Functional Connectivity to the Amygdala in the Neonate Is Impacted by the Maternal Anxiety Level During Pregnancy.

Background And Purpose: Anxiety during pregnancy is common, and exposure to heightened anxiety during pregnancy may influence children's brain development and functioning. However, it is unclear if exposure to low levels of anxiety in utero would also impact the developing brain. The current prospective and longitudinal study included 40 healthy pregnant women without pregnancy complications or previous diagnosis of anxiety disorders.

Prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancy among rural reproductive age women in Ethiopia.

Despite growing utilization of family planning in Ethiopia, many pregnancies in rural areas are still unintended and unintended pregnancy remains a major global challenge in public and reproductive health, with devastating impact on women and child health, and the general public. Hence, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of unintended pregnancy in rural women of Ethiopia. This study used a 2016 Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey data.

Association between pre-pregnancy maternal stress and small for gestational age: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Background: Maternal stress is a potential factor affecting fetal growth, but it is unknown whether it directly affects fetal growth restriction. This study aims to investigate the association between pre-pregnancy maternal stress with small for gestational age (SGA).

Methods: This study used a population-based retrospective cohort analysis to examine the association between pre-pregnancy maternal stress and SGA in offspring.

Cerebral vein thrombosis: management tactics with a focus on pregnancy, the use of hormone therapy and assisted reproductive technologies.

Cerebral vein thrombosis is a rare, life-threatening condition that has now become more commonly diagnosed due to advancements in imaging techniques. Our purpose is to improve understanding of pathogenesis, diagnosis and pregnancy and IVF management in patients with a history of cerebral thrombosis. We present an overview of the modern tactics of anticoagulant therapy for cerebral thrombosis with a focus on pregnancy, the use of hormone therapy, and assisted reproductive technologies.

The relationship between breastfeeding motivation, workplace breastfeeding support, and job satisfaction among working mothers.

Women of childbearing age constitute a vital part of the workforce, and some may be working when they start and continue breastfeeding. This study aims to determine the relationship between working mothers' breastfeeding motivation, workplace breastfeeding support, and job satisfaction. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in Turkey between January and March 2020.

Ethiopia hygiene practice during complementary feeding and associated factors; systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Complementary feeding is crucial for infant growth, but poor hygiene during this period increases the risk of malnutrition and illness. In Ethiopia, national data on hygiene practices during complementary feeding, particularly among mothers of children aged 6-24 months, is limited. This study aims to synthesize existing data through a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the status of hygiene practices and identify key influencing factors, informing public health strategies to improve child health outcomes.

Risk factors and retreatment for relapse in childhood primary nephrotic syndrome treated with rituximab.

Background: The effectiveness of rituximab (RTX) for steroid-dependent/frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome (SDNS/FRNS) in children is well documented. However, there are insufficient data on relapse risk factors. Additionally, the retreat regimen for relapsed children requires further investigation.

Impact of high maternal body mass index on fetal cerebral cortical and cerebellar volumes.

Objectives: Maternal obesity increases a child's risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. However, little is known about the impact of maternal obesity on fetal brain development.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 20 healthy pregnant women across the range of pre-pregnancy or first-trimester body mass index (BMI) and performed fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their healthy singleton fetuses.

Inter-pregnancy interval and associated factors among parous women in neighboring low-land ecologies of arsi & east shoa zone, southeast Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an interval of at least 24 months from the date of a live birth to the conception of the next pregnancy in order to reduce the risk of adverse maternal, perinatal, and infant outcomes. There is limited data about the implementation of this recommendation and its contributing factors in low-land ecologies in Oromia, which is the biggest regional state in Ethiopia.

Objective: To assess the inter-pregnancy interval and determine associated factors among parous women in selected low-land districts of Arsi and East Shoa Zone.

Learning environment as a predictor for medical students' empathy: a multicenter cross-sectional study from 12 medical schools in China.

Background: Empathy of medical students is crucial, yet it tends to decline as students enter later academic years. Empathy appeared to be affected by the learning environment (LE), which could be a potential contributor. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the association between LE and empathy.

Using routine data to examine factors associated with stillbirth in three tertiary maternity facilities in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Background: Over one-third of the global stillbirth burden occurs in countries affected by conflict or a humanitarian crisis, including Afghanistan. Stillbirth rates in Afghanistan remained high in 2021 at over 26 per 1000 births. Stillbirths have devastating physical, psycho-social and economic impacts on women, families and healthcare providers.

Generation Victoria (GenV): protocol for a longitudinal birth cohort of Victorian children and their parents.

Background: In a world confronted with new and connected challenges, novel strategies are needed to help children and adults achieve their full potential, to predict, prevent and treat disease, and to achieve equity in services and outcomes. Australia's Generation Victoria (GenV) cohorts are designed for multi-pronged discovery (what could improve outcomes?) and intervention research (what actually works, how much and for whom?). Here, we describe the key features of its protocol.

A staged integrated model informing the promotion of healthy dietary behaviors in adolescents: a prospective study.

Background: The promotion of healthy dietary behaviors in adolescence is critical, which have long-term implications for lifelong health. Integration is an important method for improving limited theories of dietary behavior change. The present study proposes an integrated model aimed at identifying the diverse determinants of healthy dietary behaviors in adolescents and assesses its stage-specific nature as the potential for effective interventions.

