An Evidence-Based Discussion of Fetal Pain and Stress.

Background: The concept of fetal pain results from procedures conducted without anesthesia in preterm newborns and fetuses, which indicate that it is possible to examine fetal pain based on stress hormone, metabolic, and behavioral changes. Anatomical and physiological data suggest that fetuses become capable of processing nociceptive stimuli around midgestation, although the associated changes in fetal brain development remain unclear. What constitutes fetal pain remains controversial in the light of the definition of pain adopted by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), which posits pain as an "unpleasant sensory and emotional experience.

Chemosensory continuity from prenatal to postnatal life in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Throughout pregnancy, fetuses are exposed to a range of chemosensory inputs influencing their postnatal behaviors. Such prenatal exposure provides the fetus with continuous sensory information to adapt to the environment they face once born. This study aimed to assess the chemosensory continuity through a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing evidence on chemosensory continuity from prenatal to first postnatal year.

Association between Hyperemesis Gravidarum in pregnancy on postnatal ability of infants to attend to a play task with their mother.

Research indicates a higher prevalence of attention deficits in children exposed to HG in utero compared to controls with some claiming that the deficit is due to prenatal effects of malnutrition in HG mothers and others that it is due to maternal mental health after birth. The current study examines the effect of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) diagnosis during pregnancy on infant attention controlling for maternal stress, depression anxiety and attachment. Thirty-eight infants mean age 4 months were videotaped with their mothers (19 mothers with a hyperemesis diagnosis and 19 controls) during play with a soft toy and looking at a picture book.

Flavor Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviors in the Human Fetus.

The diet of pregnant women exposes fetuses to a variety of flavors consisting of compound sensations involving smell, taste, and chemesthesis. The effects of such prenatal flavor exposure on chemosensory development have so far been measured only postnatally in human infants. Here, we report the first direct evidence of human fetal responsiveness to flavors transferred via maternal consumption of a single-dose capsule by measuring frame-by-frame fetal facial movements.

Foetal mouth movements: Effects of nicotine.

Aim: To assess whether foetal mouth movement frequency changes across gestation and whether there are differences between cigarette and e-cigarette exposure conditions in comparison to a non-exposed group of foetuses.

Method: Pregnant women underwent 4-dimensional (4D) foetal ultrasound scans at 32 weeks (106 scans) and 36 weeks of gestational age (87 scans) at James Cook University Hospital, UK. The 4D scans were coded using the Fetal Observable Movement System (FOMS).

Effects of maternal mental health on prenatal movement profiles in twins and singletons.

Aim: Prenatal experiences, including maternal stress, depression and anxiety, form crucial building blocks affecting the maturation of the foetal central nervous system. Previous research has examined foetal movements without considering effects of maternal mental health factors critical for healthy foetal development. The aim of this research is to assess the effects of maternal mental health factors on foetal twin compared with singleton movement profiles.

Risk perception of cigarette and e-cigarette use during pregnancy: A qualitative postpartum perspective.

Aim: The aim of this exploratory qualitative analysis is to assess the perceptions of risks of cigarette and e-cigarette use during pregnancy.

Background: An important public health aim is a reduction of smoking at time of delivery (SATOD) from 10.6% to less than 6% by 2022 in the United Kingdom (UK).

The effects of prenatal cigarette and e-cigarette exposure on infant neurobehaviour: A comparison to a control group.

Background: Infant neurobehaviour provides an insight into the development of the central nervous system during infancy, with behavioural abnormalities highlighting a cause for concern. Research has demonstrated that prenatal exposure to cigarettes leads to deficits within neurobehavioural development, along with negative birth outcomes detrimental to subsequent development. With the growing use of e-cigarettes amongst pregnant women, this study explores how prenatal e-cigarette exposure compares to prenatal cigarette exposure.

Feasibility of a psychoeducational group intervention to improve parental reflective functioning and bonding in pregnancy: a randomised trial.

Objective: To develop and evaluate Baby CHAT, a single-session psychoeducational intervention for expectant parents. Baby CHAT aims to improve parental reflective functioning (RF) and bonding.

Background: The early years of a child's life, including pregnancy, are vital for healthy physical and emotional development.

Infant neurobehavioural consequences of prenatal cigarette exposure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: Prenatal exposure to cigarettes leads to alterations in brain development during pregnancy. This has an impact on postnatal psychological and behavioural processes, affecting an infant's neurobehavioural profile with little known about which aspects are affected. The evidence was synthesised to assess the effects of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure on neurobehavioural outcomes within the first year of life.

Individual Differences in Executive Function: The Role of Parental Monitoring as a Moderator.

Parental monitoring is a factor which affects verbal and nonverbal inhibition components of children's executive functions.,. 112 sixth-grade Kurdish children (mean age: 11 years 5 months) participated in the study.

