Effects of breastfeeding on weight loss and recovery of pregestational weight in adolescent and adult mothers.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in adolescent mothers has been associated with greater postpartum maternal weight loss.

Objective: To assess the associations between EBF and weight loss in adolescent and adult mothers and between EBF and weight and length gain of their children.

Methods: A cohort of 68 adolescent mothers (15 to 19 years), 64 adult mothers (20 to 29 years), and their infants were studied.

Antenatal iron supplements consumed daily produce oxidative stress in contrast to weekly supplementation in Mexican non-anemic women.

Unlabelled: Universal prenatal daily supplementation with iron (60-120mg iron) plus folic acid (0.4mg), as recommended by INACG/WHO/UNICEF, prevents anemia where iron deficiency is prevalent but may be excessive for non-anemic women. Weekly supplementation with 120mg iron plus various amounts of folic acid similarly prevents significant anemia.

[Adolescents increase to more gestational weight and fat than adults according to BMI pre-gestational].

Introduction: The excessive gestational weight gain predisposes to overweight and obesity postpartum, this becomes a worldwide public health problem.

Objective: To analyze gestational weight pattern and body fat in adolescents and adult women, to identify the group that would have major weight and body fat gain.

Material And Methods: A prospective cohort study done in 64 adolescent < or = 18 years and 48 adult women.

No changes in weight and body fat in lactating adolescent and adult women from Mexico.

Objective: To evaluate changes in weight and body fat of Mexican adolescent compared to those of adult lactating women from the Northwest (NM) and Central (CM) regions of Mexico in the first trimester postpartum.

Methods: A prospective design was used to evaluate 41 exclusively breastfeeding women (21 adolescents and 20 adults) recruited 1-2 days after delivering a healthy singleton at the Hospital Infantil del Estado de Sonora (Northwest Mexico) and Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, in Mexico City. Socioeconomic status, height, body weight and composition, dietary intake, physical activity, and milk volume (quantified by deuterium dilution method) were measured at the 1st and 3rd month postpartum.

[Adolescents do not lose bone mineral density postpartum: comparative study with adult women].

Objective: To analyze the pattern of bone mineral density (BMD), serum concentrations of estradiol and calcium levels, dietary calcium, body mass index (BMI), and lactation in adolescents and adult women at 15, 90, and 365 postpartum days (ppd).

Material And Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted of 33 adolescents and 39 adult women. Anthropometric and dietetic evaluations were performed, as well as evaluations of bone mineral density in L2-L4 and femur neck.

Women with endometriosis improved their peripheral antioxidant markers after the application of a high antioxidant diet.

Background: Oxidative stress has been identified in the peritoneal fluid and peripheral blood of women with endometriosis. However, there is little information on the antioxidant intake for this group of women. The objectives of this work were 1) to compare the antioxidant intake among women with and without endometriosis and 2) to design and apply a high antioxidant diet to evaluate its capacity to reduce oxidative stress markers and improve antioxidant markers in the peripheral blood of women with endometriosis.

Gestational weight gain as predicted by pregestational body mass index and gestational age in Mexican women.

Objective: To develop a reference pattern to evaluate gestational weight according to pregestational body mass index (BMI) and gestational age, using current longitudinal information from healthy pregnant women.

Subjects And Methods: We followed 438 women with singleton pregnancies between weeks 16 and 36 of pregnancy Women were excluded if they developed pathologic conditions during gestation, delivered malformed or dead fetuses, or delivered babies with a birthweight of less than 2500 or more than 4200 g or with a gestational age of less than 37 or more than 41 weeks. Weight, biochemical indicators, and clinical indicators were recorded every 4 weeks throughout the pregnancy.

Searching for alternative methods of diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus in a Mexican urban population.

Background: The aim of the study was to determine whether a predictive value for the diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) could be established using different glucose screening test thresholds in Mexican urban pregnant women.

Material/methods: A group of 635 pregnant women (12-33 weeks of gestation) with serum glucose screening values of > or = 7.2 mmol (> or = 130 mg/dl) were evaluated with a 100-g 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

[Scientific rationality, causality and meta-analyses of clinical trials].

