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PubMed1996

Plasticity in the maternal circuit: effects of maternal experience on Fos-Lir in hypothalamic, limbic, and cortical structures in the postpartum rat.

To determine what brain sites are activated during the acquisition and retention of a maternal experience in postpartum rats, 3 studies examined the number of cells showing Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-lir) in brains following reexposure to pups and pup-associated cues in maternally experienced and inexperienced rats. Day 1 postpartum rats were given a 2- or 4-hr interactive experience with pups and then reexposed to pups in a perforated box, or to a neutral stimulus (perforated box only) 4 or 10 days later. At the end of the test phase, brains were prepared for immunohistochemical detection of Fos-lir. The brain sites showing the most consistent difference between experienced and inexperienced rats were the medical preoptic area, the basolateral amygdala, the parietal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex.

Amygdala↗
PubMed2005

The effects of D1 or D2 dopamine receptor antagonism in the medial preoptic area, ventral pallidum, or nucleus accumbens on the maternal retrieval response and other aspects of maternal behavior in rats.

The medial preoptic area (MPOA), ventral pallidum (VP), and nucleus accumbens (NA) receive dopaminergic afferents and are involved in maternal behavior. Experiments investigated whether dopamine (DA) receptor antagonism in NA disrupts maternal behavior, determined the type of DA receptor involved, and investigated the involvement of drug spread to VP or MPOA. Injection of SCH 23390 (D1 DA receptor antagonist) into NA of postpartum rats disrupted retrieving at dosage levels that were ineffective when injected into MPOA or VP. Motor impairment was not the cause of the deficit. Injection of eticlopride (D2 DA receptor antagonist) into NA or VP was without effect. Results emphasize the importance of DA action on D1 receptors in NA for retrieval behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Rapid assessment of maternal activity among rural Indian mothers (Pune Maternal Nutrition Study).

OBJECTIVE: To develop an activity questionnaire for objective and rapid assessment of maternal habitual physical activity with the aim of describing its relationship with birth size. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Six villages near Pune, Maharashtra, India. SUBJECTS: Seven hundred and ninety-seven rural Indian mothers were studied after excluding abortions and termination of pregnancies, foetal anomalies, etc. METHOD: Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to identify a few leading questions from an elaborate questionnaire involving 36 questions related to 14 typical maternal activities. RESULTS: On the basis of high loading (>0.8), PCA identified three activities, i.e. farming, fetching water and washing clothes. Questions and sub-questions related to these activities only were considered for defining an activity score for rapid assessment. Validation of this new activity score, with the score based on the elaborate questionnaire, showed 70% sensitivity as well as specificity. New activity scores showed strong inverse relationships similar to those observed using the elaborate questionnaire, at early as well as late gestation, with neonatal head circumference (P=0.001 and 0.055) and mid-arm circumference (P=0.02 and 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Simple questionnaires, based on leading activities identified by PCA, can be as informative as longer and detailed questionnaires. This method has potential for adaptation, especially in rural communities in developing countries.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Maternal cholesterol in fetal development: transport of cholesterol from the maternal to the fetal circulation.

Cholesterol is required for fetal development. Data obtained from recent studies in humans, rodents, and cell cultures showed that circulating maternal cholesterol can affect fetal metabolism and sterol accretion. Recent studies in our laboratory showed that the efflux of cholesterol from the basolateral side of the placental cells and the secretion of cholesterol from endodermal yolk sac cells to the fetal circulation can be regulated. The ability to manipulate the mass of maternal cholesterol that crosses to the fetus could result in a dramatic improvement in the development of fetuses that lack the ability to synthesize cholesterol, such as those with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. On the other hand, it could also accelerate the development of various age-related diseases, such as atherosclerosis.

Biological Transport, Active↗
PubMed1997

Maternal age modifies the effect of maternal smoking on intrauterine growth retardation but not on late fetal death and placental abruption.

To investigate whether the effect modification of smoking by maternal age previously reported for small for gestational age births was also obtained for late fetal death and placental abruption, the author analyzed single births in Sweden (n = 1,057,711) from 1983 to 1992. An effect modification of smoking by maternal age was obtained only with regard to fetal growth: Compared with nonsmokers aged 40-44 years, the risk of small for gestational age births among women smoking at east 10 cigarettes per day in the same age group was 4.5, whereas the corresponding risk increase among teenagers was only 2.0. The present results support the hypothesis that smoking actually influences fetal growth more among older smokers.

