Maternal persistent marijuana use and cigarette smoking are independently associated with shorter gestational age.

Background: Research assessing the effects of marijuana use on preterm birth has found mixed results, in part, due to lack of attention to the role of maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy.

Objectives: The study objective was to investigate whether maternal marijuana use was independently associated with gestational age, preterm birth, and two preterm birth subtypes (spontaneous vs clinician-initiated).

Methods: Participants included 8261 mother-newborn pairs from the Boston Birth Cohort.

Polydrug Use During Pregnancy and Preterm Birth in a Low-Income, Multiethnic Birth Cohort, Boston, 1998-2018.

Objective: The opioid epidemic in the United States increasingly affects women of reproductive age and has resulted in a rise in concurrent polydrug use. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of this polydrug use on preterm birth in a multiethnic birth cohort.

Methods: We analyzed data from 8261 mothers enrolled in the Boston Birth Cohort from 1998 to 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Association Between Maternal Exposure to Lead, Maternal Folate Status, and Intergenerational Risk of Childhood Overweight and Obesity.

Importance: The first pediatric lead screening typically occurs at 1-year well-child care visits. However, data on the extent of maternal lead exposure and its long-term consequences for child health are lacking.

Objective: To investigate the associations between maternal red blood cell (RBC) lead levels and intergenerational risk of overweight or obesity (OWO) and whether adequate maternal folate status is associated with a reduction in OWO risk.

Free Tax Services in Pediatric Clinics.

Objectives: The earned income tax credit (EITC), refundable monies for America's working poor, is associated with improved child health. Yet, 20% of eligible families do not receive it. We provided free tax preparation services in clinics serving low-income families and assessed use, financial impact, and accuracy.

Differential effects of stress and African ancestry on preterm birth and related traits among US born and immigrant Black mothers.

Preterm birth (PTB, <37 weeks of gestation) is influenced by a wide range of environmental, genetic and psychosocial factors, and their interactions. However, the individual and joint effects of genetic factors and psychosocial stress on PTB have remained largely unexplored among U.S.

Specialized care of overweight children in community health centers.

We have developed a new approach to child obesity that supports the delivery of so-called secondary care-referral-based specialized visits-by primary care teams within community health centers. The Healthy Weight Clinic reorganizes care to provide access to a trained team consisting of a pediatric provider, nutritionist, and case manager during dedicated weight management visits. Our model improves obesity care by promoting local specialization and increasing capacity for specialized care; building multidisciplinary teams within primary care; focusing on health behavior change as a critical determinant of chronic disease outcomes; and using health information technology to promote high-quality care.

Primary care pediatricians' roles and perceived responsibilities in the identification and management of maternal depression.

Objective: To describe the attitudes and approaches of primary care pediatricians in the identification and management of postpartum and other maternal depression.

Methods: A national survey of randomly selected primary care pediatricians reported their management of the last recalled case of postpartum or other maternal depression, barriers to care, their attitudes about recognition and management, confidence in skills, and their willingness to implement new strategies to improve care.

Results: Of 888 eligible primary care pediatricians, 508 (57%) completed surveys.

Neonatal Neurobehavioral and Neuroanatomic Correlates of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Problems of Dose and Confounding.

Complex methodologic challenges face researchers studying the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on infant outcome. These include unavoidable imprecision in ascertaining the gestational timing and dose of cocaine to which the fetus was exposed and difficulties in identifying and quantifying the confounding, mediating, and moderating variables. Review of research on neonatal behavioral and cranial ultrasound findings following in utero cocaine exposure is used to illustrate these issues.