Effects of parental intervention on behavioural and psychological outcomes for Kurdish parents and their children.

Background: Parenting interventions are rarely offered in developing countries and there is an urgent need to include low-income countries.

Aims: To examine the effectiveness of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) among Kurdish parents and their children.

Methods: This was a randomized control pilot trial using pre- and post-test scores of 17 mothers (mean age 35.

Mimicking emotions: how 3-12-month-old infants use the facial expressions and eyes of a model.

While there is an extensive literature on the tendency to mimic emotional expressions in adults, it is unclear how this skill emerges and develops over time. Specifically, it is unclear whether infants mimic discrete emotion-related facial actions, whether their facial displays are moderated by contextual cues and whether infants' emotional mimicry is constrained by developmental changes in the ability to discriminate emotions. We therefore investigate these questions using Baby-FACS to code infants' facial displays and eye-movement tracking to examine infants' looking times at facial expressions.

The Human Fetus Preferentially Engages with Face-like Visual Stimuli.

In the third trimester of pregnancy, the human fetus has the capacity to process perceptual information [1-3]. With advances in 4D ultrasound technology, detailed assessment of fetal behavior [4] is now possible. Furthermore, modeling of intrauterine conditions has indicated a substantially greater luminance within the uterus than previously thought [5].

Do fetuses move their lips to the sound that they hear? An observational feasibility study on auditory stimulation in the womb.

Background: We investigate in this feasibility study whether specific lip movements increase prenatally when hearing a particular sound. We hypothesised that fetuses would produce more mouth movements resembling those required to make the sound stimulus they heard (i.e.

Emotional expressiveness of 5-6 month-old infants born very premature versus full-term at initial exposure to weaning foods.

Facial expressions of 5-6 month-old infants born preterm and at term were compared while tasting for the first time solid foods (two fruit and two vegetable purées) given by the mother. Videotapes of facial reactions to these foods were objectively coded during the first six successive spoons of each test food using Baby FACS and subjectively rated by naïve judges. Infant temperament was also assessed by the parents using the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire.

The impact of parenting styles on children developmental outcome: The role of academic self-concept as a mediator.

Although the importance of parenting styles directly influencing child development is well established, fewer studied have examined whether parenting styles also affect children's behavioural problems indirectly, mediated through children's academic self-concept (ASC). We examined direct and shared effects of parenting styles on behavioural problems of 199 Kurdish primary school children with a mean age of 11 years 7 months (range 11 years 5 months to 12 years 3 months). Questionnaires measured parenting styles (child version of Alabama Parenting Questionnaire), assessed children's ASC (Myself-As-Learner Scale) and identified children's behavioural problems with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity.

Due to technological advancements in functional brain imaging, foetal brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli is a growing area of research despite being relatively small with much variation between research laboratories. A number of inconsistencies between studies are, nonetheless, present in the literature. This article aims to explore the potential contribution of methodological factors to variation in reports of foetal neural responses to external stimuli.

Parental reminder, recall and educational interventions to improve early childhood immunisation uptake: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways of reducing childhood mortality. Despite global uptake of childhood vaccinations increasing, rates remain sub-optimal, meaning that vaccine-preventable diseases still pose a public health risk. A range of interventions to promote vaccine uptake have been developed, although this range has not specifically been reviewed in early childhood.

Ultrasound observations of subtle movements: a pilot study comparing foetuses of smoking and nonsmoking mothers.

Aim: One way to assess foetal health of smokers is to ask mothers to count perceived movements, an unreliable method hiding differences in prenatal development. The aim of this pilot study was to assess subtle foetal movements in ultrasound scans and establish whether they differ in foetuses of mothers who smoked and nonsmoking mothers.

Methods: This longitudinal pilot study recruited twenty mothers (16 nonsmoking; 4 smoking) scanned four times from 24 to 36 weeks gestation (80 ultrasound scans).

Laterality of foetal self-touch in relation to maternal stress.

This longitudinal observational study investigated whether foetuses change their hand preference with gestational age, and also examined the effects of maternal stress on lateralized foetal self-touch. Following ethical approval, fifteen healthy foetuses (eight girls and seven boys) were scanned four times from 24 to 36 weeks gestation. Self-touch behaviours which resulted in a touch of the foetal face/head were coded in 60 scans for 10 min and analysed in terms of frequency of the foetuses using left and right hands to touch their face.

A Q-methodology study of parental understandings of infant immunisation: Implications for health-care advice.

This study used Q-methodology to explore systematically parental judgements about infant immunisation. A total of 45 parents completed a 31-statement Q-sort. Data were collected after vaccination in general practitioner practices or a private day nursery.