a larger percentage of VLBW infants were breastfed for ≥6 months (26.2%) compared with LBW infants (14.9%). Breastfeeding rates for VLBW and NBW infants have improved over time. Both VLBW and NBW infants are close to meeting the Healthy People 2020 ever breastfeeding goal of 81.9%. LBW infants are farther from this goal than VLBW infants. The results suggest a need for policies that encourage breastfeeding specifically among LBW infants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low birth weights and risk of neonatal mortality in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suparmi Suparmi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Latar Belakang: Angka kematian neonatal di Indonesia mengalami stagnansi sejak sepuluh tahun terakhir. Dalam rangka mengakselerasi penurunan angka kematian neonatal di Indonesia, intervensi spesifik diperlukan pada faktor utama penyebab kematian. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kontribusi berat badan lahir rendah terhadap kematian neonatal di Indonesia. Metode: Data Survei Demografi dan Kesehatan Indonesia tahun 2012 digunakan untuk analisis. Sejumlah 18021 kelahiran hidup dalam periode lima tahun terakhir telah dilaporkan oleh responden. Terdapat 14837 anak memiliki informasi lengkap untuk analisis. Adjusted relative risk dengan analisis survival digunakan untuk mengukur hubungan antara variable dengan kematian neonatal. Hasil: Anak yang lahir dengan berat badan rendah memiliki risiko 9.89 kali lebih tinggi untuk kematian neonatal bila dibandingkan dengan anak yang lahir dengan berat badan normal [adjusted relative risk (aRR = 9.89; 95% confidence interval (CI: 7.41 – 13.19; P = < 0.0001]. Anak yang lahir dari ibu berumur muda (15 - 19 tahun memiliki risiko 94% lebih tinggi bila dibandingkan dengan anak yang lahir dari ibu dengan umur antara 20-35 years. Anak dari ibu yang bekerja 81% memiliki risiko kematian neonatal lebih tinggi bila dibandingkan dengan anak yang lahir dari ibu tidak bekerja. Kesimpulan: Anak yang lahir dengan berat badan rendah dan lahir dari ibu muda memiliki risiko kematian neonatal lebih tinggi. Bayi yang lahir dengan berat badan rendah membutuhkan perawatan yang tepat untuk memperpanjang ketahanan hidup anak. (Health Science Journal of Indonesia 2016;7(2:113-117 Kata kunci: Berat badan lahir rendah, kematian neonatal, Indonesia Abstract Background: Neonatal mortality rates in Indonesia remain steady in the past decades (20 in 2002 to 19 per 1000 live births in 2012. In order to accelerate the decline in neonatal mortality rate in Indonesia, specific interventions would have to target key factors causing

Planned and unplanned home births and hospital births in Calgary, Alberta, 1984-87.

OpenAIRE

Abernathy, T J; Lentjes, D M

1989-01-01

Information collected on all home births in Calgary (Canada) between the years 1984 and 1987, was examined and analyzed according to whether the home birth environment had been planned or unplanned. The two groups were compared to each other and to all hospital births according to demographic characteristics of mothers, indicators of prenatal care, and birth outcome. Mothers who had planned their home birth were more likely to be primiparous, attend prenatal classes, obtain regular prenatal c...

Estimation of disease burdens on preterm births and low birth weights attributable to maternal fine particulate matter exposure in Shanghai, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Anni; Qian, Naisi; Yu, Huiting; Chen, Renjie; Kan, Haidong

