[Sensitivity and specificity of epidemiological criteria for the case definition of congenital syphilis in a retrospective cohort in BrazilSensibilidad y especificidad de los criterios epidemiológicos para la definición de los casos de sífilis congénita en una cohorte retrospectiva en Brasil].

Objective: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of the modified criteria for case definition of congenital syphilis implemented in 2017, which excluded treatment of the sexual partner as a necessary condition for adequate maternal treatment.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved epidemiological monitoring of 503 children born in 2018 and living in Porto Alegre, Brazil: 412, including miscarriages and stillbirths, had been reported as congenital syphilis cases; 91, who had been exposed to syphilis during pregnancy, were no longer considered cases after partner treatment was excluded as a criterion for adequate maternal treatment. The study involved observation of treatment at birth, laboratory follow-up with non-treponemal tests up to age 18 months or treponemal tests after age 18 months, and symptom-based screening for cohort closure.

What is the influence of maternal weight gain in different gestational clinical conditions on the prole weight in pre-school age?

The aim of the current study was to assess the influence of maternal weight gain in different clinical gestational conditions on the child's weight at pre-school age. This was a longitudinal observational study of a prospective and controlled multiple cohort of 372 mother-child pairs with four causal groups of different adverse intrauterine environments (smoking, diabetic, hypertensive and intrauterine growth-restricted pregnant women) and a control group, in the period of, from 2011 to 2016 in three hospitals in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Sociodemographic, prenatal and perinatal data were analysed.

Mother-infant bonding: The role of postpartum depression, violence, and bonding established with one's own mother during childhood.

Mother-infant bonding is influenced by several risk and protective factors, and the literature has investigated the relationships between these factors independently. This study aimed to verify the interrelationships of some of these factors and how they influence mother-infant bonding in Brazil. In this study, 361 mothers participated, and the outcome variable of mother-infant bonding was assessed using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ).

Breast milk leptin concentrations and infant anthropometric indicators in SGA versus non-SGA breastfed infants born at term.

Leptin concentrations in breast milk can influence metabolic programming during the first months of life. Small for gestational age (SGA) newborns show a peculiar growth pattern after birth, which can lead to adulthood diseases. This study aims to assess an association between leptin concentration in mature breast milk and the infant anthropometric indicators of the SGA and the non-SGA groups, in addition, to comparing the hormone level between these groups.

Different intrauterine environments and children motor development in the first 6 months of life: a prospective longitudinal cohort.

This prospective cohort longitudinal study examines the risk factors associated with different intrauterine environments and the influence of different intrauterine environments on children's motor development at 3- and 6-months of life. Participants were 346 mother/newborn dyads enrolled in the first 24 to 48 h after delivery in public hospitals. Four groups with no concurrent condition composed the sample: mothers with a clinical diagnosis of diabetes, mothers with newborns small for gestational age due to idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), mothers who smoked tobacco during gestation, and a control group composed of mothers without clinical condition.

Maternal diet quality and associations with body composition and diet quality of preschool children: A longitudinal study.

Background: Nutrition, associated with nutritional status, influences the growth of children. This study aimed to identify the association between maternal diet quality and the diet and body composition of their children.

Methods: This is a prospective longitudinal study with mother-child pairs.

Does early fruit juice introduction influence anthropometric outcomes and food consumption at preschool age?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fruit juice consumption before 6 months of age on Body Mass Index-for-age (BMI-for-age) and food consumption in preschoolers. We conducted a longitudinal study with mothers and their children (n=103) at 6 months and 3-6 years. Weight and height were measured and converted into BMI-for-age z-scores.

Prevalence of Congenital Anomaly and Its Relationship with Maternal Education and Age According to Local Development in the Extreme South of Brazil.

Congenital anomalies (CA) contribute to disabilities and health conditions throughout life. Furthermore, they can cause emotional distress to the mothers and children, who may also experience limitations in individual and social development. This study investigated the prevalence of CA and the relationship with maternal education and age according to local development in the extreme south of Brazil.

The Impact of Maternal Syphilis and Associated Factors on HIV Vertical Transmission.

Maternal syphilis may increase HIV vertical transmission or it may be a marker of other risk factors. In a Brazilian historical series, HIV vertical transmission risk was higher in newborns exposed to maternal syphilis-HIV co-infection than in newborns exposed to maternal HIV infection alone. Maternal syphilis was a risk factor for HIV vertical transmission independent of education and prenatal visits but not independent of maternal elevated HIV viral loads or inadequate maternal antiretroviral treatment.

Telomere length in healthy newborns is not affected by adverse intrauterine environments.

Different intrauterine exposures are associated with different metabolic profiles leading to growth and development characteristics in children and also relate to health and disease patterns in adult life. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of four different intrauterine environments on the telomere length of newborns. This is a longitudinal observational study using a convenience sample of 222 mothers and their term newborns (>37 weeks of gestational age) from hospitals in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), from September 2011 to January 2016.

Linkage Between 2 Information Systems: Combined Live Births and Food and Nutrition Surveillance as a Public Health Tool for Investigation of the Determinants of Obesity Among Children and Adolescents in Southern Brazil.

Background: Childhood obesity has been growing steadily, at an earlier age, and currently comprises a public health issue. A number of studies have pointed to perinatal factors as possible determinants in the development of childhood obesity.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of perinatal factors on the development of obesity in children and adolescents in southern Brazil.

