Maternal and Child Health Commons^™

Racial Differences In Birth Outcomes: The Role Of General, Pregnancy, And Racism Stress, Tyan Parker Dominguez, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Laura M. Glynn, Calvin J. Hobel, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: This study examined the role of psychosocial stress in racial differences in birth outcomes.

Design: Maternal health, sociodemographic factors, and 3 forms of stress (general stress, pregnancy stress, and perceived racism) were assessed prospectively in a sample of 51 African American and 73 non-Hispanic White pregnant women.

Main Outcome Measures: The outcomes of interest were birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Only predictive models of birth weight were tested as the groups did not differ significantly in gestational age.

Results: Perceived racism and indicators of general stress were correlated with birth weight and tested in regression analyses. In …

Stress And Blood Pressure During Pregnancy: Racial Differences And Associations With Birthweight, Clayton J. Hilmert, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Tyan Parker Dominguez, Cleopatra M. Abdou, Calvin J. Hobel, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

OBJECTIVE: To extend findings that African American women report greater stress during pregnancy, have higher blood pressure (BP), and are twice as likely to have low birthweight infants relative to white women. This study examines a) racial differences in associations between stress and BP during pregnancy, and b) the combined effects of stress and BP on infant birthweight in a sample of 170 African American and white women.

METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal study of pregnant women was conducted in which measures of BP, stress, and other relevant variables were collected. Multiple measures of systolic and diastolic BP were taken at …

Timing Of Fetal Exposure To Stress Hormones: Effects On Newborn Physical And Neuromuscular Maturation, Lauren M. Ellman, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Calvin J. Hobel, Aleksandra Chicz-Demet, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The purpose of the study was to determine the specific periods during pregnancy in which human fetal exposure to stress hormones affects newborn physical and neuromuscular maturation. Blood was collected from 158 women at 15, 19, 25, and 31 weeks' gestation. Levels of placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and maternal cortisol were determined from plasma. Newborns were evaluated with the New Ballard Maturation Score. Results indicated that increases in maternal cortisol at 15, 19, and 25 weeks and increases in placental CRH at 31 weeks were significantly associated with decreases in infant maturation among mates (even after con trolling for length …

Planning Initiative Award – 2006-2007 Access To Reproductive Health Services For Low-Ses Pregnant/Parenting Teens In Clark County: A Comprehensive Needs Assessment, Nevada Institute For Children's Research And Policy Reports, Jennifer Zipoy, Tara Swanson, Jean Henry, Denise Tanata, Uzma Farmanali,, Karen Silcott

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

The Planning Initiative Award (PIA) project was a collaborative effort between the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) and the Center for Health Promotion (CHP)/Department of Health Promotion, research centers in the School of Public Health. The purpose of the project was to conduct an assessment of the access to reproductive health services among lower SES pregnant and parenting teens in the Las Vegas Valley. The project was designed to identify gaps in existing services and assist researchers in developing communication networks between community members, providers, educators, and policymakers. The data collected during the project period has great …

Avances En La Atención Postaborto En América Latina Y El Caribe: Investigando, Aplicando Y Expandiendo, Deborah L. Billings, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

This work by the Population Council and Ipas documents the intellectual, financial, and managerial effort that many organizations and institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean have made to achieve the objective of improving the quality and effectiveness of postabortion care services. This volume is a contribution to the preparation of directors, owners, and service providers, and to the creation and implementation of policies and programs based on scientific evidence, which will benefit women and the services themselves. Its five sections include an overview; results from country studies, and information about providers and program components; clinical care with various technologies, …

Traditional Practices And Governmental Responsibilities: An Investigation Into The Evolving Partnership Between Indigenous Brazilian Midwives And State-Provided Maternal Healthcare Services, Caitlin Canfield

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Traditional midwives play important roles in the provision of maternal healthcare services in developing countries. Especially in rural, marginalized communities, traditional midwives help to provide obstetric care when local governmental health services fail to do so. The healthcare provision that traditional midwives “should” undertake is a subject debated by public health and development policy makers who seek to reduce maternal mortality rates and improve maternal health in rural communities in developing countries. This study examines the practices of traditional midwives in indigenous Tupinambá communities located in Southern Bahia, Brazil. It seeks to define the contemporary role of traditional midwives within …