2017-12-31

Studies have shown that maternal exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5 ) was associated with adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). However, the burdens of PTB and LBW attributable to PM 2.5 were rarely evaluated, especially in developing countries. To estimate the burdens of PTBs and LBWs attributable to outdoor PM 2.5 in Shanghai, China. We collected annual-average PM 2.5 concentrations, concentration-response relationships between PM 2.5 exposure during pregnancy and PTBs and LBWs, rates of PTB and LBW, number of live births, and population sizes in grids of 10km×10km in Shanghai in 2013. Then, they were combined to estimate the odds ratios (ORs), relative risks (RRs), attributable fractions (AFs), and numbers of PTBs and LBWs associated with PM 2.5 exposure. The population-weighted annual-average concentration of PM 2.5 in Shanghai was 56.19μg/m 3 in 2013. According to the first-class limit of PM 2.5 (15μg/m 3 ) in the Ambient Air Quality Standards of China, the weighted RRs of PTBs or LBWs associated with PM 2.5 in Shanghai were 1.49 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-1.80] and 1.31 (95% CI: 1.04-1.67), respectively. There might be 32.61% (95% CI: 13.93%-44.42%) or 4160 (95% CI: 1778-5667) PTBs and 23.36% (95% CI: 3.86%-40.02%) or 1882 (95% CI: 311-3224) LBWs attributable to PM 2.5 exposure. The estimates varied appreciably among different districts of Shanghai. Our analysis suggested that outdoor PM 2.5 air pollution might have led to considerable burdens of PTBs and LBWs in Shanghai, China. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The birth beliefs scale - a new measure to assess basic beliefs about birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Preis, Heidi; Benyamini, Yael

2017-03-01

Basic beliefs about birth as a natural and safe or a medical and risky process are central in the decisions on where and how to birth. Despite their importance, they have not been studied separately from other childbirth-related constructs. Our aim was to develop a measure to assess these beliefs. Pregnant Israeli women (N = 850, gestational week ≥14) were recruited in women's health centers, in online natural birth forums, and through home midwives. Participants filled in questionnaires including sociodemographic and obstetric background, the Birth Beliefs Scale (BBS), dispositional desire for control (DC) and planned mode of delivery. Factor analyses revealed that the BBS is composed of two factors: beliefs about birth as a natural process and beliefs about birth as a medical process. Both subscales showed good internal and test-retest reliability. They had good construct validity, predicted birth choices, and were weakly correlated with DC. Women's medical obstetric history was associated with the BBS, further supporting the validity of the scale. Beliefs about birth may be the building blocks that make up perceptions of birth and drive women's preferences. The new scale provides an easy way to distinctly assess them so they can be used to further understand planned birth behaviors. Additional studies are needed to comprehend how these beliefs form in different cultural contexts and how they evolve over time.

Birth weight and special educational needs: results of a population-based study in Berlin.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettge, Susanne; Oberwöhrmann, Sylke; Brockstedt, Matthias; Bührer, Christoph

2014-05-09

Preterm infants are at higher risk for developmental problems. The aim of this study is to quantify the relation between birth weight and special educational needs. We analyzed data from the pre-school examinations of 134 313 children in Berlin aged 5 to 6 who were examined between 2007 and 2011. Special educational needs were diagnosed in 8058 children (6.0%), 4943 (61%) of whom had weighed 3000 g or more at birth. The percentage of children with special educational needs rose steadily with decreasing birth weight (2250-2499 g, 9.2%; 1250-1499 g, 21.1%; less than 750 g, 35.6%). Logistic regression analysis yielded odds ratios and 99% confidence intervals for special educational needs that ranged from 1.32 [1.17-1.47] for birth weight 2750-2999 g to 12.83 [7.48-22.03] for birth weight less than 750 g. Further risk factors were male sex (1.88 [1.75-2.03]), low social status (5.96 [5.21-6.82]), an immigrant background associated with poor German language skills in the family (1.63 [1.43-1.86]), and being raised by a single parent (1.21 [1.12-1.31]). On the other hand, nursery school and/or kindergarten enrollment for at least two years before entering school (0.82 [0.73-0.91]) and an immigrant background with good German skills in the family (0.39 [0.34-0.45]) were associated with lower rates of special educational needs. The risk of special educational needs increases already with moderately decreased birth weight. The most important factor other than birth weight is the family's social status. Although children of very low birth weight have a much higher rate of special educational needs than other children, they still make up only a small percentage of all children with special educational needs.

