Health beliefs and parenting attitudes influence breastfeeding patterns among low-income African-American women.

OBJECTIVE: To describe breastfeeding initiation among 210 urban African-American mothers with inadequate prenatal care. METHODS: This study is a case-control study of postpartum mothers recruited from four large urban hospitals. RESULTS: Mothers who chose to breastfeed were more educated, employed before birth, married, and using contraception postnatally. Regression model analysis controlling for demographic differences revealed that breastfeeding was significantly associated with a higher perception of severity of illness and higher confidence in the ability of health care to prevent illness. Breastfeeding mothers were less likely to reverse parent-child roles and had a lower perception of hassle from their infant's behavior. When comparing mothers who breastfed longer than 8 weeks to those who did not breastfeed, breastfeeding mothers had high scores related to empathy toward infants on the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory as well as a low perception of hassle on the Parenting Daily Hassle. The perception of existing formal or informal social support did not influence breastfeeding behavior. CONCLUSION: Personal attributes of low-income urban mothers such as health beliefs and parental attitudes may play a role in the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Low-income African-American mothers may be influenced in their choice to breastfeed by supportive messages from physicians and nurses delivering care to mothers and their newborns. Emphasis should be placed on the role breastfeeding can play in preventing childhood illnesses.     

Does gender affect neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in low-birth-weight infants?

BACKGROUND: Neonatal mortality and morbidity are gender-biased in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants. The male disadvantage theory has been suggested to be responsible for these maturational differences. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of gender on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. DESIGN/METHODS: A retrospective observational study. Data on all LBW infants admitted to George Washington University neonatal intensive care unit and surviving for >48 hrs from January 1992 to March 2003 were analyzed. Males and females were compared for gestational age, birth weight, race, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 mins, peak bilirubin levels, sepsis, and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Significant differences were entered in a regression model to detect the influence of gender on bilirubin (Bili). Analysis was repeated after stratification of infants into: group A, <1000 g; group B, 1000-1499 g; and group C, 1500-2499 g. RESULTS: A total of 840 infants were included in this study. When comparing males (n = 407) with females (n = 433), significant differences were detected in birth weight (1,539 +/- 541 vs. 1,428 +/- 549 g; p = .003), IVH (14.2% vs. 9%; p = .025), and Bili (10.1 +/- 3.0 vs. 9.2 +/- 2.8 mg%; p < .001). No differences were detected in gestational age, sepsis, or Apgar 1 and 5. Difference in Bili for the entire group remained significant in the regression model (regression coefficient [RC] = 0.79 +/- 0.22; p < .001). In subgroup analyses: group A Bili (8.4 +/- 2.3 vs. 8.0 +/- 2.0; p = .14) and group B Bili (9.0 +/- 2.1 vs. 9.2 +/- 2.2; p = .51) did not differ in bivariate or multivariate analyses. In group C, Bili was (11.3 +/- 3.1 vs. 10.1 +/- 3.3; p < .001) and remained the only significant difference in the regression model (RC = 1.19 +/- 0.37; p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Bili in LBW infants is significantly higher in males when compared with females. After stratification to birth weight subgroups, significance is retained in the 1500- to 2499-g group after logistic regression analysis. Bili levels in infants <1500 g are influenced more significantly by factors other than gender, such as sepsis and IVH.     

Serum Leptin Elevation in Obese Women with PCOS: A Continuing Controversy

PURPOSE: To evaluate leptin levels in a sample of obese women with PCOS and compare the results with obese and non-obese control, to be ultimately correlated with BMI, and insulin sensitivity. METHODS: Leptin and insulin assays by immuno-radiometric method, glucose assay by enzymatic colorimetric method. RESULTS: Leptin levels were significantly different between obese and non-obese subjects, and were significantly different between insulin resistant and non-insulin resistant obese PCOS, but were not significantly different between obese non-insulin resistant PCOS, and obese controls. CONCLUSIONS: Body mass index and insulin resistance are the two main factors governing serum leptin levels.     