In Our Own Hands: Swaa-Ghana Champions The Female Condom, Kathleen Cravero, Michelle Skaer, Victoria Ebin, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This issue of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes the vital role played by the Ghana branch of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) in introducing the female condom, the only female-controlled method for protection from HIV. By addressing issues of gender inequity and communication within relationships, SWAA used the female condom to empower women to regain control of their bodies. Also in this issue are profiles of three other approaches to programming for the female condom from Brazil, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Guide To A Successful Pregnancy: A Resource Manual For Pregnant And Parenting Young Women In Las Vegas, Nevada Institute For Children's Research And Policy Reports

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

A Guide to a Successful Pregnancy.

• Are you Pregnant? Taking a pregnancy test
• First steps of Pregnancy: Options of pregnancy, health plans, obtaining medical care such as a doctor
• Months 1, 2, 3: Maintaining a healthy diet, what you should stay away from, exercise, symptoms of danger, and normal symptoms of pregnancy
• Months 4, 5, 6: Following a routine, classes available during pregnancy, normal pregnancy symptoms
• Months 7, 8, 9: Following a routine, normal pregnancy symptoms
• Labor and Delivery: Symptoms of labor, symptoms of danger
• Parenting: Normal symptoms after birth, Routine to follow to return to normal state, Breast feeding …

Kutibu Majeraha, Kutia Matumaini: Ushirikiano Wa Watanzania Dhidi Ya Fistula Obstetrikia, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Erica Chong

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes a partnership formed to combat obstetric fistula in Tanzania. The Bugando Medical Center, the Women’s Dignity Project, the Tanzania Midwives Association, and the government cooperated on an extensive program for surgical repair, prevention, and policy research and activities. Lessons learned: 1) Fistula programs need to address social as well as medical issues. 2) Most repairs are successful, making an enormous difference in women’s lives. 3) Relatively little funding is necessary to start up a fistula program. 4) Fistula programs are vehicles for broader conversations about gender and poverty.

Healing Wounds, Instilling Hope: The Tanzanian Partnership Against Obstetric Fistula, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Erica Chong

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes a partnership formed to combat obstetric fistula in Tanzania. The Bugando Medical Center, the Women’s Dignity Project, the Tanzania Midwives Association, and the government cooperated on an extensive program for surgical repair, prevention, and policy research and activities. Lessons learned: 1) Fistula programs need to address social as well as medical issues. 2) Most repairs are successful, making an enormous difference in women’s lives. 3) Relatively little funding is necessary to start up a fistula program. 4) Fistula programs are vehicles for broader conversations about gender and poverty.

Guérir Les Blessures, Faire Naître L’Espoir: Le Partenariat Tanzanien Contre La Fistule Obstétricale, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Erica Chong

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes a partnership formed to combat obstetric fistula in Tanzania. The Bugando Medical Center, the Women’s Dignity Project, the Tanzania Midwives Association, and the government cooperated on an extensive program for surgical repair, prevention, and policy research and activities. Lessons learned: 1) Fistula programs need to address social as well as medical issues. 2) Most repairs are successful, making an enormous difference in women’s lives. 3) Relatively little funding is necessary to start up a fistula program. 4) Fistula programs are vehicles for broader conversations about gender and poverty.

Testing The Effectiveness Of Integrating Community-Based Approaches For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting Into Care's Reproductive Health Programs In Ethiopia And Kenya, Jane Chege, Ian Askew, Susan Igras, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan

Reproductive Health

CARE International, with technical support from the Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program completed a study in Ethiopia and Kenya designed to test the effectiveness of education activities using behavior change communication (BCC) approaches and advocacy activities by religious and other key leaders to abandon female genital cutting (FGC). In Ethiopia, the increased knowledge of harmful FGC effects and human rights issues translated to a positive attitude in support of FGC abandonment and an intention not to cut their daughters in the future. In Kenya, the analysis indicated mixed results in attitude and intended behavior change.