Infant processed food consumption and their interaction to breastfeeding and growth in children up to six months old.

Background: Evidences suggest that early processed food (PF) consumption may cause harm to infant health. During the first 6 months of life, it is not known whether the timing and quantity of this food group can impact breastfeeding and growth. The aim of the study was to analyze the associations between time of introduction and quantity of infant PF consumption with duration of breastfeeding and infant growth at 6 months of age.

The influence of the municipal human development index and maternal education on infant mortality: an investigation in a retrospective cohort study in the extreme south of Brazil.

Background: Infant mortality is considered an important and sensitive health indicator in several countries, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. Most of the factors influencing infant mortality are interrelated and are the result of social issues. Therefore, this study performed an investigation of the influence of the MHDI and maternal education on infant mortality in a capital in the extreme south of Brazil.

Can parity influence infant feeding in the first six months of life?

This article aims to evaluate the influence of parity on breastfeeding and introduction of complementary feeding in children up to six months after childbirth. Longitudinal study conducted through a convenience sample of mother-child pairs, selected at postpartum and accompanied until the sixth month of infant's life, between 2011 and 2016, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. There was an analysis of the time taken in the first feeding after birth, practice and time of breastfeeding, consumption of other types of milk and introduction of complementary feeding.

Does domestic violence during pregnancy influence the beginning of complementary feeding?

Background: This study investigate the influence of domestic violence against pregnant women on early complementary feeding and associated factors.

Methods: A longitudinal observational study was conducted with a convenience sample recruited from three public hospitals in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data on maternal age, education, marital status, breastfeeding, introduction of complementary feeding and domestic violence during pregnancy were investigated at four follow-ups points.

Inequalities in birth weight and maternal education: a time-series study from 1996 to 2013 in Brazil.

Maternal education represents one of the most important social determinants of inequality in birth weight (BW) in developing countries. The present study sought to investigate secular trends in health inequality considering the difference in mean BW between extremes of maternal educational attainment in Brazil. Using a time-series design, data from 6,452,551 live births which occurred in all Brazilian state capitals from 1996 to 2013 were obtained from the Information System on Live Births.

Risk Factors for Neonatal Mortality in Preterm Newborns in The Extreme South of Brazil.

Neonatal mortality still remains a complex challenge to be addressed. In Brazil, 60% of neonatal deaths occur among preterm infants with a gestational age of 32 weeks or less (≤32w). The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors involved in the high mortality rates among newborns with a gestational age ≤32w in a socioeconomically developed southern city in Brazil.

Influence of intra- and extrauterine factors on infant sleep in the first 6 months of life.

Objective: Infant sleep problems can affect the child's health. Maternal characteristics have been associated with the quality of infant sleep, but few studies have investigated the impact of intrauterine conditions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between adverse intrauterine environments (maternal smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and intrauterine growth restriction) and extrauterine factors on infant sleep in the first 6 months of life.

The relationship between the different low birth weight strata of newborns with infant mortality and the influence of the main health determinants in the extreme south of Brazil.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) newborns present different health outcomes when classified in different birth weight strata. This study evaluated the relationship of birth weight with Infant mortality (IM) through the influence of biological, social, and health care factors in a time series.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study with data collected from Information Systems (Live Births and Mortality).

Impact of Perinatal Different Intrauterine Environments on Child Growth and Development: Planning and Baseline Data for a Cohort Study.

Background: Several studies have shown that exposure of the fetus and newborn to prenatal and perinatal events, respectively, may influence the health outcomes of the child throughout their life cycle.

Objective: This study aimed to increase the knowledge on the impact of different intrauterine environments on child growth and development, as we know that pregnancy and early years are a window of opportunity for health promotion and prevention interventions of diseases.

Methods: The recruitment occurred 24 to 48 hours after delivery and involved mothers and their newborns in 2 public hospitals in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from December 2011 to January 2016.

Maternal Weight Variation in Different Intrauterine Environments: An Important Role of Hypertension.

Objective:  Different intrauterine environments may influence the maternal prepregnancy body weight (BW) variation up to 6 months postpartum. The objective of the present study was to verify the association of sociodemographic, obstetric, nutritional, and behavioral factors with weight variation in women divided into four groups: hypertensive (HM), diabetic (DM), smokers (SM), and control mothers (CM).

Methods:  It was a convenience sample of 124 postpartum women recruited from 3 public hospitals in the city of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between 2011 and 2016.

Could a remarkable decrease in leptin and insulin levels from colostrum to mature milk contribute to early growth catch-up of SGA infants?

Background: Breast milk is known to contain many bioactive hormones and peptides, which can influence infant growth and development. In this context, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of different clinical pregnancy conditions on hormone concentrations in colostrum and mature breast milk.

Methods: An observational study was performed with mother-newborn pairs divided into five groups according to maternal clinical background: diabetes (12), hypertension (5), smoking (19), intrauterine growth restriction of unknown causes with small-for-gestational-age newborns at delivery (12), and controls (21).

Somatic growth in the first six months of life of infants exposed to maternal smoking in pregnancy.

Background: Some studies suggest a relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and not only intrauterine fetal growth restriction or low birth weight, but also with changes in the postnatal growth and development. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of smoking during pregnancy on infants growth in the first 6 months of life compared with a control group and a group with idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction.

Methods: Longitudinal observational study using a convenience sample of newborns divided into three groups: infants of smoking mothers (tobacco), with idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and a control group.