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The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) according to the pre-pregnancy body mass index. Electronic databases were searched (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Sciences, Scopus, ClinicalTrial.gov, OVID, and Cochrane Library). Selection criteria included prospective and retrospective cohort studies reporting the prevalence of fetal NTDs in obese, overweight, and underweight pregnant women. Odds ratios (ORs) comparing risk among these subsets of pregnancies with normal weight mothers were determined with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The evaluated outcome was the association between maternal underweight, overweight, and obesity and the risk of NTDs. We included ten studies published between 2000 and 2017, including underweight, overweight, and obese pregnant women with fetal NTD (cases) and pregnant women with recommended BMI with fetal NTD (controls). Compared with normal BMI women, obese mothers were at significantly higher risk of fetal NTDs (0.53 vs. 0.33%; OR 1.62 95% CI 1.32–1.99, p < .0001), while no difference for the risk of NTDs was found when comparing overweight (0.34 vs. 0.32%; OR 1.09 95% CI 0.92–1.3, p = .3) and underweight (0.65 vs. 0.24%; OR 1.34 95% CI 0.73–2.47, p = .34) with normal weight pregnant women. Obese pregnant women are at significantly higher risk NTDs, while no significant difference has been found in overweight and underweight pregnant women. Key message Obese pregnant women are at significantly higher risk of NTDs, such as spina bifida compared with normal weight women. No difference was found when comparing overweight and underweight with normal weight women. Obese pregnant women are at significantly higher risk of NTDs, such as spina bifida compared with normal weight women. No difference was found when comparing overweight and underweight with normal weight women.

Stunting merupakan kondisi kesehatan yang sangat buruk bagi seorang anak dan keluarganya. Stunting berdampak besar pada status kesehatan di masa depan, bahkan ada prediksi penurunan ekonomi akibat kondisi stunting. Di tengah pandemi, tantangan perubahan paradigma, reformulasi sistem pelayanan, dan modifikasi inovasi ditujukan untuk memastikan pelayanan kesehatan yang prima, sesuai dengan prinsip kode etik kesehatan. Penelitian kuantitatif dengan kuasi eksperimental dan studi literatur dengan tujuan mengetahui pengaruh penguatan pengetahuan perawatan Ibu terhadap anak dengan stunting di masa pandemi. Penelitian ini merupakan studi kolaboratif antara perawat, dokter, dan kader kesehatan yang memberikan layanan penguatan kognisi stunting terhadap 28 kasus stunting selama pandemi 2019-2020. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan peningkatan berat badan pada anak dengan stunting serta pengetahuan ibu yang signifikan. Penguatan kolaborasi dilakukan secara terintegrasi dan signifikan, yang sangat baik untuk komunikasi, peran, dan kerjasama. Dan, faktor keberadaan bagi Ibu, dan anak yang selalu berada di rumah saat terjadi pandemi, pengawasan intensif oleh kader kesehatan merupakan faktor akses yang mudah untuk memberikan penguatan yang terintegrasi.

This essay examines how and why the lived, experienced, and complicated maternal body matters in influencing public conversations about motherhood. Through analysis of Serena Williams’s acts of rhe...

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing among reproductive-age women in sub-Saharan Africa. Whether maternal body mass index (BMI) influences the risk of infant infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is uncertain. We used data from a birth cohort of 5344 HIV-unexposed Zimbabwean infants with available data on maternal BMI, to calculate rates of sick clinic visits for infections during the first 12 months postpartum, and adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for each maternal BMI group. Compared to infants of mothers with normal BMI, the rate of sick clinic visits for any infection progressively rose among infants of overweight (aHR 1.05; 95%CI 0.99, 1.11) and obese women (aHR 1.15; 95%CI 1.05, 1.25). Excess clinic attendances were particularly due to skin, respiratory and ear infections. Maternal obesity may therefore influence infant infectious morbidity in LMIC over the first year after birth.