Medicalization Of Female Genital Cutting Among The Abagusii In Nyanza Province, Kenya, Carolyne Njue, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

This study sought to understand the role that health providers play in the medicalization of female genital cutting (FGC) among the Abagusii community in western Kenya, among whom the practice continues to be almost universal. Interviews with service providers and their clients revealed an overwhelming belief that FGC fulfills a traditional cultural obligation among the Abagusii, and that it limits a woman’s sexual desire and confers respect on girls. New approaches are needed within this community to present FGC as violating human rights and national laws, as well as threatening girls’ and women’s health. The study recommends measures such as …

Female Circumcision In Indonesia. Extent, Implications And Possible Interventions To Uphold Women's Health Rights, Meiwita P. Budiharsana, Lila Amaliah, Budi Utomo

Reproductive Health

In Indonesia, the practice of female circumcision (FC) has long existed, but information concerning where and how it is carried out has been limited. The specific aims of the study conducted by the Population Council Jakarta were to provide research-based information on FC customary practices and their socio-cultural determinants, and if possible, to assess any long-term physical and psychological consequences. Study findings indicate that in general Muslim communities support the continuation of FC practice, because they perceive it as both a societal custom and a religious duty. The report strongly recommends that key donor agencies pressure the Ministry of Health …

Special Report On Children Born To Hiv Positive Parents In Nevada, 1991-1999, Drew Mather, Mary Guinan, Richard Whitley, Wei Yang

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background:

This report encompasses an effort to look at the number of children born to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and/or AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) infected parents during the years 1991 to 1999 in Nevada.

According to the Healthy People 2000 (HP 2000) Review for the years 1998- 1999, infants of untreated or undetected HIV positive women have been identified as a distinct population at risk for contracting the virus that causes AIDS.

The State of Nevada’s Bureau of Disease Control and Intervention Services in collaboration with the Bureau of Health Planning and Statistics has taken the initial step to “cross …

The Tostan Story: Breakthrough In Senegal Ending Female Genital Cutting, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In Senegal, elements of the Tostan education program were fundamental to the ending of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) which has persisted for centuries, despite outside efforts to abolish such a dangerous and harmful operation. This paper is an attempt by those who lived through these events to share the experience with others. At a time when there has been little reduction in the numbers of women ending FGC in 28 African countries, when different programs and strategies have rarely succeeded in making an impact on the number of women still practicing FGC despite laws abolishing the tradition, …

The Tostan Story: Breakthrough In Senegal Ending Female Genital Cutting [Arabic], Population Council

Reproductive Health

In Senegal, elements of the Tostan education program were fundamental to the ending of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) which has persisted for centuries, despite outside efforts to abolish such a dangerous and harmful operation. This paper is an attempt by those who lived through these events to share the experience with others. At a time when there has been little reduction in the numbers of women ending FGC in 28 African countries, when different programs and strategies have rarely succeeded in making an impact on the number of women still practicing FGC despite laws abolishing the tradition, …

Preventing Perinatal Transmission Of Hiv Costs And Effectiveness Of A Recommended Intervention, Robin D. Gorsky, P G. Farnham, Walter L. Straus, Blake Caldwell, D R. Holtgrave, R. J. Simonds, M F. Rogers, Mary Guinan

School of Public Health Faculty Research

In the United States, nearly all new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in children are acquired through perinatal (mother-to-infant) transmission. Each year, approximately 7000 infants are born to HIV-infected women in the United States.¹ Without intervention, an estimated 15-30% of these infants would become infected.² In 1994, results of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) Protocol 076 showed that treatment of infected pregnant women and their infants with zidovudine (ZDV) reduced the rate of perinatal HIV transmission from 25% to 8%.^3,4 Following these findings, the Public Health Service (PHS) issued recommendations for ZDV therapy to prevent perinatal …