Separate Influences of Birth Order and Gravidity/Parity on the Development of Systemic Sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

COCKRILL, TONYA; del JUNCO, DEBORAH J.; ARNETT, FRANK C.; ASSASSI, SHERVIN; TAN, FILEMON K.; McNEARNEY, TERRY; FISCHBACH, MICHAEL; PERRY, MARILYN; MAYES, MAUREEN D.

2010-01-01

Objective Birth order has been valuable in revealing the role of environmental influences on the risk of developing certain diseases such as allergy and atopy. In addition, pregnancy has profound effects on the immune system such as short-term effects that permit fetal survival as well as longer-term effects that could influence late-onset diseases. In order to better evaluate these influences, we studied the association of birth order and gravidity/parity as risk factors for systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma). Methods Data regarding SSc cases and their unaffected sibling controls were obtained from the Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository. The case-sibling design was used to minimize confounding due to differences in age, race, ethnicity, or calendar time. The gravidity/parity analysis was based on sibships with at least one SSc-affected and one unaffected sister. Results Birth order was examined in 974 sibships, comparing SSc cases (n = 987) with their unaffected siblings (n = 3,088). The risk of scleroderma increased with increasing birth order (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06–1.50 for birth order 2–5; OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.57–3.15 for birth order 6–9; and OR 3.53, 95% CI 1.68–7.45 for birth order 10–15). Gravidity/parity was analyzed in 168 sibships (256 unaffected sisters, 172 SSc cases). We found an association between a history of one or more pregnancies and SSc (OR 2.8). Conclusion Birth order and pregnancy were independently associated with a higher risk of developing SSc. These findings suggest that immune development in early childhood and/or pregnancy-associated events, including but not limited to microchimerism, plays a role in SSc susceptibility. PMID:20391489

Separate influences of birth order and gravidity/parity on the development of systemic sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockrill, Tonya; del Junco, Deborah J; Arnett, Frank C; Assassi, Shervin; Tan, Filemon K; McNearney, Terry; Fischbach, Michael; Perry, Marilyn; Mayes, Maureen D

2010-03-01

Birth order has been valuable in revealing the role of environmental influences on the risk of developing certain diseases such as allergy and atopy. In addition, pregnancy has profound effects on the immune system such as short-term effects that permit fetal survival as well as longer-term effects that could influence late-onset diseases. In order to better evaluate these influences, we studied the association of birth order and gravidity/parity as risk factors for systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma). Data regarding SSc cases and their unaffected sibling controls were obtained from the Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository. The case-sibling design was used to minimize confounding due to differences in age, race, ethnicity, or calendar time. The gravidity/parity analysis was based on sibships with at least one SSc-affected and one unaffected sister. Birth order was examined in 974 sibships, comparing SSc cases (n = 987) with their unaffected siblings (n = 3,088). The risk of scleroderma increased with increasing birth order (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06-1.50 for birth order 2-5; OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.57-3.15 for birth order 6-9; and OR 3.53, 95% CI 1.68-7.45 for birth order 10-15). Gravidity/parity was analyzed in 168 sibships (256 unaffected sisters, 172 SSc cases). We found an association between a history of one or more pregnancies and SSc (OR 2.8). Birth order and pregnancy were independently associated with a higher risk of developing SSc. These findings suggest that immune development in early childhood and/or pregnancy-associated events, including but not limited to microchimerism, plays a role in SSc susceptibility.

Birth weight and fetal growth in infants born to female hairdressers and their sisters.