Oxidative stress is related to pregnancy complications that could increase maternal and infant mortality. This study aimed to determine the effect of propolis extract supplementation during pregnancy on oxidative stress level and pregnancy outcomes utilizing Malonedealdehyde (MDA) and 8-Oxo-2′-Deoxogunosine (8-OHdG) levels, maternal body weight, and the average number of fetuses as the parameters. The study was conducted by using a posttest only control group design on 24 pregnant Wistar rats, which were divided into four groups. Group I was control, Group II-IV were the treatment groups given propolis extract of 1.8mg, 3.6mg, and 7.2mg/200gBW/day, respectively. The standard feed given was AIN93G dose of 20g/day and distilled water ad libitum. Propolis extract was given using a gastric feeding tube every morning for 20 days. At the end of the treatment, body weight was meisured and blood collected for assessed MDA and 8-OHdG levels by ELISA method and then we performed abdominal surgery to count number of fetuses. The result are there were decreasing level of MDA and 8-OHDG by administration of propolis significantly (p

Maternal effects are possible channels through which mothers provision their offspring differentially, thereby affecting offspring phenotype. We investigated maternal effects in the zig-zag ladybird beetle (Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius, 1781) = Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781)) in response to body size (induced by different feeding regimes during larval development) and their age within the reproductive cycle. Different-sized females were permitted to mate and were provided with daily-replenished ad libitum prey. After mating, reproductive output and developmental duration of offspring from different oviposition days were recorded. We hypothesized that small females would lay smaller and fewer eggs than larger females, and that egg mass would also reduce with increased maternal age. In our study, the larger mothers laid more eggs per day. Small and large mothers oviposited maximally at middle age. Maternal age did not influence the egg mass, although it was slightly higher in the case of older, larger females. Offspring from old, small and large mothers developed rapidly. This nimble development could be an adaptive strategy for the use of ephemeral aphid patches. The results of the study are indicative of this ladybird species’ ability to adjust their offspring’s life-history traits, a feature more prominent in larger females.

This work offers a theoretically informed analysis of the characterization of maternity in religion using a spatial lens. The maternal body as a space is used as an analytical framework to discuss how Mary’s pregnancy is located and spatialized in Christianity. Through examining selected medieval Marian iconography, this work discusses what kind of space Mary’s body represents in the Christian doctrine. Analysis shows three central themes on the characterization of the maternal body as a space: (1) as a transitional space, (2) as a landmark, and (3) as a liminal space. The images of Marian pregnancy show that the maternal body is beyond its biological purpose in the Bible, but serves as a space that enables various interactions and spiritual events. The examination of Mary’s maternal body as a space offers an alternative perspective to discuss Mary’s character as a point of interface for Christian doctrines, biblical periods, and the Scriptures. In many ways, understanding Mary’s maternal body as a space speaks about the complexities and unveiled aspects of maternity’s role in religion. This work hopes to spark further discussions on how the maternal body intersects with spatiality in the context of religion.

The prenatal developmental toxicity of bitumen fume was tested by nose-only inhalation in the rat. The fumes for exposure were collected from the headspace of a storage tank filled with a bitumen corresponding in composition to an anticipated worst-case occupational exposure. The composition of these fumes was compared to actual paving site fumes to ensure its representativeness for workplace exposures. In a dose-range-finding study male and female rats were exposed to 0, 103, 480 or 1043 mg/m3 of fume (as total organic mass), for 6 h/day during 20 days post conception (p.c.). Dose-related effects on body weight and lungs were observed in the mid- and high-dose groups. In the main study, dams were exposed to 0, 52, 151 and 482 mg/m3 of fume, for 6 h/day during 19 days p.c. The maternal NOAEL was 52 mg/m³. In the high-dose group treatment-related effects on body weight (gain), food consumption, lung weights, and histopathological changes in lungs and larynx were observed. In the mid-dose group only histopathological changes in the larynx and lungs were found. The NOAEL for prenatal developmental toxicity was 151 mg/m³ based on reduced fetal weight in the high-dose group (482 mg/m³). However, these changes are most likely a consequence of the maternal toxicity, in particular the reduction of maternal body weight gain by 26 % as compared to control. Nose-only exposure to bitumen fumes in concentrations up to 482 mg/m³ from days 1-19 p.c. did not induce any significant fetal anomalies.

