Expanding the clinical spectrum of Fowler syndrome: Three siblings with survival into adulthood and systematic review of the literature.

Proliferative vasculopathy and hydranencephaly-hydrocephaly syndrome (PVHH, OMIM 225790), also known as Fowler syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of brain angiogenesis. PVHH has long been considered to be prenatally lethal. We evaluated the phenotypes of the first three siblings with survival into adulthood, performed a systematic review of the Fowler syndrome literature and delineated genotype-phenotype correlations using a scoring system to rate the severity of the disease.

Maternal exposure to violence and offspring neurodevelopment: A systematic review.

Background: Stress during pregnancy is known to affect fetal neurodevelopment. It seems likely therefore that intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence (DV) as extreme stressors will have a similarly adverse effect.

Objectives: A systematic review was conducted to assess the association between prenatal exposure to violence for mothers and developmental difficulties in their children.

Factors associated with public knowledge of and attitudes to dementia: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Dementia is a major public health concern but one that continues to be stigmatised. We examine lay knowledge of dementia and attitudes to people with dementia as potential precursors of public anxiety, focusing on the social characteristics associated with (a) the formation of these attitudes, and (b) the perception of the need for restriction and control for people with dementia.

Methods: Analysis of the 2014 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey, which included questions on knowledge of, attitudes to and personal experience with dementia.

Personality Traits Predict Meeting the WHO Recommendation of 6 Months' Breastfeeding: A Prospective General Population Cohort Study.

Background: Although personality as well as anxiety and depression are recognized as predictors for breastfeeding initiation, evidence of an association of these factors with 6 months' exclusive breastfeeding as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is sparse.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of personality and symptoms of anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy with meeting the WHO recommendation of 6 months' exclusive breastfeeding.

Methods: In their first trimester of pregnancy, 5784 pregnant women were enrolled in Dutch primary obstetric care centers and hospitals, of which 2927 completed the breastfeeding assessments 6 months postpartum.

Profiles of childhood trauma and psychopathology: US National Epidemiologic Survey.

Purpose: Childhood trauma may increase vulnerability to numerous specific psychiatric disorders, or a generalised liability to experience dimensions of internalising or externalising psychopathology. We use a nationally representative sample (N = 34,653) to examine the long-term consequences of childhood trauma and their combined effect as predictors of subsequent psychopathology.

Methods: Data from the US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were used.

Collaboration of midwives in primary care midwifery practices with other maternity care providers.

Background: Inter-professional collaboration is considered essential in effective maternity care. National projects are being undertaken to enhance inter-professional relationships and improve communication between all maternity care providers in order to improve the quality of maternity care in the Netherlands. However, little is known about primary care midwives' satisfaction with collaboration with other maternity care providers, such as general practitioners, maternity care assistance organisations (MCAO), maternity care assistants (MCA), obstetricians, clinical midwives and paediatricians.

Pregnancy-specific anxiety and its association with background characteristics and health-related behaviors in a low-risk population.

Background: Pregnancy-specific anxiety is an important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is therefore needed to gain insight in which women are at risk for elevated levels (> 85th percentile) of pregnancy-specific anxiety. Additionally, given that unhealthy behaviour has been suggested as a possible pathway linking pregnancy-specific anxiety to adverse pregnancy outcomes, it is important to examine whether higher levels of pregnancy-specific anxiety are associated with negative health-related behaviours (smoking, alcohol use and too much weight gain).

Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy Experience Difficulties Adjusting Their Gait Pattern to Weight Added to the Waist, While Typically Developing Children Do Not.

The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing in the last decades, also in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Even though it has been established that an increase in weight can have important negative effects on gait in healthy adults and children, it has not been investigated what the effect is of an increase in body weight on the characteristics of gait in children with CP. In CP, pre and post three-dimensional gait analyses are performed to assess the effectiveness of an intervention.

Student midwives' perceptions on the organisation of maternity care and alternative maternity care models in the Netherlands - a qualitative study.

Background: A major change in the organisation of maternity care in the Netherlands is under consideration, going from an echelon system where midwives provide primary care in the community and refer to obstetricians for secondary and tertiary care, to a more integrated maternity care system involving midwives and obstetricians at all care levels. Student midwives are the future maternity care providers and they may be entering into a changing maternity care system, so inclusion of their views in the discussion is relevant. This study aimed to explore student midwives' perceptions on the current organisation of maternity care and alternative maternity care models, including integrated care.

Client-Related Factors Associated with a "Less than Good" Experience of Midwifery Care during Childbirth in the Netherlands.

Background: A "less than good" experience during childbirth can affect a mother's early interaction with her child and may significantly influence a woman's emotional well-being. In this study, we focus on clients who experienced midwifery care provided during childbirth as "less than good" care. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between client-related factors and the experience of midwifery care during childbirth to improve this care.

The relationship of dystonia and choreoathetosis with activity, participation and quality of life in children and youth with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

Aim: To relate dystonia and choreoathetosis with activity, participation and quality of life (QOL) in children and youth with dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Methods: Fifty-four participants with dyskinetic CP (mean age 14y6m, SD 4y2m, range 6-22y) were included. The Dyskinesia Impairment Scale (DIS) was used to evaluate dystonia and choreoathetosis.