Currently, the challenge is to analyze and synthesize as much information as possible in order to make quick, correct decisions. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis have quickly arisen in the health field because they allow researchers to congregate studies of similar characteristics to generate estimators that describe the risk or benefit of practices related to health problems. To understand and attach the appropriate importance to meta-analyses, it is necessary to consider the rationale of the theoretical framework, the methodological criteria, and the possible causal relationship between exposure and outcome, besides contextualizing the information.

High dosage of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol is not useful for diminishing oxidative stress and DNA damage in healthy elderly adults.

Aim: To determine the useful dosage of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol against oxidative stress and DNA damage in the elderly.

Methods: A double-blind controlled clinical assay carried out in a sample of 66 healthy subjects divided into three age-paired random groups with 22 subjects in each group. Group A received placebo and group B was administered 500 mg of ascorbic acid and 400 IU of alpha-tocopherol, whereas group C received 1,000 mg of ascorbic acid and 400 IU of alpha-tocopherol for a 6-month period.

Risk for postpartum depression, breastfeeding practices, and mammary gland permeability.

In a cross-sectional study, 163 breastfeeding women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a questionnaire on demographics and infant feeding and hand-expressed breast milk for Na and K quantification, between 2 and 12 weeks postpartum. Forty women (24.5%) had an EPDS score compatible with the risk of a depressive episode, and 63 (41%) did not feel confident about breastfeeding.

Dialyzability of minerals in corn masa gruel (atole) fortified with different iron compounds: effects of ascorbic acid, disodium EDTA, and phytic acid.

Background: Lime-treated corn gruel (atole) is a common weaning food in iron-deficient populations, especially in Mexico and Central America, and is a potential vehicle for fortification with iron.

Objective: The objective of this study was to screen promising iron compounds for use in the fortification of atole, using in vitro enzymatic digestion-dialysis techniques, while also considering their response to known iron absorption enhancers and inhibitors.

Methods: Atole, unaltered or preincubated with phytase, was fortified with iron (10 mg/L) from ferrous sulfate, ferrous bisglycinate, or ferrous fumarate, or with ferric chloride, ferric ammonium citrate, or ferric sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaFeEDTA), and submitted to in vitro digestion.

Food components and dietary patterns of two different groups of Mexican lactating women.

Objective: To evaluate the energy, nutrient intakes and dietary patterns of Mexican lactating women at one month postpartum, and the associations of maternal age and region on their intakes.

Methods: A total of 60 women were studied: 41 from Northwest and 19 from Central Mexico, 33 adolescent and 27 adult women. Data were collected through two quantitative 24 h recalls.

Adolescents with adequate birth weight newborns diminish energy expenditure and cease growth.

Maternal energy requirements increase during pregnancy but the magnitude of this increment is unknown among adolescents. We determined the effects of maternal age and weight status on adjustments in gestational weight gain, resting energy expenditure (REE), and growth among adolescents. Weight, and growth rates of pregnant adolescents (PA) < or =17 y during late pregnancy were compared with changes in nonpregnant adolescents (NPA) over a 5-mo period.

Weekly iron as a safe alternative to daily supplementation for nonanemic pregnant women.

Background: We undertook this study to compare the effectiveness and safety of antenatal daily and weekly supplementation with iron, folic acid, and vitamin B(12) in healthy, pregnant women who were not anemic at gestational week 20.

Methods: Women with singleton pregnancies and blood hemoglobin (Hb) >115 g/L at gestational week 20 (equivalent to 105 g/L at sea level) were randomly assigned to two groups, one consuming one tablet containing 60 mg iron, 200 mug folic acid and 1 mug vitamin B(12) daily (DS, n = 56); the other consuming two tablets once weekly (WS, n = 60). Blood Hb and serum ferritin concentrations were measured every 4 weeks from weeks 20 to 36, and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated.

[Iron deficiency anemia among Mexican women on reproductive age. History of an unresolved problem].

Objective: To describe the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in the past 66 years among Mexican women on reproductive age, and to analyze the efficacy of interventions implemented for its prevention and control.

