Publications by authors named "Michelle Graf"

The prenatal period is a critical developmental juncture with enduring effects on offspring health trajectories. An individual's gut microbiome is associated with health and developmental outcomes across the lifespan. Prenatal stress can disrupt an infant's microbiome, thereby increasing susceptibility to adverse outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The perinatal period involves significant changes for women, including psychological and social stressors, which heighten vulnerabilities and impact mental health during and after pregnancy.
  • A systematic review was conducted on English-language publications, focusing on randomized controlled trials that assessed postpartum mental health using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
  • The review found that higher physical activity levels during pregnancy are linked to better mental health outcomes postpartum, with low-intensity exercises like yoga being particularly effective in reducing depressive symptoms.
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Background: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading global cause of years lived with disability. Of the biopsychosocial domains of health, social determinants of LBP remain under-researched. Socioeconomic status (SES) may be associated with the onset of new LBP or outcomes of acute LBP, with educational attainment (EA) being a key component of SES.

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Background: Parents commonly seek online sources of information on the important complementary feeding period, but the accuracy of these sources varies. The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) states federal government resources should be accurate and user-friendly; however, the quantity, quality, and accuracy of federal resources on complementary feeding is unknown.

Methods: An environmental scan of online federal, parent-facing resources about complementary feeding was conducted.

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Purpose: Complementary feeding practices (CFPs) are associated with health outcomes (e.g., obesity and food allergies).

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Ready-to-eat meat products have been identified as a potential vehicle for . Postprocessing contamination (i.e.

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An infant's early eating experiences influence later growth and health. However, motivators for mothers' complementary feeding decisions for their infants, such as the process of introducing solid foods, remains unclear. This qualitative study identified maternal perceived threats surrounding complementary feeding and strategies mothers use to mitigate perceived threats of adverse feeding-related health outcomes for their infants.

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Babies' earliest food experiences have a lifelong impact on eating preferences and dietary habits, laying the foundation for obesity risk. NPs have the opportunity to provide education about healthy infant feeding practices before the growth trajectory becomes abnormal and focus intensive education on at-risk families.

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Purpose: Information is limited about how mothers make food decisions on behalf of their children. Eating practices are established early in life and are difficult to change, so it is imperative to focus on the caregiver who influences a young child's food preferences and eating behaviors. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the relationship between maternal characteristics and infant feeding beliefs and practices in a sample of multiparous mothers with a history of a prior preterm infant birth.

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Teratology is the study of anatomical and physiological abnormalities, commonly known as birth defects. If an embryo is exposed to a harmful substance, or teratogen, during the critical period of development, an ensuing malformation may occur. These malformations and their associated mechanisms are studied and analyzed in laboratory animals in order to prevent them from occurring in humans.

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