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Abstract Background Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities in Wales, UK, can issue care proceedings if they are concerned about the welfare of a child, which can lead to removal of a child from parents. For mothers at risk of child removal, timely intervention during pregnancy may avert the need for this and improve maternal/fetal health; however, little is known about this specific population during the antenatal period. The study examined maternity characteristics of mothers whose infants were subject to care proceedings, with the aim of informing preventative interventions targeted at high risk mothers. Methods Anonymised administrative data from Cafcass Cymru, who provide child-focused advice and support for family court proceedings in Wales, were linked to population-based maternity and health records held within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank. Linked data were available for 1111 birth mothers of infants involved in care proceedings between 2015 and 2018. Findings were benchmarked with reference to an age-deprivation-matched comparison group (n = 23,414), not subject to care proceedings but accessing maternity services during this period. Demographic characteristics, maternal health, reproductive history, interaction with midwifery services, and pregnancy and birth outcomes were examined. Descriptive and statistical tests of independence were used. Results Half of the women in the cohort (49.4%) resided in the most deprived areas. They were more likely to be younger at entry to motherhood (63.5%

OBJECTIVE: The influence of infant feeding practices on weight gain during childhood remains unresolved, with few studies adjusting appropriately for confounding factors. This study examined the effect of breastfeeding initiation, breastfeeding duration and age at introduction of solid foods on weight gain from birth to 3 years. DESIGN: Nationally representative prospective study. SETTING: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: 10 533 3-year-old children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Conditional weight gain z-scores from birth to 3 years (adjusted for birthweight); multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the impact of infant feeding practices on this measure after adjustment for confounding factors. RESULTS: Breastfeeding initiation and breastfeeding duration were significantly associated with weight gain from birth to 3 years. Infants receiving no breast milk grew faster than those whose mothers initiated breastfeeding (adjusted regression coefficient (difference in z-scores) 0.06, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.09), as did those breastfed for less than 4 months (0.05, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.09) versus those breastfed 4 months or longer. Early introduction of solids was not associated with faster weight gain after adjustment for height z-score at 3 years (–0.01, 95% CI –0.04 to 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Initiating and prolonging breastfeeding may reduce excess weight gain by preschool age. Association of the early introduction of solids with rapid weight gain during early childhood is mediated through childhood stature. Although effects sizes are small, at a population level they are of public health importance as these risk factors are potentially modifiable. Strategies to support mothers to follow internationally recommended infant feeding practices are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]