Material And Methods: Observational and clinical epidemiological studies as well as federal intervention programs published between 1939 and 2005 having original data related to anemia were reviewed using electronic databases (Medline and Artemisa) and manual searches. Keywords were anemia, iron deficiency, women, and Mexico.

Twin pregnancies: eating for three? Maternal nutrition update.

The incidence of multifetal pregnancies has increased, mainly because of assisted reproduction treatments. This trend is reflected in increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. While the optimum maternal nutrition and weight gain patterns for singleton pregnancies is well documented, there is a paucity of information for twin pregnancies.

[Bases to determine the dose of vitamin C in pregnancy].

Objective: Determine the dose of Vitamin C able to maintain a leukocyte Vitamin C concentration of > or =18 microg/10(8) cells, in pregnant women with 28 to 32 weeks of gestation, in order to compile a database to estimate the daily recommended intake (DRI) during pregnancy.

Methodology: Stage 1: acute supplementation study. A group of 10 healthy women in late first and early second trimester pregnancy were supplemented with 0 to 200 mg vitamin C/day during one week each.

[Use of maternal-infant preventative health services in a group of Mexican women].

Objective: To identify factors that promote the use of health services in a group of women of reproductive age from a gender perspective.

Method: A retrospective and analytical study based on a questionnaire on maternal infant mortality of fifty women (users and non-users of preventative health services) in health centers in Mexico City was carried out. A conglomerate analysis of averages was executed.

Vitamin C supplementation to prevent premature rupture of the chorioamniotic membranes: a randomized trial.

Background: Vitamin C is involved in the synthesis and degradation of collagen and is important for maintenance of the chorioamniotic membranes. Inadequate availability of ascorbic acid during pregnancy has been proposed as a risk factor for premature rupture of the chorioamniotic membranes (PROM).

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 100 mg vitamin C/d in preventing PROM.

Prevalence of nutritional deficiencies in Mexican adolescent women with early and late prenatal care.

The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of specific nutritional deficiencies in a group of pregnant adolescents according to the gestational age when they started to receive prenatal care. A group of 163 pregnant adolescents that attended the Instituto Nacional de Perinatología (Mexico City) for the first time to receive prenatal care was evaluated. An anthropometrical evaluation was performed and a blood sample taken to determine hemoglobin, ferritin, erythrocyte folate and plasma zinc to all cases.

Iron and oxidative stress in pregnancy.

Pregnancy, mostly because of the mitochondria-rich placenta, is a condition that favors oxidative stress. Transitional metals, especially iron, which is particularly abundant in the placenta, are important in the production of free radicals. Protective mechanisms against free radical generation and damage increase throughout pregnancy and protect the fetus, which, however, is subjected to a degree of oxidative stress.

Iron and folate status before pregnancy and anemia during pregnancy.

Background: A lack of information about the role that iron and folate stores (erythrocyte folate) play on the anemia incidence in pregnant women.

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of ferritin and erythrocyte folate before pregnancy in relationship to the incidence of anemia throughout pregnancy.

Methods: Thirty-five non-anemic non-pregnant women were evaluated 1 or 2 months before the pregnancy.

Measurement of deuterium oxide by infrared spectroscopy and isotope ratio mass spectrometry for quantifying daily milk intake in breastfed infants and maternal body fat.

Measurements of deuterium oxide concentrations (DOC) in saliva by infrared spectroscopy (IRS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) were compared for the calculation of infants' milk intake and maternal body fat. Deuterium oxide (30 g) was given to the mother. DOC by IRS and IRMS were 340 +/- 209 and 345 +/- 202 ppm.

Increased ERG a- and b-wave amplitudes in 7- to 10-year-old children resulting from prenatal lead exposure.

Purpose: To determine the dose-response relationship between blood lead concentration ([PbB]) and scotopic ERG amplitude in 7- to 10-year-old children with lifetime lead exposure.

Methods: Full-field flash scotopic ERGs were recorded over a 4-log-unit range in 45 dark-adapted children with normal visual acuity. [PbB] was measured throughout pregnancy and postnatal development, and the subjects' [PbB] levels were grouped at each age by tertiles.