Parent Perspectives: Part 2-Considerations for the Transition Home Post-NICU Discharge.

This paper is part two of a series of papers written by the mothers of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) graduates. The companion paper, "", considers all aspects of the NICU experience and provides recommendations for interventions and improvements from a life-course perspective while families are in the NICU. In part two, the focus is the transition home post-NICU stay.

Parent Perspectives: Part 1-Considerations for Changing the NICU Culture.

While publications that aim to reflect the parent perspective are increasingly common in the medical literature, few are authored by parents in their own words. As mothers with lived and professional experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), we believe this perspective is vital to improving health outcomes. We are writing from a life course health development framework that regards health as an active process that develops over time with the integration of physical, social, emotional, and relational components.

The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Research Agenda.

Objectives: In the United States, autistic individuals experience disproportionate physical and mental health challenges relative to non-autistic individuals, including higher rates of co-occurring and chronic conditions and lower physical, social, and psychological health-related quality of life. The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) is an interdisciplinary, multicenter research network for scientific collaboration and infrastructure that aims to increase the life expectancy and quality of life for autistic individuals, with a focus on underserved or vulnerable populations. The current paper describes the development of the AIR-P Research Agenda.

Prevalence and Social and Built Environmental Determinants of Maternal Prepregnancy Obesity in 68 Major Metropolitan Cities of the United States, 2013-2016.

Objective: Maternal prepregnancy obesity is related to increased maternal morbidity and mortality and poor birth outcomes. However, prevalence and risk factors for prepregnancy obesity in US cities are not known. This study examines the prevalence and social and environmental determinants of maternal prepregnancy obesity (BMI ≥30), overweight/obesity (BMI ≥25), and severe obesity (BMI ≥40) in the 68 largest metropolitan cities of the United States.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau's Autism Research Program.

Objectives: To provide an overview and quantitatively demonstrate the reach of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau autism research program.

Methods: We reviewed program reports and internal data from 59 autism research grantees. The US federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee's strategic plan questions were used as a framework to highlight the contributions of the autism research program in advancing the field.

Associations Between Maternal Body Mass Index, Gestational Weight Gain, Maternal Complications, and Birth Outcome in Singleton, Term Births in a Largely Non-Hispanic White, Rural Population.

In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published guidance on gestational weight gain (GWG) modified by body mass index (BMI). GWG outside of IOM recommendations negatively affects birth outcomes and child health. This study examined the relationship between BMI, GWG, birth complications, and birth outcomes in a rural, non-Hispanic white population over 10 years.

Marked Disparities in Pre-Pregnancy Obesity and Overweight Prevalence among US Women by Race/Ethnicity, Nativity/Immigrant Status, and Sociodemographic Characteristics, 2012-2014.

This study examines racial/ethnic, nativity, and sociodemographic disparities in the prevalence of pre-pregnancy obesity and overweight in the United States. Logistic regression was fitted to the 2012-2014 national birth cohort data to derive unadjusted and adjusted differentials in pre-pregnancy obesity (BMI ≥30), severe obesity (BMI ≥40), and overweight/obesity (BMI ≥25) prevalence among 10.4 million US women of childbearing age.

Use of postpartum care: predictors and barriers.

This study aimed to identify actual and perceived barriers to postpartum care among a probability sample of women who gave birth in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. Survey data from the 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) study (N = 4,075) were used to identify predictors and barriers to postpartum care use. The LAMB study was a cross-sectional, population-based study that examined maternal and child health outcomes during the preconception, prenatal, and postpartum periods.

Menopause and lead body burden among US women aged 45-55, NHANES 1999-2010.

Background: Environmental factors in menopause have received limited attention. Lead is a known reproductive toxicant associated with delayed puberty in girls that may also affect menopause.

Methods: The odds of menopause among US women aged 45-55 were estimated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2010, in relation to quartiles of blood lead.