Abruptio Placentae↗
PubMed1996

Roles of maternal vision and olfaction in suckling-mediated inhibition of luteinizing hormone secretion, expression of maternal selectivity, and lactational performance of beef cows.

The roles of maternal vision and olfaction in regulating the suckling-mediated inhibition of LH secretion, expression of maternal selectivity, and lactational performance was examined in anestrous beef cows (n = 57). Pluriparous cows were allotted randomly to one of 10 groups between 17 and 21 days postcalving (Experimental Day 0). Groups 1-8 included cows that were either intact, blind, anosmic, or blind and anosmic, and were control-suckled by either their own or unrelated ("alien") calves every 6 h for 6 days. Groups 9 and 10 served as positive controls and were left intact and weaned, or were anosmic, blind, and weaned. The frequency of LH pulses (pulses/5 h) remained unchanged over the 6-day experiment in sighted and olfactory-intact groups suckling their own calves (1.2 +/- 0.01). In contrast, cows that were olfactory-intact or sighted and suckling alien calves, blind and anosmic and suckling their own or alien calves, or weaned exhibited prompt increases (p < 0.001) in LH pulse frequency to a maximum of 4.6 +/- 0.3 pulses/5 h within 6 days. Mean frequency was greater in these groups (p < 0.05) than in olfactory-intact or sighted groups suckling their own calves. Enforced suckling by an alien calf attenuated (p < 0.001) milk production and calf weight gain, and a greater (p < 0.05) proportion of cows presented with aliens during behavioral tests physically rejected suckling compared to those presented with their own calves. These results confirm that suckling-related events sustain the inhibited pattern of LH secretion in cows only if the offspring are positively identified as their own. Olfaction and vision are equally effective in permitting calf identification, but elimination of both senses prevents calf identification and the negative effects of suckling on LH secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Maternal death. A review of maternal deaths at one hospital from 1958 to 1978.

A retrospective examination of all maternal deaths at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in the last 20 years shows that general anaesthesia is the greatest single cause of maternal death. This highlights the need for considerable reduction in the inherently dangerous technique of general anaesthesia to patients in labour and, where possible, its replacement by extradural and spinal blocks.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Maternal intrusiveness, maternal warmth, and mother-toddler relationship outcomes: variations across low-income ethnic and acculturation groups.

The present study investigated the extent to which maternal intrusiveness and warmth during play, observed in 579 European American, 412 African American, and 110 more and 131 less acculturated Mexican American low-income families when children were approximately 15 months old, predicted 3 dimensions of the mother-toddler relationship 10 months later. Intrusiveness predicted increases in later child negativity in all 4 groups. Among African Americans only, this association was moderated by maternal warmth. Intrusiveness predicted negative change in child engagement with mothers only in European American families. Finally, near-significant trends suggested that intrusiveness predicted later decreased dyadic mutuality in European American and more acculturated Mexican American families, but not in African American or less acculturated Mexican American families.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2001

Neonatal mortality rates in communities with small maternity units compared with those having larger maternity units.

OBJECTIVE: To compare neonatal mortality in geographical areas where most deliveries occur in large hospitals with areas where a larger proportion of deliveries occur in small maternity units. DESIGN: Population-based study using data from The Norwegian Medical Birth Registry. SETTING: Records on all deliveries in Norway from 1967 to 1996, a total of 1.7 million births, were equipped with data on the size of the maternity units used by delivering women in that particular area. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Risk of neonatal death. RESULTS: Women living in areas where the most frequently used delivery unit had less than 2000 annual deliveries had 1.2 fold the risk of experiencing neonatal death of their newborn (95% CI 1.1-1.3). The relative risk of neonatal death in geographical areas where more than 75% of deliveries occurred in units with more than 3000 annual births was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) compared with areas where none delivered in such large units. The relative risk of neonatal death in areas where the most frequently used delivery units had less than 100 annual births was 1.4 (95% CI 1.1-1.7) compared with areas where units of more than 3000 annual births were the most frequently used. Differences in outcome could not be explained by differences in travelling distance to an urban centre where most referral delivery units are located, differences between rural and urban municipalities, or by differences in biological or socio-economic risk factors between municipalities. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a small but significantly decreased neonatal mortality in areas where the great majority of births occurred in large hospitals.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1996

Effect of maternal ethanol consumption on maternal and fetal calcium metabolism.

