Maternal and Child Health Commons^™

Loss Of Pleasure (Anhedonia): A Sex-Dependent, Cross-Species Consequence Of Unpredictable Signals To The Perinatal Brain, Anna M. Zhou, Madison R. Tetzlaff, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Hal S. Stern, Tallie Z. Baram, Elysia Poggi Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Reward seeking is an essential component of human behavior. Anhedonia (reduced motivation for and pleasure in reward) is a core feature of several mental illnesses. Early life adversity associates with later impairments in reward behaviors and related psychopathology; however, specific aspects of early adversity that lead to disrupted reward behaviors are unknown. Capitalizing on evidence that unpredictable signals to the developing brain constitute adversity and influence neurodevelopment, we examined whether exposure to perinatal unpredictable maternal signals associated with diminished reward responsivity, and probed causality using experiments in mice. We analyzed a longitudinal human study (N=158 mother/child dyads) and a …

Policy Brief: North Dakota Maternal Mortality Committee, Kilyn R. Parisien

Public Health Student Publications

The following policy brief was created to examine North Dakota policies that are specific to maternal mortality and morbidity reviews. The North Dakota Maternal Mortality Committee (NDMMRC) is responsible for conducting maternal mortality and morbidity reviews in the state of North Dakota. This brief is guided by policies from North Dakota and MMRC reviews from surrounding states to inform six recommendations intended that guarantee the highest quality data collection and data reporting on maternal mortality and morbidity.

Healthcare Access And The Persistent Racial Disparities In Low Birth Weight, Zaheda A. Hussain, Yadanar Moe

DePaul Discoveries

Low birth weight (LBW), defined as less than 2,500 grams, is an influential factor contributing to infant mortality in the United States, with significant racial disparities between Black and White mothers. This study analyzed data from 3,054 Black and White mothers collected from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey to explore the association between access to medical care and LBW within different racial groups. The prevalence of LBW was 8.0%. Overall, mothers without a usual place of medical care had, on average, an 18% higher risk of LBW than those with a usual place (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.80–1.74). …

Fertility And Birth Rates In The Mountain West, 2024, Sydney Mitchell, Maisoon Faris, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet reports 2024 data on the overall birth rate and birth-related health measures in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. This fact sheet includes information from the National Center for Health Statistics, “Statistics by State” subsection related to birth. This subsection focuses on fertility rates, teen birth rates, infant mortality rates, births to unmarried mothers, cesarean deliveries, pre-term births, and infants with low birth weight.

Iron-Containing Cookware For The Reduction Of Iron Deficiency Anemia Among Children And Females Of Reproductive Age In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Julia Dorf, Alana Schreibman, Sherry Morgan, Alexa Dietrich, Divine Oludi, Elizabeth Lowenthal, H. Okatch

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

Background: Worldwide, anemia impacts 40% of children aged 6 to 59 months and 30% of reproductive-aged women; about half of these cases are due to iron deficiency (IDA). Iron ingots are inexpensive, lightweight, and easy-to-use IDA treatments. This systematic review assessed the effect of iron ingots on IDA and described variability in iron ingot use. Methods: We included studies that evaluated the effectiveness of iron ingots for dietary iron supplementation and described ingot use conditions. Our search yielded 106 articles, 10 of which met inclusion criteria. Multiple authors independently performed data extraction and quality assessment. Results: Four articles were laboratory-based, …

Evaluating The Impact Of A Community-Based Prenatal Education Program On Maternal Knowledge And Intentions In Utah, Aaron T. Hunt, Jenna Dyckman, Kaylee Cox

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Maternal and infant health in the U.S. has worsened, with rising rates of maternal mortality, gestational diabetes, postpartum depression, and infant mortality. Prenatal education is a proven strategy to improve outcomes, yet many expecting parents rely on unvetted information or lack access to reliable resources. To address this gap, a pilot prenatal education program was implemented through Utah State University Extension to improve knowledge, attitudes, and intentions related to breastfeeding, nutrition, mental health, and other key topics. The program consisted of 3 1-hour, evidence-based workshops incorporating lectures and interactive activities. A retrospective pre-post survey was completed by 28 pregnant participants …

Skin Is In: Promoting Breastfeeding Through Immediate Cesarean Skin-To-Skin, Autumn Spencer

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists identify immediate, uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact as a standard of care that improves neonatal stability, breastfeeding outcomes, and maternal satisfaction. Despite these recommendations, timely initiation following cesarean birth remains inconsistent. At the project site, skin-to-skin initiation averaged 72 minutes after birth, exceeding the 10-minute benchmark, and exclusive breastfeeding rates were below the national standard of 70%. Contributing barriers included workflow variability, unclear role expectations, and inconsistent communication.