Science.gov (United States)

Axmon, A; Rylander, L

2009-03-01

To investigate birth weight and fetal growth in female hairdressers, while controlling for intergenerational effects and effects related to childhood exposures. A cohort of women who had attended vocational schools for hairdressers were compared to their sisters with respect to birth weight and fetal growth (measured as small for gestational age (SGA) or large for gestational age (LGA), respectively) in their infants. In total, 6223 infants born to 3137 hairdressers and 8388 infants born to 3952 hairdressers' sisters were studied. Among the infants born to the hairdressers' sisters, the distribution of birth weights were wider than that among the infants born to the hairdressers. This was also reflected in that hairdresser cohort affiliation tended to be protective against both SGA (odds ratio 0.80; 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 1.31) and LGA (0.77; 0.54 to 1.09). For LGA, this effect was even more pronounced among women who had actually worked as hairdressers during at least one pregnancy (0.60; 0.39 to 0.92). The infants born to these women also had a significantly lower mean birth weight (3387 g vs 3419 g; p = 0.033). The results from the present study suggest that infants born to hairdressers have a decreased risk of being LGA. This is most likely not caused by a shift in birth weight distribution or abnormal glucose metabolism.

Vitamin D Status at Birth and Future Risk of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafsson, Peik; Rylander, Lars; Lindh, Christian H; Jönsson, Bo A G; Ode, Amanda; Olofsson, Per; Ivarsson, Sten A; Rignell-Hydbom, Anna; Haglund, Nils; Källén, Karin

2015-01-01

To investigate whether children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder have lower levels of Vitamin D3 at birth than matched controls. Umbilical cord blood samples collected at birth from 202 children later diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder were analysed for vitamin D content and compared with 202 matched controls. 25-OH vitamin D3 was analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. No differences in cord blood vitamin D concentration were found between children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (median 13.0 ng/ml) and controls (median 13.5 ng/ml) (p = 0.43). In a logistic regression analysis, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder showed a significant association with maternal age (odds ratio: 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.92-0.99) but not with vitamin D levels (odds ratio: 0.99, 95% confidence interval: 0.97-1.02). We found no difference in intrauterine vitamin D levels between children later developing Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and matched control children. However, the statistical power of the study was too weak to detect an eventual small to medium size association between vitamin D levels and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

PLANNED HOME BIRTH: A REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamara Serdinšek

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Home birth is as old as humanity, but still most middle- and high-income countries consider hospitals as the safest birth settings, as complications regarding birth are highly unpredictable. Despite this there are a few countries in which home birth in integrated into official healthcare system (the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada etc.. Home births can be divided into unplanned and planned, and the latter can be further categorized by the presence of the birth attendants. This review focuses on planned home births, which are differently represented throughout the world. In the United States 0.6-1.0% of all children are born at home, in the United Kingdom 2-3%, in Canada 1.6% and in the Netherlands 20-30%. For Slovenia, the number of planned home births is unknown; however, in 2010 0.1% of children were born outside medical facilities.Conclusions: The safety of home birth in still under the debate. While research confirms smaller number of obstetric interventions and some complications in mothers who give birth at home, the data regarding the neonatal and perinatal mortality and morbidity is still conflicting. This confirms the need for large multicentric trials in this field. Current home birth guidelines emphasize that women should be well informed regarding the possible advantages and disadvantages of home births. In addition, the emphasis is on definition of selection criteria for home birth, indications for intrapartal transfer to the hospital and appropriate education of birth attendants. 

The association between low level exposures to ambient air pollution and term low birth weight: a retrospective cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stieb David

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies in areas with relatively high levels of air pollution have found some positive associations between exposures to ambient levels of air pollution and several birth outcomes including low birth weight (LBW. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LBW among term infants and ambient air pollution, by trimester of exposure, in a region of lower level exposures. Methods The relationship between LBW and ambient levels of particulate matter up to 10 um in diameter (PM10, sulfur dioxide (SO2 and ground-level ozone (O3 was evaluated using the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database and ambient air monitoring data from the Environment Canada National Air Pollution Surveillance Network and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment. The cohort consisted of live singleton births (≥37 weeks of gestation between January1,1988 and December31,2000. Maternal exposures to air pollution were assigned to women living within 25 km of a monitoring station at the time of birth. Air pollution was evaluated as a continuous and categorical variable (using quartile exposures for each trimester and relative risks were estimated from logistic regression, adjusted for confounding variables. Results There were 74,284 women with a term, singleton birth during the study period and with exposure data. In the analyses unadjusted for year of birth, first trimester exposures in the highest quartile for SO2 and PM10suggested an increased risk of delivering a LBW infant (relative risk = 1.36, 95% confidence interval = 1.04 to 1.78 for SO2 exposure and relative risk = 1.33, 95% confidence interval = 1.02 to 1.74 for PM10. After adjustment for birth year, the relative risks were attenuated somewhat and not statistically significant. A dose-response relationship for SO2 was noted with increasing levels of exposure. No statistically significant effects were noted for ozone. Conclusion Our results suggest that exposure during the first