Alcohol consumption can have deleterious effects on both adult and developing bone. The mechanism(s) by which alcohol affects bone, however, is unknown. This study investigated the possibility that alcohol affects bone by alterations in calcium (Ca) metabolism. Female rats were fed lab chow ad libitum (C, Control) or a liquid diet with (E, Ethanol) or without (PF, Pair-Fed) ethanol. After 2 weeks on their respective diets, the rats were bred and the experimental diets continued throughout gestation. Blood (dams only) and tissue were collected on day 21 of gestation. The Ca content of maternal bone showed a trend toward a decrease in E and PF compared with C dams. Ionic Ca (iCa) levels were decreased in the blood of the E compared with PF and C dams. Serum parathyroid hormone levels were elevated in the E compared with C dams, consistent with the low iCa levels. Serum levels of 1,25(OH)2D, however, were elevated only in the PF dams. Mean fetal body weight and fetal skeletal ossification were reduced in the E compared with PF and C groups, but no group differences were found in fetal Ca content. These results indicate that maternal ethanol consumption compromised the ability of the dam to regulate her blood iCa levels, possibly partly due to a failure to increase 1,25(OH)2D levels. The delays in skeletal development observed in the ethanol exposed fetuses, however, do not appear to result from impaired placental Ca transfer.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Poor maternal care and high maternal body mass index in pregnancy as a risk factor for schizophrenia in offspring.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether antenatal factors in mothers would increase the risk of schizophrenia in the offspring, and also examined any relationship between these factors and histories of obstetric complications (OCs). METHOD: Using the Mother and Child Health Handbooks of 52 patients with schizophrenia and 284 healthy subjects, we evaluated the risk-increasing effects of the frequency of antenatal care visits and mothers' body mass index (BMI) at both early and late pregnancy. RESULTS: In logistic regression analysis, there was a significant association between the number of antenatal care visits and the risk of the disorder; an increase in a unit of visits corresponds to a reduction of the risk by 12%. We also found a 24% increase in the risk with a one-unit increase of BMI at the early pregnancy, and a 19% increase at the late pregnancy. These antenatal factors were found to contribute, in part, to an excess of OCs in individuals with schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Poor maternal care during pregnancy and comparatively high maternal BMI especially at early pregnancy may cause a predisposition to schizophrenia in the offspring.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Maternal cohort, time of stillbirth, and maternal age effects in Italian stillbirth mortality.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate factors in stillbirth mortality in Italy. DESIGN: Italian stillbirth data from 1955 to 1979 were analysed using a log-linear Poisson model with arbitrary constraints on the parameters to identify the effects of maternal birth cohort, calendar period of stillbirth and maternal age. SETTING: Stillbirth data for the whole of Italy were obtained from the Italian Central Institute of Statistics for the years under examination. During this period the criteria for defining stillbirth did not change and the quality of birth registration was similar. MAIN RESULTS: Decreases in stillbirth mortality were marked and steady, starting for the generations born since 1920. A period effect in stillbirth trends was shown, but this was apparently smaller than the cohort trend. CONCLUSIONS: The cohort trend suggests that long term improvements in socioeconomic and general health conditions may be important factors in the diminishing stillbirth rates, as well as short term advances in obstetric care. Alternatively the cohort effect could be attributed, at least in part, to an age-period interaction, since the downward trends were more pronounced in younger women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The time of first holding of the infant and maternal self-esteem related to feelings of maternal attachment.

This study tested the hypotheses that the earlier the mother holds her infant after delivery the sooner she will develop feelings of maternal attachment, and the more positive her self-esteem the sooner she will develop feelings of maternal attachment. A voluntary sample of 67 mothers completed self-administered questionnaires including the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and three tools designed for use in this study. Findings from Pearson product-moment correlations supported the first hypothesis but not the second. Implications for health care practice and research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Previous maternal abortion, longer gestation, and younger maternal age decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes among male offspring.