Reducing Psychosocial and Behavioral Pregnancy Risk Factors: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial Among High-Risk Pregnant African American Women

Objectives. We evaluated the efficacy of a primary care intervention targeting pregnant African American women and focusing on psychosocial and behavioral risk factors for poor reproductive outcomes (cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, depression, and intimate partner violence).Methods. Pregnant African American women (N = 1044) were randomized to an intervention or usual care group. Clinic-based, individually tailored counseling sessions were adapted from evidence-based interventions. Follow-up data were obtained for 850 women. Multiple imputation methodology was used to estimate missing data. Outcome measures were number of risks at baseline, first follow-up, and second follow-up and within-person changes in risk from baseline to the second follow-up.Results. Number of risks did not differ between the intervention and usual care groups at baseline, the second trimester, or the third trimester. Women in the intervention group more frequently resolved some or all of their risks than did women in the usual care group (odds ratio = 1.61; 95% confidence interval = 1.08, 2.39; P = .021).Conclusions. In comparison with usual care, a clinic-based behavioral intervention significantly reduced psychosocial and behavioral pregnancy risk factors among high-risk African American women receiving prenatal care.Adverse pregnancy outcomes are particularly common among women who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups.^1–4 African American infants are 3.4 times more likely than are White infants to die in the neonatal period, a disadvantage that persists even when mothers have appropriately early and equal access to prenatal care.⁵ In Washington, DC, death rates among non-Hispanic African American infants remain unacceptably high (17.0 per 1000 live births in 2005) despite an overall decline in infant mortality from 18.6 per 1000 live births in 1992 to 14.0 per 1000 births in 2005.⁶ Psychosocial and behavioral risks are recognized as potential contributors to poor reproductive outcomes.^7–9 Poverty,¹⁰ limited social support,¹¹ smoking,¹² illicit drug use,¹³ depression,¹⁴ anxiety,^14,15 and intimate partner violence (IPV)^16,17 are all associated to varying degrees with pregnancy complications, premature and low-birthweight deliveries, stillbirths, and infant mortality.There is increasing recognition of the role of primary care in screening, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral, mental health, and psychosocial concerns,^18–27 because of the significant association between medical morbidity and behavioral and mental health problems.²⁸ Although interventions involving primary care providers may have limited success, they can be cost-effective.^18,24 Because access to and use of behavioral and mental health care remain problematic, especially among members of underserved minority groups,^29–32 making such care available through primary care services may avert missed opportunities.Prenatal care may be a venue to address behavioral and mental health issues that can potentially affect the health of pregnant women and their unborn children.³³ The guidelines of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of Pediatrics^34,35 suggest ways primary care providers can screen for behavioral and psychosocial risk factors. Despite these guidelines, many providers still fail to screen pregnant women,^35–38 with screening rates varying according to type of provider,^36,39 risk factors,³⁶ population group,⁴⁰ and provider risk perceptions.⁴¹ Furthermore, when implemented, psychosocial and behavioral interventions have been only moderately successful.^42,43Such inconsistent results may arise from multiple factors, including differences in study design, participant engagement, and intervention content or implementation, including approaches that address only 1 of multiple, co-occurring psychosocial or behavioral risk factors. Behavioral and psychosocial factors associated with poor pregnancy outcomes are related to and serve as risk factors for one another⁴⁴; therefore, an alternative approach would be to provide an intervention simultaneously addressing multiple psychosocial and behavioral risk factors among pregnant women, as has been done in relation to other health risks.^45–47A recent study focusing on 3569 Medicaid-eligible pregnant women examined the effects of the Prenatal Plus Program in Colorado with respect to smoking, inadequate prenatal weight gain, and “psychosocial problems” (defined as “significant or severe stress as a result of personal or family safety needs, lack of support systems, or an inability to meet basic needs”).^48(p1955) Women who had at least 10 Prenatal Plus visits were more likely than were women who did not to reduce these risks; in addition, only 7.0% of women who resolved all of their risks delivered low-birthweight infants, whereas 13.2% of those who resolved none of their risks did so. In spite of these promising results, the nonexperimental nature of the Colorado study may have created unquantifiable biases favoring the intervention.Moreover, only 4% of all births in Colorado, and 7% of Prenatal Plus deliveries, occurred among African American women, the group at greatest risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Thus, further experimental investigations in which rigorous randomized trial designs are used to assess vulnerable African American women are needed to better appreciate the potential merits of an integrated intervention focusing on psychosocial and behavioral risk factors during pregnancy.We conducted a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of an integrated intervention targeting multiple behavioral and psychosocial risk factors among pregnant African American women in the District of Columbia. The risk factors we chose to address were cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, depression, and IPV.     