Worldwide, obesity is the prevalent, chronic medical condition (1). The rate of obesity in pregnant women is rising, increasing the significance of its impact on obesity-related pregnancy complications.(2) Maternal body mass index (BMI) is one of the predictors of the nutritional status of pregnant ladies. The problem of rising obesity is not unique to India. In earlier research, the relationship between maternal height and weight with pregnancy complications have been extensively explored, but in recent times, BMI is widely accepted as a better measure of over or underweight [3].

To investigate the effect of birth weight (BW) and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI (mBMI) on blood pressure (BP) in adolescence. A Population-based cohort of 11,729 births in Jerusalem during 1974–1976, with archival data on maternal and birth characteristics was performed. Measurements at age 17 were assessed and linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations of birth characteristics with BP outcomes. BW was inversely associated with both systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP at age 17 (SBP: B = − 0.829, p = 0.002; DBP: B = − 0.397, p = 0.033). The interaction term between BW and weight at age 17 was significant for DBP (p = 0.017) and pulse pressure (p = 0.005). mBMI yielded significant positive associations with BP, independent of BW. Our findings indicate that there are at least two distinct pathways linking early life characteristics with subsequent BP: Intrauterine growth, as reflected by BW and other genetic or environmental factors, reflected by mBMI and maternal education, contribute to offspring adolescent BP. These results warrant replication in other birth cohorts and underline the need to explore specific mechanisms that account for these associations.

Background: Obesity is associated with higher surgical and anaesthetic morbidity and difficulties. Aims: We aimed to investigate associations between maternal body mass index (BMI) and the in-theatre time taken to produce an anaesthetised state or to perform surgery for caesarean delivery. Materials and Methods: Using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines, we identified all women who underwent caesarean section at a single institution (2009–2015). The prospectively collected data arising from antenatal and peripartum care were analysed. Generalised linear regression was used to examine associations between maternal BMI and the time taken to anaesthetise the mother and the duration of surgery. Results: Of a total of 24 761 caesarean deliveries, 5607 (22.7%) women were obese at antenatal registration. In-theatre anaesthetic preparation (18 vs 32 min, P < 0.001) and surgical duration (38 vs 52 min, P < 0.001) were longer in women with BMI ≥50 kg/m (BMI-50) than those with normal BMI (BMI-N). This difference remained significant after controlling for antenatal, intra-operative and immediate postoperative variables. Modifiable variables were identified that may mitigate the effects of severe obesity. Senior obstetric and anaesthetic care were both independently associated with a significant reduction in mean in-theatre anaesthetic preparation time and surgical duration, by 11 and three minutes respectively (P < 0.001), while epidural top-up significantly lessened mean anaesthetic in-theatre preparation duration by seven minutes (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Obese women had greater anaesthesia and surgery time, but the effect may potentially be mitigated by provision of care by experienced staff and prior establishment of epidural analgesia.

Anne Bradstreet’s conversion narrative, “To My Dear Children,” has excited less attention from critics than her renowned poetry. Bradstreet composed her letter to her children in 1656 when she beli...

ObjectivesMeasurement of birth length and birth head circumference is part of the newborn assessment. Both measurements aid in distinguishing between proportionate and disproportionate small and large for gestational age newborns. It had been shown that birth weight is related to maternal height and weight. This study aims to analyze birth length and birth head circumference percentiles based on maternal stature.MethodsThis observational study analyzed birth length and birth head circumference percentiles of 2.3 million newborns stratified by maternal height and weight from the first obstetric assessment. Percentiles were calculated for sex and 22–43 gestational weeks for all infants. Eighteen subgroups based on six maternal height and three weight strata were defined and percentiles calculated from 32 to 42 gestational weeks using GAMLSS package for R.ResultsNewborns of mothers with height 177 cm, weight >79 kg). Small stature mothers were 1.7 years younger. Birth length differed by several centimeters for the same percentiles between groups of short and tall stature mothers, whereas birth head circumference differed up to 1.2 cm. The largest deviation of birth length was between the 97th percentiles. For male newborns born at term, birth length at the 97th percentile differed by 3.2 cm, at the 50th percentile by 2.7 cm and at the third percentile by 2.5 cm.ConclusionsBirth length and birth head circumference are related to maternal height and weight. To more completely assess newborns, the maternal size should be considered.

