Aim: To examine alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy in the mothers of a contemporary sample of New Zealand children.
Method: Analysis of data from the antenatal assessment of 6,822 women enrolled in the Growing Up in New Zealand study, using logistic regression models to examine associations between maternal alcohol use and maternal demographics, pregnancy planning and parity.
Results: Seventy-one percent of women drank alcohol before becoming pregnant, 23% during and 13% after the first trimester. The odds of drinking alcohol before pregnancy were significantly higher for younger women who were European or Māori with an unplanned pregnancy and in their first pregnancy; during the first trimester, higher for women who were European or Māori with no secondary school qualification, in their first pregnancy, with an unplanned pregnancy; and in the second and third trimesters, higher for European or Māori women aged 30 and over, in their first pregnancy.
Conclusions: Drinking is common in New Zealand women before pregnancy, particularly among European and Māori women. Some women consume small amounts of alcohol and some engage in heavy drinking in pregnancy. Both are a risk for fetal harm. Population-wide and targeted measures are needed to reduce consumption overall and provide support to specific population groups.
Diabetes during pregnancy can cause health problems for both mothers and babies, especially in certain groups like Pacific and Maaori families.
After giving birth, many mothers don't get enough extra support for their diabetes, so researchers want to find out what they need to help them and their families better.
Through interviews with 19 parents, the study found that balancing professional care with personal needs, having culturally specific support, involving family, and recognizing the ongoing impact of diabetes on mental health are very important.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland; Auckland, New Zealand; and Department of Women's Health, Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai, Auckland, New Zealand.
Introduction In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), there is inequity in rates of neural tube defects (NTDs). Among Maaori, NTD occur in 4.58/10 000 live births, and for Pacific peoples, it is 4.
Aim: We considered risk factors for mortality in people admitted to Counties Manukau inpatient facilities, who were also identified by medical staff to have insufficient housing.
Method: A cohort study of people aged 15 to 75 years admitted to Counties Manukau inpatient facilities were selected between 2002 and 2014, with ICD-10 codes for insufficient housing. Diagnostic records identified people with substance use and other clinical conditions.
Aim: Estimating Primary Health Organisation (PHO) enrolment rates with a census-derived estimated resident population denominator may provide misleading results because of numerator and denominator mismatch. This study uses the Health Service Utilisation (HSU) population denominator as an alternative.
Method: A HSU population was generated by record linkage of routinely collected datasets from the Ministry of Health via encrypted National Health Index (NHI).