Clinic-Based Investigation Of The Typology And Self-Reporting Of Fgm In Egypt, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This clinic-based study of female genital mutilation (FGM) was designed and carried out by the Egypt Fertility Care Society to gather detailed information on the types of FGM practiced in Egypt. The study involved interviews with clinic clients to elicit information about their experience and attitudes concerning FGM, and gynecological examinations by specially trained OB/GYN physicians. In all, 93% of the women in this study were found to have some type of FGM. The study's findings were incorporated in the final report of the 1995 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey, with the aim of contributing to the scientific understanding of …

Rethinking Postpartum Health Care, Martha Brady, Beverly Winikoff

Reproductive Health

These proceedings come from papers and discussions as part of the Population Council invitational seminar entited "Rethinking Postpartum Health Care," in 1992. The seminar on postpartum reproductive health was the fifth in a series of seminars convened by the Population Council as part of its Robert H. Ebert Program on Critical Issues in Reproductive Health and Population. The program focuses on four topics: 1) improving and devising new approaches to postpartum care; 2) improving the quality of care in family planning and reproductive health services; 3) managing unwanted pregnancy and preventing the consequences of unsafe abortion; and 4) bringing attention …

Correlates Of Birth Weight And Gestation Age : Baseline Data For Health Education, Adanetch Kidanemariam

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Purpose. The study examined the correlation of maternal occupation, urinary tract infection, smoking, and working during pregnancy with infant birth weight and gestational age in order to generate baseline data for development of a health education intervention program protocol for pregnant women In the work place.

Primary Hypotheses. (1) The four maternal risk factors: (a) occupation during lifetime, (b) reported urinary tract infection, (c) cigarette smoking, (d) working, are individually and interactively correlated with infant birth weight and gestational age. (2) The effects of the interactive associations are greater on birth weight than gestational age.

Procedure. A sample of …

Factors That Influence Prepared Childbirth Couples' Use Of Epidural Anesthesia For Labor And Delivery, Terri S. Chambers

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence a Prepared Childbirth couple's decision to utilize epidural anesthesia for labor and delivery. Review of the literature indicated a high correlation between epidural use for uncomplicated labors and deliveries and a high incidence of maternal complications and low neonatal neurological and behavioral scores.

A sample of twenty-nine couples was used in this prospective, non-experimental field study for the research. Data were collected utilizing two developed demographic and factual event tools, Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Tool and Spanier's Dyadic Marital Adjustment Tool.

Three hypotheses were developed and data were …

The Zinc Status Of Pregnant Vegetarian Women, Michelle J. Abu-Assal

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The zinc status of twelve lacto-ovo-vegetariah pregnant women and seventeen non-vegetarian pregnant women was evaluated. Zinc intakes were calculated from three-day dietary records and twenty-four hour dietary histories. Plasma zinc levels were drawn during the last trimester of pregnancy and approximately ten weeks postpartum. Gestational age at birth, birthweight, and APGAR scores of the infants born were obtained from the medical charts. Dietary zinc intakes for the vegetarians (10.5 ± 4.0 mg) did not differ significantly from the intakes of the non-vegetarians (10.9 ± 3.0 mg). The vegetarian last trimester plasma zinc levels (47.9 ± 12.4 mcg/dl) and postpartum plasma …

Ua68/10/1 Sociological Symposium No. 8 – Childbirth & Infancy Life Cycle Series, Wku Sociology

WKU Administration Documents

Table of Contents:

• Hernandez, Pedro F. Catholic Church & Birth Control in Latin America
• Kovit, Leonard. Labor is Hard Work: Notes on the Social Organization of Childbirth
• McNurlen, Lewis J. Childbirth: A Family Affair
• Miller, Rita Seiden & Ron Miller. Social Values Supporting Pregnancy: Dilemma for Population Control
• Newman, John F. & William L. Graves. Neo-Natal Mortality & Socio-Economic Status
• Newman, Lucille F. The Anthropology of Birth
• Rutzen, S. Robert. Urban Life & Breast Feeding: A Sociological Analysis
• Schulz, Barbara & Richard Schulz. Family Size Preferences & Sex Composition
• Steinhoff, Patricia G., Roy G. Smith & Milton Diamond. Characteristics & …