Macrostructural and Microstructural Brain Lesions Relate to Gait Pathology in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Background Even though lower-limb motor disorders are core features of spastic cerebral palsy (sCP), the relationship with brain lesions remains unclear. Unraveling the relation between gait pathology, lower-limb function, and brain lesions in sCP is complex for several reasons; wide heterogeneity in brain lesions, ongoing brain maturation, and gait depends on a number of primary motor functions/deficits (eg, muscle strength, spasticity). Objective To use a comprehensive approach combining conventional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in children with sCP above 3 years old to relate quantitative parameters of brain lesions in multiple brain areas to gait performance.

Client perspectives of midwifery care in the transition from subfertility to parenthood: a qualitative study in the Netherlands.

Background: Pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period after fertility treatment are considered "normal" in the Netherlands, with no indication of an increased obstetric risk, and can therefore be monitored by a primary care midwife. However, there is little evidence on the experiences of couples and women who finally get pregnant after fertility treatment and a lack of training for midwives exists on this subject. The aim of this study was to map the midwifery care needs of the subfertile client with past fertility problems.

Women's Suggestions for Improving Midwifery Care in The Netherlands.

Background: The experience of the care a woman receives during pregnancy and childbirth has an immediate and long-lasting effect on her well being. The involvement of patients and clients in health care has increased over the last decades. The Dutch maternity care system offers an excellent opportunity to explore and involve women's suggestions for the improvement of midwifery care in the current maternity care model.

Clinical patterns of dystonia and choreoathetosis in participants with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

Aim: The aim of the study was to map clinical patterns of dystonia and choreoathetosis and to assess the relation between functional classifications and basal ganglia and thalamus lesions in participants with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 55 participants with dyskinetic CP (mean age 14y 6mo, SD 4y 1mo; range 6-22y) were assessed with the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale and classified with the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS).

Results: Dystonia and choreoathetosis are simultaneously present.

Career plans of primary care midwives in the Netherlands and their intentions to leave the current job.

Background: In labour market policy and planning, it is important to understand the motivations of people to continue in their current job or to seek other employment. Over the last decade, besides the increasingly medical approach to pregnancy and childbirth and decreasing home births, there were additional dramatic changes and pressures on primary care midwives and midwifery care. Therefore, it is important to re-evaluate the career plans of primary care midwives and their intentions to leave their current job.

An explorative study of factors contributing to the job satisfaction of primary care midwives.

Objective: the main objectives of our study was to gain an understanding of how primary care midwives in the Netherlands feel about their work and to identify factors associated with primary care midwives׳ job satisfaction and areas for improvement.

Design: a qualitative analysis was used, based on the constructivist/interpretative paradigm. Three open-ended questions in written or online questionnaire, analysed to identify factors that are linked with job satisfaction, were as follows: 'What are you very satisfied with, in your work as a midwife?', 'What would you most like to change about your work as a midwife?' and 'What could be improved in your work?'.

Altered functional connectivity of the language network in ASD: role of classical language areas and cerebellum.

The development of language, social interaction and communicative skills is remarkably different in the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Atypical brain connectivity has frequently been reported in this patient population. However, the neural correlates underlying their disrupted language development and functioning are still poorly understood.

Factorial invariance of pregnancy-specific anxiety dimensions across nulliparous and parous pregnant women.

The 10-item version of the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised was developed based on a sample of nulliparous women. Whether this measure is also a valuable tool for future research on pregnancy-specific anxiety is unclear. Our study tested for invariance of this measure across nulliparous women and parous women by using a dataset of 6004 women pregnant up to 35 weeks.

Randomized trial of modified constraint-induced movement therapy with and without an intensive therapy program in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Background: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has gained emerging evidence and popularity in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP). However, many issues remain unanswered regarding the best approach.

Objective: This study investigated the additional effects of an intensive therapy program to promote hand function combined with home-based modified CIMT (m-CIMT).

Does somatosensory discrimination activate different brain areas in children with unilateral cerebral palsy compared to typically developing children? An fMRI study.

Aside from motor impairment, many children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) experience altered tactile, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic awareness. Sensory deficits are addressed in rehabilitation programs, which include somatosensory discrimination exercises. In contrast to adult stroke patients, data on brain activation, occurring during somatosensory discrimination exercises, are lacking in CP children.

The role of attention in the affective life of people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities.

Although it is shown that attention plays an important role both in the onset and in the regulation of emotions in people without disabilities there is no information about how attention is related to emotions in people with severe or profound intellectual disability (ID). Therefore, in our study, we investigated the role of attention in the onset and regulation of the emotions of persons with severe or profound ID. We presented 27 participants with 4 staff-selected negative and 4 staff-selected positive stimuli.

Can the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale be used by inexperienced raters? A reliability study.

Background: The Dyskinesia Impairment Scale (DIS) is a new scale for measuring dystonia and choreoathetosis in dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy (CP). Previously, reliability of this scale has only been assessed for raters highly experienced in discriminating between dystonia and choreoathetosis.

Aims: The aims of this study are to examine the reliability of the DIS used by inexperienced raters, new to discriminating between dystonia and choreoathetosis and to determine the effect of clinical expertise on reliability.