Birth prevalence of non-syndromic orofacial clefts in Saudi Arabia and the effects of parental consanguinity

Science.gov (United States)

Sabbagh, Heba J.; Innes, Nicola P.; Sallout, Bahauddin I.; Alamoudi, Najlaa M.; Hamdan, Mustafa A.; Alhamlan, Nasir; Al-Khozami, Amaal I.; Abdulhameed, Fatma D.; Al-Aama, Jumana Y.; Mossey, Peter A.

2015-01-01

Objectives: To describe the characteristics and prevalence of non-syndromic orofacial clefting (NSOFC) and assess the effects of parental consanguinity on NSOFC phenotypes in the 3 main cities of Saudi Arabia. Methods: All infants (114,035) born at 3 referral centers in Riyadh, and 6 hospitals in Jeddah and Madinah between January 2010 and December 2011 were screened. The NSOFC cases (n=133) were identified and data was collected through clinical examination and records, and information on consanguinity through parent interviews. The diagnosis was confirmed by reviewing medical records and contacting the infants’ pediatricians. Control infants (n=233) matched for gender and born in the same hospitals during the same period, were selected. Results: The prevalence of NSOFC was 1.07/1000 births in Riyadh, and 1.17/1000 births overall; cleft lip (CL) was 0.47/1000 births, cleft lip and palate (CLP) was 0.42/1000 births, and cleft palate (CP) was 0.28/1000 births. Cleft palate was significantly associated with consanguinity (p=0.047, odds ratio: 2.5, 95% confidence interval: 1 to 6.46), particularly for first cousin marriages. Conclusion: The birth prevalence of NSOFC in Riyadh alone, and in the 3 main cities of Saudi Arabia were marginally lower than the mean global prevalence. While birth prevalence for CLP was comparable to global figures, the CL:CLP ratio was high, and only CP was significantly associated with consanguinity. PMID:26318465

Birth prevalence of non-syndromic orofacial clefts in Saudi Arabia and the effects of parental consanguinity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heba J. Sabbagh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To describe the characteristics and prevalence of non-syndromic orofacial clefting (NSOFC and assess the effects of parental consanguinity on NSOFC phenotypes in the 3 main cities of Saudi Arabia. Methods: All infants (114,035 born at 3 referral centers in Riyadh, and 6 hospitals in Jeddah and Madinah between January 2010 and December 2011 were screened. The NSOFC cases (n=133 were identified and data was collected through clinical examination and records, and information on consanguinity through parent interviews. The diagnosis was confirmed by reviewing medical records and contacting the infants’ pediatricians. Control infants (n=233 matched for gender and born in the same hospitals during the same period, were selected. Results: The prevalence of NSOFC was 1.07/1000 births in Riyadh, and 1.17/1000 births overall; cleft lip (CL was 0.47/1000 births, cleft lip and palate (CLP was 0.42/1000 births, and cleft palate (CP was 0.28/1000 births. Cleft palate was significantly associated with consanguinity (p=0.047, odds ratio: 2.5, 95% confidence interval: 1 to 6.46, particularly for first cousin marriages. Conclusion: The birth prevalence of NSOFC in Riyadh alone, and in the 3 main cities of Saudi Arabia were marginally lower than the mean global prevalence. While birth prevalence for CLP was comparable to global figures, the CL:CLP ratio was high, and only CP was significantly associated with consanguinity.