Te Tātai Hauora O Hine: Centre for Women's Health Research, Wellington Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Published: November 2021
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Objective: To explore preterm birth among Māori indigenous peoples through Kaupapa Māori research of preterm birth in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Methods: Linked maternity, mortality, and hospital data were analyzed for women and their infants born between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014. Relative risks (RR) were calculated for each ethnic group for preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and mortality.
Results: Adjusted rates showed that compared with Māori women, European women were at significantly less risk of having extremely and very preterm infants (RR 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76-0.95). Preterm infants of European women had a significantly lower adjusted RR of early neonatal death (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45-0.93) or post-neonatal death (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.26-0.64). In addition to ethnicity, preterm rates were influenced by maternal age, body mass index, smoking status, and SGA status.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the Aotearoa New Zealand maternity system privileges whiteness, suggesting that clinical pathways for evidence-based medical care are not delivered systemically and equitably for all. Health pathways that focus on equity as a fundamental right will enhance health outcomes for Māori women and their infants.
Exposure to environmental contaminants can result in profound effects on the host immune system. One class of environmental toxicants, known as dioxins, are persistent environmental contaminants termed "forever chemicals". The archetype toxicant from this group of chemicals is 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), an immunotoxicant that activates the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor pathway leading to a variety of changes in immune cell responses.
Background: Individuals have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease later in life if they give birth to a child with congenital heart disease (CHD). The mechanism of this association has not been well documented.
Objectives: The authors aimed to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in women and birthing individuals 18 to 23 years after delivery of a child with CHD compared to normative data.
Objective: To evaluate the differences in the antenatal and neonatal courses of maternal-infant dyads within a homeless population as compared to the general hospital population.
Design: This was a retrospective observational study.
Setting: A large single tertiary maternity hospital (8500 deliveries/year) in Ireland.
Aim: Diastasis recti is a common contour abnormality of the anterior abdominal wall, where an increased distance between the rectus abdominis muscles results in a visible or palpable bulge in this area. This study aimed to characterize this clinical entity in children.
Material And Methods: Anatomy of the rectus abdominis muscles and the linea alba, with a special focus on the interrectus distance (distance between two bellies of the rectus abdominis muscles), was studied using ultrasound.
A post hoc analysis of maternally derived antibodies at birth and age 2 months following second trimester maternal Tdap vaccination between 20 and 24 weeks' gestational age (GA) showed a faster decay rate of Tdap-related immunoglobulin G in early preterms born before 32 weeks' GA compared with moderate-to-late preterms and full-terms. This is different from previous studies and merits further research.
