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Background: Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families have a markedly elevated risk for impaired cognitive and social-emotional development. Children in poverty experience have a high risk for developmental delays. Poverty engenders disproportionate exposure to psychological adversity which may contribute to impaired offspring development; however the effect may be mitigated by social support and other aspects of resilience. Our objective was to determine the association between maternal stress, adversity and social support and early infant neurobehavior and child behavior at two and three years., Methods: We conducted a longitudinal mother-infant cohort study nested within a regional home visiting program in Cincinnati, Ohio. Four home study visits were completed to collect measures of maternal stress, adversity and social support and infant and child behavior. A measure of infant neurobehavior ('high-arousal' infant) was derived from the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) at 1 month and externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at 24 and 36 months. Linear and logistic regression identified associations between maternal risk/protective factors and infant and child behavioral measures. We used stratification and multiplicative interaction terms to examine potential interactions., Results: We enrolled n = 55 pregnant mothers and follow 53 mother-offspring dyads at 1 month, 40 dyads at 24 months and 27 dyads at 36 months. Maternal adversity and protective factors were not associated with neurobehavior at one month. However, maternal depression and measures of distress in pregnancy were significantly associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 24 and 36 months., Conclusions: This pilot study established the feasibility of conducting longitudinal research within a community intervention program. In addition, although there were no statistically significant associations between maternal psychosocial factors in pregnancy and infant neurobehavior, there were several associations at 24 months, primarily internalizing symptoms, which persisted through 36 months. Future work will replicate findings within a larger study as well as explore mediators and modifiers of these associations., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: There is sufficient evidence that psychosocial stimulation (PS) benefits children's neurocognitive behavior, however, there is no information on how it works when delivered through an Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) platform for poor rural population in developing countries. The objective of this study is to measure effects of adding PS for children of lactating mothers enrolled to receive UCT with health education (HE) on neurocognitive behavior of children in rural Bangladesh., Methods: The study will be conducted at 11 unions of Ullapara sub-district in Bangladesh. The study is a cluster randomized controlled trial with three-arms; (i) PS and UCT with HE (ii) UCT with HE and iii) Comparison arm. The cluster will be considered as an old Ward of a Union, the lowest tier of local government system in rural Bangladesh. There are three old Wards in a union. These three clusters will be randomized to one of the three arms. Similarly, randomization will be done for each 11 Unions and then 11 clusters will be assigned to an arm. Eighteen participants will be recruited from each cluster randomly (n = 196 in each arm). The intervention designed for one year includes UCT with HE for the poor as a safety net program in rural Bangladesh with or without PS. An age-based curriculum of PS is already available for Bangladeshi children and this will be administered by trained local women; play leaders (PL) in intervention clusters. The government of Bangladesh is providing UCT of taka 500 ($6.25) as maternity allowance per month with HE. The primary outcomes will be cognitive, motor and language composite scores measured by Bayley-III and behavior using Wolke's behavior rating scale. The secondary outcomes will be children and mothers' growth, family food security status, health seeking behavior, mothers' depressive symptoms and self-esteem and violence against mothers., Discussion: The study will provide a unique opportunity to assess an integrated early childhood development intervention using UCT platform to mitigate developmental delays in poor vulnerable children of rural Bangladesh., Trial Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03281980, registered on September 13, 2017.