To evaluate the relationship between the maternal body mass index (BMI) and total gestational weight gain (GWG) with the characteristics of newborns, taking into consideration the birth weight (BW), weight for age score (WfA), length for age (LfA), and weight for length (WfL), APGAR score, and premature delivery.We conducted a study, from March 2015 to 2016. We included a number of 1218 pregnant women who delivered single babies, from three different hospitals that serve the entire Mures County and who met our inclusion criteria.We did not find significant differences regarding weight, length at birth, and gestational age, between girls and boys, neither between total GWG during pregnancy and the measured anthropometric parameters of the newborns, or between maternal GWG and gestational age of the newborns. We found a positive correlation between the mothers' BMI and the BW of the newborns (We found a positive correlation between the mothers' BMI and excessive GWG and the BW of their newborns in women delivering a single baby. Women with higher BMI showed significantly higher frequency of preterm delivery.

This paper explores the maternal body work practices of black low-income mothers from resource-poor urban spaces in South Africa. Using Southern Theory to open our analytical lens, we recognise that location has implications for how we understand the embodiment of gender and the lactating body in the global South. We argue that maternal body work, as one form of gendered embodiment, must be understood in a postcolonial landscape where histories of colonisation and indigenous gender orders continue to shape how women respond to work conditions and how they manage the competing demands of work and breastfeeding. Our analysis from 51 in-depth interviews conducted in Cape Town, demonstrates that maternal body work practices are interpreted through the entanglement of embodiment and work and non-work spaces. By emphasising contextual specificities relating to low-income worker’s living, working and family realities, we advance studies on maternal body work and employment from the global South.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational age (GA) on the number of single circulating trophoblasts (SCT). METHODS Maternal blood was collected in 20 to 40 mL. All singleton pregnant women at any gestation were recruited. Trophoblasts were recovered by immunomagnetic enrichment and stained for cytokeratin and CD45. Candidate trophoblasts were identified by fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS Blood samples were collected from 425 singleton pregnancies from April 2018 to December 2019. At least one candidate cell was identified in 88% (373/425). There was an inverse correlation between trophoblasts yield and increasing BMI (r = -0.19, P

Objectives To examine the association between maternal body dissatisfaction and mother's (mis)perception of their infant's weight classification among families from low-income households. Methods Mother-infant dyads were recruited during well-child visits from two urban primary care clinics. Maternal body dissatisfaction was measured using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale. Perception of infant weight was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Infant weight-for-length (WFL) percentiles were calculated using WHO growth charts. Associations between maternal body dissatisfaction score and mother's (mis)perception of their infant's weight classification were examined using logistic regression allowing for non-linear associations via restricted cubic splines. Results Mothers (n=180) were 26.6 ± 5.1 years old and 72% Black; infants were 8.8 ± 2.1 months old. Mean infant WFL percentile was 64 ± 26. On average, mothers wanted to be one body figure smaller than their perceived current body size. Most mothers (82%) accurately perceived their infant's weight classification while few overestimated (7%) or underestimated (11%) their child's weight category. The probability of mothers misperceiving their infant's weight classification increased as maternal body dissatisfaction increased in either extreme in unadjusted (p Conclusions Increased maternal body dissatisfaction may be associated with mother's misperception of infant weight classification. Future studies should examine this relationship in a heterogeneous population.

