Cognitive impairment as a mediator in the developmental pathway from infant malnutrition to adolescent depressive symptoms in Barbadian youth.

Objective: Depressive symptoms are elevated in adolescents who experienced significant malnutrition early in life. Early malnutrition can also have a significant impact on cognitive functioning, presumably because of the adverse impact of the malnutrition on the very young brain. In the context of a developmental cascade model, we tested the hypothesis that the association between early malnutrition and adolescent depressive symptoms is mediated by the cognitive impairment that ensues from the malnutrition.

Bed-sharing, breastfeeding and maternal moods in Barbados.

Bed-sharing among Barbadian mothers and infants was studied in relationship to maternal and infant characteristics. This prospective study followed 226 healthy, well-nourished mother-infant dyads at birth, 7 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. At each age, approximately half of the infants shared the same beds as their mothers.

Postpartum feeding attitudes, maternal depression, and breastfeeding in Barbados.

Maternal feeding attitudes, maternal moods and infant feeding practices during the first 6 months postpartum were assessed in 226 healthy, well-nourished Barbadian mother-infant dyads. Factor analysis of the feeding attitudes questionnaire resulted in six independent factors. The belief that breastfeeding was better than bottle-feeding was associated with higher family income, more information seeking behavior and older maternal age at the time of her first pregnancy.

Postpartum maternal moods and infant size predict performance on a national high school entrance examination.

Background: In an earlier series of studies, we documented the effects of feeding practices and postnatal maternal mood on the growth and development of 226 Barbadian children during the first few months of life. In this report, we extend our earlier studies by examining predictive relationships between infant size, feeding practices and postpartum maternal moods and scores on a national high school examination, the Common Entrance Examination (CEE), at 11 to 12 years of age.

Methods: Feeding practices, anthropometry, and maternal moods, using Zung depression and anxiety scales and a morale scale, were assessed at 7 weeks (n = 158), 3 months (n = 168), and 6 months (n = 209) postpartum.