Background: Adolescent pregnancy carries a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes. Currently, there are very few longitudinal studies that have investigated the growth of children born to adolescents. This study explores the birth outcomes and determinants in adolescent pregnancies with subjects enrolled from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS). Methods: Using the data of Wave I (6 months old), II (18 months old), and III (36 months old) of TBCS, a national sample of 19,381 pairs of mothers and their children were included for analysis. Out of these subjects, therewere560 pairs of adolescent mothers and children. Through completed field interviews with structured questionnaires, surveys with mothers or other family members, and with references to each child's birth certificate and Passport of Well-baby Care, the differences in birth outcomes, personal, pregnancy, and social profiles of the mothers were analyzed. Results: A total of 560 adolescent mothers (<20 years old) and 18,821 adult mothers (20-34 years old) were included in this study. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of parameters of children growth and development. The numbers (proportions) of failure in milestones at 3 years old in gross motor functions, fine motor function, language, and social/personal development of children born to adolescent mothers are 13(2.32), 34(6. 07), 10(1.79), and 24(4.29 %), respectively; while there are 392(2.08), 1015(5.39), 308(1.64) and 512(2.72 %) for those born to adult mothers, respectively. The risk factors of failure in children development were identified as "the mother isn't the night-time caregiver" and "family dysfunction". Conclusion: There was no significant difference in development at 3 years old among children born to adolescent and adult mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Middle East and North Africa region harbors significant proportions of stunting and wasting coupled with surging rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Recent evidence identified nutrition during the first 1000 days of life as a common denominator not only for optimal growth but also for curbing the risk of NCDs later in life. The main objective of this manuscript is to describe the protocol of the first cohort in the region to investigate the association of nutrition imbalances early in life with birth outcomes, growth patterns, as well as early determinants of non-communicable diseases. More specifically the cohort aims to 1) examine the effects of maternal and early child nutrition and lifestyle characteristics on birth outcomes and growth patterns and 2) develop evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle guidelines for pregnant women and young children.Methods/design: A multidisciplinary team of researchers was established from governmental and private academic and health sectors in Lebanon and Qatar to launch the Mother and Infant Nutritional Assessment 3-year cohort study. Pregnant women (n = 250 from Beirut, n = 250 from Doha) in their first trimester are recruited from healthcare centers in Beirut, Lebanon and Doha, Qatar. Participants are interviewed three times during pregnancy (once every trimester) and seven times at and after delivery (when the child is 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months old). Delivery and birth data is obtained from hospital records. Data collection includes maternal socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, and household food security data. For biochemical assessment of various indicators of nutritional status, a blood sample is obtained from women during their first trimester. Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, dietary intake, as well as anthropometric measurements of children are also examined. The Delphi technique will be used for the development of the nutrition and lifestyle guidelines.Discussion: The Mother and Infant Nutritional Assessment study protocol provides a model for collaborations between countries of different socio-economic levels within the same region to improve research efficiency in the field of early nutrition thus potentially leading to healthier pregnancies, mothers, infants, and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) continues to increase, yet little is known of the longer term health of ART conceived offspring. There are some adverse birth outcomes associated with ART conception but the subsequent developmental trajectory is unclear. Undertaking research in this area is challenging due the sensitive nature of the topic and the time elapsed since birth of the ART conceived young adults. The aim of this report is to describe a research protocol, including design and ethical considerations, used to compare the physical and psychosocial health outcomes of ART conceived young adults aged 18-28 years, with their spontaneously conceived peers. Design: This is a retrospective cohort study of mothers who conceived with ART in Victoria, Australia and gave birth to a singleton child between 1982 and 1992. A current address for each mother was located and a letter of invitation to participate in the study was sent by registered mail. Participation involved completing a telephone interview about her young adult offspring's health and development from birth to the present. Mothers were also asked for consent for the researcher to contact their son/daughter to invite them to complete a structured telephone interview about their physical and psychosocial health. A comparison group of women living in Victoria, Australia, who had given birth to a spontaneously conceived singleton child between 1982 and 1992 was recruited from the general population using random digit dialling. Data were collected from them and their young adult offspring in the same way. Regression analyses were used to evaluate relationships between ART exposure and health status, including birth defects, chronic health conditions, hospital admissions, growth and sexual development. Psychosocial wellbeing, parental relationships and educational achievement were also assessed. Factors associated with the age of disclosure of ART conception were explored with the ART group only. Discussion: The conceptualization and development of this large project posed a number of methodological, logistical and ethical challenges which we were able to overcome. The lessons we learnt can assist others who are investigating the long-term health implications for ART conceived offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]