What influences the timing of the introduction of solid food to infants?

The aim of the present study was to assess the factors which may influence the timing of the introduction of solid food to infants. The design was a prospective cohort study by interview and postal questionnaire. Primiparous women (n 541) aged between 16 and 40 years were approached in the Forth Park Maternity Hospital, Fife, Scotland.

UK study of intrapartum care for low risk primigravidas: a survey of interventions.

Study Objective: To determine the extent of intrapartum intervention received by primigravidas.

Design: Cross sectional survey of NHS hospitals in the UK.

Setting: One hundred and one randomly selected hospital maternity units.

Birth weight, childhood lower respiratory tract infection, and adult lung function.

Background: Historical cohort studies in England have found that impaired fetal growth and lower respiratory tract infections in early childhood are associated with lower levels of lung function in late adult life. These relations are investigated in a similar study in Scotland.

Methods: In 1985-86 a follow up study was carried out of 1070 children who had been born in St Andrew's from 1921 to 1935 and followed from birth to 14 years of age by the Mackenzie Institute for Medical Research.

Variations in cotinine levels in smokers during and after pregnancy.

Objective: To compare the antenatal and postnatal cotinine levels in smoking women after controlling for the differences in smoking practices.

Study Design: A paired comparison of two measurements of cotinine concentration was conducted in 40 smoking women voluntarily recruited in a prenatal education program held in La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain, during 1990 and 1991. Cotinine concentration was assayed by gas chromatography in samples of saliva obtained during and after pregnancy.