Pregnancy intentions and happiness among pregnant black women at high risk for adverse infant health outcomes

CONTEXT: Unintended pregnancy is associated with risk behaviors and increased morbidity or mortality for mothers and infants, but a woman's feelings about pregnancy may be more predictive of risk and health outcomes than her intentions. METHODS: A sample of 1,044 black women who were at increased risk were enrolled at prenatal care clinics in the District of Columbia in 2001-2003. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed associations between pregnancy intentions or level of happiness about being pregnant and multiple psychosocial and behavioral risk factors, and identified correlates of happiness to be pregnant. RESULTS: Pregnancy intentions and happiness were strongly associated, but happiness was the better predictor of risk. Unhappy women had higher odds than happy women of smoking, being depressed, experiencing intimate partner violence, drinking and using illicit drugs (odds ratios, 1.7-2.6). The odds of being happy were reduced among women who had other children or a child younger than two, who were single or did not have a current partner, who had had more than one sexual partner in the past year and who reported that the baby's father did not want the pregnancy (0.3-0.6). In contrast, the odds of being happy were elevated among women who had better coping strategies (1.03), who had not used birth control at conception (1.6) and who had 1-2 household members, rather than five or more (2.1). CONCLUSIONS: Additional psychosocial screening for happiness about being pregnant and for partner characteristics, particularly the father's desire to have this child, may help improve prenatal care services and prevent adverse health outcomes.     

Association of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and hypercarbia in ventilated infants with birth weights of 500-1,499 g

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be a major pulmonary complication in very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) survivors of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Many factors including partial pressures of carbon dioxide (PaCO: (2)) have been implicated as possible causes. Permissive hypercapnia has become a more common practice in ventilated infants, but its effect on BPD is unclear. The hypothesis of this study was that hypercarbia is associated with increased BPD in infants with birth weights of 500-1,499 g. Nine hospitals were involved in this observational cohort study. Maternal and infant information including socio-demographics, antenatal steroids, gender, race, gestational age, birth weight, intubation and ventilator status, physiologic variables and data on therapies were collected by chart abstraction. SNAP scores were assigned. Candidate BPD risk factors, including cumulative exposures derived from blood gas and ventilation data in the first 6 days of life, were identified. Risk models were developed for 425 preterm infants who survived to 36 weeks post-menstrual age. BPD occurrence was associated with the cumulative burden of MAP >0 cm H(2)O in the first 6 days of life (P < 0.0001). After adjustment for the burden of MAP, the occurrence of hypercarbia (PaCO: (2) >50 torr) was associated with a greater incidence of BPD (P = 0.024). Among 293 intubated, mechanically ventilated infants, those with hypercarbia occurring only when MAP ≤ 8 cm H(2)O, a scenario more comparable to permissive hypercapnia, also had increased BPD incidence compared to infants without hypercarbia (P = 0.0003). Hypercarbia during the first 6 days of life was associated with increased incidence of BPD in these infants. Mechanically ventilated infants with hypercarbia during low MAP also had a significant increase in BPD. Permissive hypercapnia in ventilated infants needs further close review before the practice becomes even more widespread.     

Relationships Between Self-Reported Smoking,Household Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Depressive Symptoms in a Pregnant Minority Population

This study sought to examine relationships between depressive symptoms and prenatal smoking and/or household environmental tobacco smoke exposure (HH-ETSE) among urban minority women. We analyzed private, audio computer-assisted self interview data from a clinic-based sample of 929 minority pregnant women in Washington, DC. Depressive symptoms were assessed via the Beck Depression Inventory Fast Screen. HH-ETSE, current smoking, and former smoking were assessed via self-report. Depression levels and demographic characteristics were compared: (1) among nonsmokers, for those reporting HH-ETSE versus no HH-ETSE; and (2) among smokers, for those reporting current smoking (in last 7 days) versus former smokers. Measures associated with HH-ETSE/current smoking in bivariate analysis at P < 0.20 were included in adjusted logistic regression models. HH-ETSE, as a possible indicator of a social smoking network, was assessed as a mediator for the relationship between depression and current smoking. Results: Non-smokers reporting moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms showed significantly higher adjusted odds of prenatal HH-ETSE (AOR 2.5, 95% CI [1.2, 5.2]). Smokers reporting moderate-to-severe or mild depressive symptoms showed significantly higher adjusted odds of current smoking (AOR 1.9, 95% CI [1.1, 3.5] and AOR 1.8, 95% CI [1.1, 3.1], respectively). Among smokers, HH-ETSE was a significant mediator for the association between moderate-to-severe symptoms and current smoking. In conclusion, health care providers should be aware that depressed urban minority women are at risk of continued smoking/HH-ETSE during pregnancy. Interventions designed to encourage behavior change should include screening for depression, and build skills so that women are better able to address the social environment.     

