From co-regulation to self-regulation: Maternal soothing strategies and self-efficacy in relation to maternal reports of infant regulation at 3 and 7 months.

This study, conducted in Germany, examines the role of maternal soothing strategies to explain the association of maternal self-efficacy with infant regulation (crying and sleeping behavior). Questionnaire data of 150 mothers, living in Germany, with mixed ethnic and educational backgrounds were collected when infants were 3 and 7 months old. Two types of maternal soothing strategies were distinguished: close soothing, involving close physical and emotional contact, and distant soothing, involving physical and emotional distancing from the infant.

Maternal self-efficacy development from pregnancy to 3 months after birth.

The present study uses a prospective longitudinal study design to investigate the development of maternal self-efficacy in the transition phase to parenthood, drawing on a large sample of socially and/or culturally disadvantaged families (N = 292). Parity, maternal education, migration, informal and formal social support are considered as potential predictors. Results indicate that previous birth experience, being born abroad, and higher levels of formal and informal social support during pregnancy jointly predict higher levels of maternal self-efficacy three months after birth.

A case of gas gangrene in an immunosuppressed Crohn's patient.

Clostridium septicum (C. septicum) gas gangrene is well documented in the literature, typically in the setting of trauma or immunosuppression. In this paper, we report a unique case of spontaneous clostridial myonecrosis in a patient with Crohn's disease and sulfasalazine-induced neutropenia.