BackgroundMaternal nutrition depletion during pregnancy compromises fetal programming, and is a cause of adverse birth outcomes. Maternal body composition measurement using direct body composition assessment methods such as the deuterium dilution technique provides better prediction of birth outcomes as compared with commonly used techniques like anthropometry. This study assessed body composition of pregnant mothers in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, and established the relationship between maternal body composition and infant birth weight.MethodsDeuterium dilution technique was used to determine body composition, including total body water (TBW), fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM), among 129 pregnant women who were enrolled into the study in their first or second trimester. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were applied using Stata V.13.ResultsThe mean TBW, FFM and FM were 33.3 L (±4.7), 45.7 kg (±6.5) and 17.01 kg (±7.4), respectively. Both TBW and FFM were significantly related to maternal age and gestation/pregnancy stage during body composition assessment while FM was significantly associated with gestation stage during body composition assessment. TBW and FFM were significantly lower in younger mothers (ConclusionNon-fat components of the body (TBW and FFM) have a positive association with birth weight. Therefore, interventions to improve optimal maternal feeding practices, to enhance optimal gains in FFM and TBW during pregnancy are recommended, especially among young mothers.

Background: The worldwide obesity epidemic continues to be a major public health challenge, particularly in women of childbearing age. There is a need to understand the associations between maternal BMI and perinatal outcome. Objectives: To evaluate recent trends in maternal body mass index (BMI) and to quantify its association with foetal outcome. Methodology: It is a cross sectional study including a total of 384 pregnant women who were primi gravida and carry singleton pregnancy admitted at term in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of DMCH for the management of labour. All the mothers were chosen by purposive sampling. The study populations were classified into four groups according to BMI. Group-I stands for 44 mothers who are underweight, Group-II consists of 234 mothers who are normal weight, Group III represents to 81 mothers who are overweight and Group IV signifies for 25 mothers who are obese. The women with multiple pregnancies, preterm labour and hypertension or diabetes were excluded from the study. Data regarding socio demographic, clinical, obstetrical and foetal outcome were recorded, afterwards the data were edited, managed and analyzed. The observations were plotted into tabular and figure form. The categorical variable was analyzed by chi square test and the quantitative variables were analyzed by ANOVA test. At all level 95% confidence interval & level of significance was p 2.5 kg in Group IV whereas 72.7% had ≤2.5 kg birth weight in Group I. Maximum (57%) mothers underwent NVD in Group I as long as the paramount (71%) mothers endured LSCS in Group III. Out of 384, total 180(46.9%) mothers had NVD and 204(53.1%) mothers deferred LSCS. APGAR score ≤7 was found 31.8%, 12.8%, 38.3% and 20% in Group I, Group II, Group III and Group IV independently. The P-value showed statistically significant of the groups (P=0.00016). Among 204 LSCS, 167(81.9%) mother sustained emergency and 37(18.1%) undertook elective LSCS. 52.9% of mothers went through LSCS were due to meconium staining liquor in Group IV which was subsequently followed by 46.6% in Group-III. 25.0%, 9.8%, 32.1% and 16% neonates required NICU admission in Group I, Group II, Group III and Group IV severally. There was a moderately positive significant correlation between maternal BMI and neonatal birth weight (r=+.383, p

This article addresses Lucy Hutchinson’s Order and Disorder, an epic, twenty-canto retelling of Genesis. Scholars have often considered Hutchinson’s poem an inferior version of Paradise Lost insofar as it does not transgress biblical narrative. Attending to the poem’s portrayal of childbearing in relation to seventeenth-century birthing prayers and affect theory, this article demonstrates how Hutchinson’s figuration of the body belies any notion of her poem as “Christian cliché.” The article argues that the political value of Order and Disorder stems not from Hutchinson’s depiction of motherhood as a prototype of self-possessed, liberal political agency, but from her account of affective feeling as unbinding woman from any fixed position or category. Finally, the article shows how Hutchinson’s depiction of childbearing, as an ongoing process rather than a teleological event, parallels her understanding of both poetry and providence.