Understanding the association of biomedical, psychosocial and behavioral risks with adverse pregnancy outcomes among African-Americans in Washington, DC

This study investigates the relationship between adverse pregnancy outcomes in high-risk African American women in Washington, DC and sociodemographic risk factors, behavioral risk factors, and the most common and interrelated medical conditions occurring during pregnancy: diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Data are from a randomized controlled trial conducted in 6 prenatal clinics. Women in their 1st or 2nd trimester were screened for behavioral risks (smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression, and intimate partner violence) and demographic eligibility. 1,044 were eligible, interviewed and followed through their pregnancies. Classification and Regression Trees (CART) methodology was used to: (1) explore the relationship between medical and behavioral risks (reported at enrollment), sociodemographic factors and pregnancy outcomes; (2) identify the relative importance of various predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes; and (3) characterize women at the highest risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. The strongest predictors of poor outcomes were prepregnancy BMI, preconceptional diabetes, employment status, intimate partner violence, and depression. In CART analysis, preeclampsia was the first splitter for low birthweight; preconceptional diabetes was the first splitter for preterm birth (PTB) and neonatal intensive care admission; BMI was the first splitter for very PTB, large for gestational age, Cesarean section and perinatal death; employment was the first splitter for miscarriage. Preconceptional factors strongly influence pregnancy outcomes. For many of these women, the high risks they brought into pregnancy were more likely to impact their pregnancy outcomes than events during pregnancy.     

The Salzburg Statement on Vaccination Acceptance

Immunization represents one of the greatest public health achievements. Vaccines save lives, make communities more productive and strengthen health systems. They are critical to attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Vaccination also represents value for investment in public health. It is undisputedly one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease, each year preventing 2–3 million deaths globally.

We the concerned scientists, public health professionals, physicians, and child health advocates issue this Salzburg Statement along with the International Working Group on Vaccination and Public Health Solutions, proclaiming our unwavering commitment to universal childhood vaccination, and our pledge to support the development, testing, implementation, and evaluation of new, effective, and fact-based communication programs.

Our goal is to explain vaccinations to parents or caregivers, answer their questions, address their concerns, and maintain public confidence in the personal, family and community protection that childhood vaccines provide. Every effort will also be made to communicate the dangers associated with these childhood illnesses to parents and communities since this information seems to have been lost in the present-day narrative. While vaccine misinformation has led to serious declines in community vaccination rates that require immediate attention, in other communities, particularly in low-income countries, issues such as lack of access. and unstable supply of vaccines need to be addressed.     

Prenatal care reduces the impact of illicit drug use on perinatal outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent that prenatal care (PNC) retains its protective influence against prematurity, low birth weight (LBW), and small for gestational age (SGA) status in infants exposed to illicit drug use (IDU) in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort analysis including 6673 women residents of the District of Columbia (Washington, DC, USA) delivering at four city hospitals. Women were screened in the immediate postpartum period. Levels of PNC were established according to American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology guidelines and the Kotelchuck index. PNC and IDU were compared between subgroups. Adjusted relative risks for prematurity, LBW and SGA, controlling for maternal and gestational ages, were calculated in different groups according to IDU and level of PNC. RESULTS: IDU was identified in 13% of mothers screened. PNC was classified as none (6%), inadequate (10%), intermediate (20%), and adequate (64%). The highest risk for prematurity, LBW, or SGA occurred in infants born to mothers with no PNC and positive IDU in pregnancy (prematurity OR=12.05, 95% CI: 8.99 to 16.16; LBW OR=14.76, 95% CI: 11.03 to 19.75; SGA OR=9.20, 95% CI: 5.32 to 15.92). As PNC levels increased, significant reductions in risk for prematurity and LBW (not for SGA) in IDU-exposed infants were observed. Risk for SGA in IDU-exposed infants reduced significantly when PNC was introduced. CONCLUSIONS: In infants exposed to IDU, a reduction in risk for prematurity, LBW, and SGA, was consistently demonstrated with improved levels of PNC. In high-risk populations, health care should seek to reach mothers early, especially those identified at risk for IDU, and deliver PNC to them effectively.