Aim of the Project: The aim of the project was to improve infant and maternal …

Why Pronatalism Fails The Planetary Health Test, Celine Delacroix, Marleen Temmerman, Nandita Bajaj, Ann Moore, Phoebe Barnard, William Ripple, William Rees, Michael Gerrard, Diana Coole, Robert Engelman

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

No abstract provided.

Performance Of Road-Traffic-Based Exposure Proxies Against Personal Pm2.5 Measurements In Three Sub-Saharan African Countries, Handsome Nyoni, Terence Mushore, Laura Munthali, Sibusisiwe Makhanya, Laurine Chikoko, Stanley Luchters, Matthew Chersich, Fortunate Machingura, Liberty Makacha, Benjamin Barratt

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Particulate Matter (PM2.5) exposure contributes to the global disease burden, yet its monitoring remains sparse and uneven, with limited ground sensor infrastructure. Road-traffic proxy indicators can provide indirect estimates of PM2.5 where measurements are limited but require context-specific validation. We evaluated three PM2.5 road-traffic-related proxies: (i) population-Weighted Road Network Density (wRND), (ii) Euclidean (straight line) distance from highways (EH), and (iii) Euclidean distance from main roads (EM). We validated these proxies using high-resolution outdoor filtered PM2.5 personal exposure measurements collected over 1 year from 343 postpartum participants in The Gambia, Kenya, and Mozambique. Proxy-PM2.5 associations were assessed using Spearman correlation, …

Neonatal Admissions And Mortality: A Statistical Adjustment Approach Using Birthweight-Specific Curves To Address Bias Due To Underreporting In 65 Hospitals In Four African Countries, Lucas Malla, Siu Wong, Samuel Ngwala, Evelyn Zimba, Msandeni Chiume, Norman Lufesi, Kondwani Kawaza, Honorati Masanja, Josephine Shabani, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background Underreporting of neonatal admissions and deaths – particularly among <  1000 g newborns – compromises the plausibility of in-patient neonatal mortality rate (iNMR) estimates. This limits progress tracking, since 2.3 million neonatal deaths occur annually, and 65 countries are projected to miss the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2 target of fewer than 12 deaths per 1000 live births by 2030. Reliable iNMR estimates are essential for national and hospital-level monitoring. This study assessed birthweight-specific adjustment curves developed using simulated data, and extended the approach to routine data from 172,809 neonatal admissions across four African countries in the NEST360 network.

Methods Simulated data were generated using birthweight intervals of 500 g from 500 to 5000 g, with 1000 values per category representing 1000 hospitals. Admissions were drawn from a negative binomial distribution and mortality rates from a beta distribution based on published birthweight-specific iNMRs. Adjustment functions were developed using data from 500 hospitals without underreporting and tested on 500 with induced underreporting. This approach was then extended to real data from 65 NEST360 partnering hospitals. The adjustment functions were derived from 26 hospitals with plausible reporting (iNMR ≥ 700 per …

Health Systems Interventions For Prevention Of Maternal Peripartum Infection In Low And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Roseline Abwao, Job Mapesa, Wanja Tenambergen, David Odada, Nasra Gathoni, Felix Riunga

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background Globally, there is growing recognition that a functional health system is key to improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality. Maternal peripartum infection remains a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This infection is a multifaceted problem with many players. Adopting a health systems approach could help avert this preventable infection by addressing the gaps across all the components of care.

Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate interventions to prevent maternal peripartum infection in LMICs.

Methods A systematic search was conducted in Cochrane Library, CINAHL, MEDLINE …

Just Opt For Caesarean Section And Pick The Birthdate': A Qualitative Study Exploring Women's Delivery Preferences After Caesarean Section In Urban Tanzania, Daudi Gidion, Columba Mbekenga, Miriam Mgonja, Marleen Temmerman, Muzdalfat Abeid

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Objectives To explore perspectives, preferences and decision-making regarding mode of delivery after a previous caesarean section among women in urban Tanzania.

Design A descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Setting A private tertiary hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Participants 11 women with one previous caesarean section who delivered at the study site were interviewed on the third day after delivery. Participants were purposively sampled to include both modes of delivery: five women underwent repeat caesarean section and six attempted a trial of labour after caesarean (TOLAC).

