Tai Chi exercise and auricular acupressure for people with rheumatoid arthritis: an evaluation study.

Aims And Objectives: (i) To assess the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercise in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). (ii) To ascertain if Tai Chi and auricular acupressure have a potentiation effect in controlling pain. (iii) To evaluate the acceptability and enjoyment of the classes.

Studying the infant feeding intentions of pregnant women experiencing material deprivation: methodology of the Looking at Infant Feeding Today (LIFT) study.

The Looking at Infant Feeding Today (LIFT) study examined the factors underlying the infant feeding choices of first-time mothers in the Leeds and Bradford areas of England experiencing material hardship, with a view to informing interventions aimed at increasing breastfeeding uptake amongst this group. This short report describes the novel methodology used to obtain data from a sample of pregnant women who are traditionally 'hard-to-reach' in deprived areas. This involved the use of trusted individuals such as midwives and multilingual health workers.

Assessing levels of contaminants in breast milk: methodological issues and a framework for future research.

To assess the scale of the possible exposure by the breast-fed infant to potentially harmful substances in breast milk, methodologically robust studies are essential. Many studies in this field, however, do not report details of crucial issues such as recruitment and milk sampling. The aims of the study reported here were to develop robust methods for the study of contaminants in breast milk, and to develop a framework for future research and population monitoring.

Organochlorine pesticide residues in breastmilk: difficulties in sample collection and in assessing intakes.

Organochlorine pesticides are highly lipophilic and stable resulting both in their persistence in the environment and their tendency to pass up the food chain. Residues of these compounds are detectable in breastmilk and have been monitored since the 1950s. Samples can be collected using non-invasive techniques and the results are frequently used to assess degradation in the environment as well as risks to recipient infants.