OBJECTIVE: To identify possible influences and interactions of perinatal determinants in the subsequent development of type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The data were obtained from children born in Denmark during the periods 1978-1982 and 1984-1986 and admitted to a Danish hospital with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes between 1978 and 1995; 857 patients fulfilled the criteria. The study was conducted by combining and analyzing two national registries: the National Patient Registry and the Medical Birth Registry. For each diabetic child, two control children were randomly selected, matched by sex, time, and district of delivery. RESULTS: By multivariate logistic regression analysis, the following significant determinants were identified. Male offspring showed decreased risk when born of mothers who had had one or more abortions (odds ratio [OR] 0.66 [95% CI 0.48-0.92]) and with long duration of gestation (linearly with OR 0.91 per week [0.85-0.99]), while increased risk was found for high maternal age (linearly with OR 1.03 per year [1.00-1.06]). Female offspring showed no such association. No significant differences between diabetic patients and control subjects were found with respect to paternal age, maternal parity, placental weight or any of the birth size parameters, or interventions and complications during delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that perinatal determinants may influence the risk of subsequent development of type 1 diabetes in a sex-specific manner.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of maternal age, parity, and fetal sex on the amniotic fluid and maternal serum levels of CA 125, CA 19.9, CA 15.3, and CEA.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of maternal age, parity and fetal sex on amniotic fluid (AF) and maternal serum (MS) levels of CA 125, CA 19.9, CA 15.3 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). SUBJECTS AND SETTING: MS samples for CA 125, CA 19.9, CA 15.3 and CEA assay were obtained from 62 pregnant women at 16-20 weeks of gestation. AF was obtained from the same patients during genetic amniocentesis. METHODS: Radioimmuno assay to determine tumor marker concentrations. RESULTS: The following statistically significant differences were observed: (1) MS CA 19.9 and CA 15.3 values were elevated in the primigravida group. MS mean CA 19.9 value was also abnormally elevated. (2) MS mean CA 19.9 and CEA values and AF mean CA 19.9 value were elevated in the female fetus group. CONCLUSIONS: Parity and fetal sex were associated with AF and MS levels of some tumor markers. Therefore, to prevent misinterpretation of the tumor marker values during pregnancy further investigation is needed to find normal values for each trimester, paying particular attention to parity and fetal sex.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[An appreciation of maternal smoking with high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of maternal and neonatal urinary cotinine].

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation of urinary cotinine levels in mothers and newborns with the number of cigarettes smoked at the end of pregnancy. Population and methods. We recorded the smoking habits of 123 mothers attending a university maternity clinic and measured urinary cotitine levels in mothers and their newborns. All mothers were Europeans and gave birth to a normal full-term (37 weeks gestation) infant. Cotinine levels were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography from urine samples taken during the 6-hour period prior to or after delivery for the mothers and 24-h after birth for the newborns. RESULTS: The average cotinine level for non-smoking mothers, for those who smoked one to nine cigarettes a day and heavy smokers (ten or more cigarettes per day) were 0.21, 2.17 and 4.28 mol/l respectively (p<0.001). The average levels in their newborns were 0.04, 0.39 and 1.36 mol/l respectively (p<0.001). Thirteen percent of the mothers who claimed they did not smoke had cotinine levels higher than the significance cut-off (0.3 mol/l). There was a significant correlation 1) between the number of cigarettes the mothers stated they smoked at the end of pregnancy and their urinary cotinine concentrations (cotinine level=0.213 + 0.349 cigarettes, r=0.78, p<0.001); 2) between the number of cigarettes smoked and newborn's urinary cotinine concentration (cotinine level=0.002 + 0.104 cigarettes/day, r=0.81, p<0.001); and 3) between the mother's and the newborn's urinary cotinine concentrations (newborn cotinine=0.027 + 0.219 maternal cotinine, r=0.77, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The number of cigarettes smoked at the end of pregnancy accounts for roughly 50% of the variance in the mother's urinary cotinine level and that in her newborn at birth. The urinary cotinine concentration in newborns is 3 to 5 times lower than that of their mothers. A woman smoking 3 cigarettes per day has a urinary cotinine concentration of 1 mol/l. The urinary cotinine level in newborns is 1 mol/l for mothers smoking 10 cigarettes per day.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1989

[Maternal mortality. Apropos of 212 instances in 7 years (1980-1986) at the Ignace-Deen Maternity Hospital in Conakry (Guinea)].

In Conakry the maternal mortality rate in the University Hospital is not the real maternal mortality rate of the country but it gives an idea of the importance of this problem of public health. The authors try to explain the reasons for this high mortality and propose preventive measures: increase in primary health care, equipping of regional obstetric wards in referral hospitals, training of personnel, health education of the population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Induced maternal behavior in the domestic hen. Influence of partial or total separation on the maintenance of maternal responsiveness].

The influence of direct physical contact on maintaining maternal responsiveness in induced adult hens was investigated using a separation procedure. Partial separation from chicks causes a significant decline of the clucking rate in hens, this response however does not disappear as in the case of total separation. The possibility for physical contact between hen and chicks contributes largely, but not uniquely, to maintain maternal responsiveness in the domestic hen.

Animals↗