Improving apgar scores and reducing perineal injuries through midwife-led quality improvements: an observational study in Uganda.

Background: Globally, the quality of maternal and newborn care remains inadequate, as seen through indicators like perineal injuries and low Apgar scores. While midwifery practices have the potential to improve care quality and health outcomes, there is a lack of evidence on how midwife-led initiatives, particularly those aimed at improving the use of dynamic birth positions, intrapartum support, and perineal protection, affect these outcomes.

Objective: To explore how the use of dynamic birth positions, intrapartum support, and perineal protection impact the incidence of perineal injuries and the 5-min Apgar score within the context of a midwife-led quality improvement intervention.

Screening for retinopathy of prematurity in China: a five-year cohort study in seven screening centers.

Background: To analyze the demographic characteristics of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in China, attempting to propose optimized screening criteria and hopefully providing valuable information for future updates to the ROP guideline.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective-cohort study was conducted. The study included infants born between January 1, 2018, and July 31, 2023, who underwent ROP screening and were diagnosed with ROP at seven screening centers in China.

Altered 3D genome reorganization mediates precocious myeloid differentiation of aged hematopoietic stem cells in inflammation.

Inflammation is a driving force of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) aging, causing irreversible exhaustion of functional HSCs. However, the underlying mechanism of HSCs erosion by inflammatory insult remains poorly understood. Here, we find that transient LPS exposure primes aged HSCs to undergo accelerated differentiation at the expense of self-renewal, leading to depletion of HSCs.

Affordability of family foods is associated with Nutritional Status of women with pre-school children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Malnutrition among women of reproductive age is a critical public health issue in LMICs, where undernutrition coexists with rising overweight and obesity rates. In Ethiopia, particularly among urban women, maternal and child undernutrition remains high despite efforts to combat poverty and food insecurity. This study examined the relationship between food affordability and the nutritional status of 4797 women in Addis Ababa.

Non-utilisation of postpartum services in northwestern Nigeria: analyses of trend and social determinants from 2003 to 2018.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of non-utilisation of postpartum services in northwestern Nigeria from 2003 to 2018 and to identify and estimate the influence of social determinants, a crucial step in improving maternal and child health in the region.

Design: The 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey rounds were used. Descriptive, trend and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to show the trend and assess the influence of social determinants.

Is economic inequality in maternal and child healthcare decreasing in India? Trends between 2005-2006, 2015-2016 and 2019-2021.

Objective: This study examined economic inequality in coverage of selected maternal and child healthcare (MCH) indicators in India and its states over the last 15 years.

Design: The study analysed last three rounds of the National Family Health Survey data, conducted during 2005-2006, 2015-2016 and 2019-2021. Bivariate analyses, ratio of richest to poorest, slope index of inequality (SII) and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the coverage as well as inequalities in the outcome indicators for India and its states and at district level.

Geographical equity in Ethiopian infant feeding practices: a secondary analysis of a birth cohort study.

Objectives: To assess the geographical equity in Ethiopian infants' exclusive breastfeeding at 5 months and dietary diversity at 12 months and whether social factors explained the spatial inequities.

Design: Secondary analysis of a birth cohort study.

Setting: Analysis of data from the Ethiopian Performance Monitoring for Action panel study conducted from July 2020 to August 2021 in five regions (ie, Oromia, Amhara, Afar and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regions and the Addis Ababa City administration).

CIROZ is dispensable in ancestral vertebrates but essential for left-right patterning in humans.

Four genes-DAND5, PKD1L1, MMP21, and CIROP-form a genetic module that has specifically evolved in vertebrate species that harbor motile cilia in their left-right organizer (LRO). We find here that CIROZ (previously known as C1orf127) is also specifically expressed in the LRO of mice, frogs, and fish, where it encodes a protein with a signal peptide followed by 3 zona pellucida N domains, consistent with extracellular localization. We report 16 individuals from 10 families with bi-allelic CIROZ inactivation variants, which cause heterotaxy with congenital heart defects.

Meeting summary: Global vaccine and immunization research forum, 2023.

At the 2023 Global Vaccine and Immunization Research Forum (GVIRF), researchers from around the world gathered in the Republic of Korea to discuss advances and opportunities in vaccines and immunization. Many stakeholders are applying the lessons of Covid-19 to future emergencies, by advancing early-stage development of prototype vaccines to accelerate response to the next emerging infectious disease, and by building regional vaccine research, development, and manufacturing capacity to speed equitable access to vaccines in the next emergency. Recent vaccine licensures include: respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, both for the elderly and to protect infants through maternal immunization; a new dengue virus vaccine; and licensure of Covid-19 vaccines previously marketed under emergency use authorizations.

Suboptimal care factors and stillbirths during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria: A state-wide linkage study of stillbirths and Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity case reviews.

Problem: The COVID-19 pandemic affected perinatal outcomes globally, with some regions reporting an increase in stillbirths.

Background: Melbourne, Australia, experienced one of the longest and most stringent pandemic lockdowns.

Aim: To compare stillbirth rates for singleton pregnancies > 20 weeks' gestation before and during the pandemic and examine differences in suboptimal care factors.