Results Thematic analysis identified four key …

Precise-Dyad: A Prospective Cohort Study Linking Maternal And Infant Health Trajectories In Sub-Saharan Africa, Marie-Laure Volvert, Robin Owino, Angela Koech, Onesmus Wanje, Isaac Mwaniki, Joseph Mutunga, Emily Mwadime, Geoffrey Omuse, Moses Mukhanya, Marvin Ochieng, Grace Mwashigadi, Agnes Mutua, Marleen Temmerman, Melissa Gladstone, Amina Abubakar, Helen Nabwera

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Purpose The PREgnancy Care Integrating Translational Science, Everywhere (PRECISE)-DYAD Study is a prospective observational cohort designed to investigate health outcomes among mother-child pairs (dyads) over the first 3 years of life in two contexts from sub-Saharan Africa. The primary objective of the study was to explore the effects of selected placenta-related complications, such as pregnancy hypertension, fetal growth restriction and preterm birth, on (1) Child health and development, and (2) Women’s health and well-being, including outcomes after stillbirth.

Participants The PRECISE-DYAD Study enrolled women (and their children) originally recruited into the PRECISE pregnancy cohort study in The Gambia and Kenya …

Respectful Maternity Care: A Narrative Review Of Current Evidence And Clinical Implications, Hadeel Rasheed Seger, Nada Abd Ali Mohammed, Khalid Alyodawi

Preventia: The Indonesian Journal of Public Health

Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is key to improving quality maternity care and has also been recognized as a foundational approach to quality maternity services. The framework has been developed around respect and promotion of dignified care, confidentiality and privacy, and autonomy of a woman, along with her right to freedom from neglect, discrimination, physical and verbal abuse, during pregnancy and childbirth. Despite worldwide acknowledgment and promotion of RMC, disrespect and abuse during childbirth have been observed among women in maternity settings, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This narrative review summarizes the current evidence and clinical implications of RMC. The …

Maternal Mental Health: What Utahns Need To Know, Brie Sparks, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Pregnancy and the transition to motherhood are often portrayed as joyful and fulfilling experiences, yet many women face significant emotional and psychological challenges. Maternal mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, are among the most common complications of pregnancy and the postpartum period. Despite growing awareness, stigma, screening gaps, and limited access to care persist. In Utah, where rates are similar to or higher than national averages, expanding screening and resources will create a clearer path to better support mothers and families.

Using In-Home Air Quality Monitoring To Reduce Cannabis Secondhand Smoke Exposure In Children: Quantitative Pilot Feasibility Study, Vincent Berardi, Bradley N. Collins, Laura M. Glynn, Eusabeia Silfanus, Darby G. Lyons, Stephen J. Lepore

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: An estimated 5 to 8 million US children live with a parent who uses cannabis, and most cannabis users report smoking cannabis inside their homes, placing children at risk for cannabis secondhand smoke (cSHS) exposure. Indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring provides real-time feedback on airborne pollutants and has shown promise in reducing in-home tobacco secondhand smoke exposure, suggesting its potential as an effective harm reduction strategy for cSHS.

Objective: This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of using low-cost, off-the-shelf IAQ monitors to increase caregivers’ awareness of children’s cSHS exposure risk and to change …

Determinants Of Corporal Punishment And Severe Physical Punishment In Egypt: A Mixed-Methods Analysis For Child Protection Policy, Marwa Moustafa Nassef

Theses and Dissertations

Corporal punishment (CP) and severe physical punishment (SPP) remain a major public health, child rights, and child protection policy concern. In Egypt, despite legislative reforms, survey-weighted analysis of the 2021 Egypt Family Health Survey (EFHS) 2021 (CAPMAS, 2022) reveals prevalence rates of 60.5% for CP and 27.4% for SPP among children aged 1–14 (author’s calculations using EFHS-2021, n=7623), yet evidence distinguishing the determinants of routine corporal punishment from escalation to severe physical punishment remains limited in low- and middle-income contexts. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, this mixed-methods study identifies key drivers of CP and its escalation to SPP among Egyptian …

Cross-Cultural Differences Among Children And Youth With Special Health Care Needs: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Chinese, Spanish, And English-Speaking Families, Kathleen Mcgrath, Miriam Franco, Amy Morales-Lara, Karen Bonuck Phd, Joanne Siegel

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

One in five U.S. children has a special health care need, with prevalence rates rising each year. Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) from immigrant and/or non-English speaking families face heightened barriers to care, unmet health needs, and worsened health outcomes. This mixed-methods study explores cross-cultural similarities and differences among English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking families of CYSHCN across four key domains – (1) the diagnostic process, (2) access to essential services, (3) community integration, and (4) social supports. As part of a statewide, New York State Department of Health funded initiative implemented across three University Centers for …

Family Planning Exemplar Country Selection Methodology: Time Lag And Trends Analysis, Zahid Memon, Abeer Mian, Ira Martopullo, Narjis Hussain, Zeba Sathar, Ali Mohammad Mir, Michael Mbizvo, Marleen Temmerman, Jen Drake, Zulfiqar Bhutta

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Introduction While many countries achieved notable gains in contraceptive use levels after the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development which redefined family planning (FP) as a human right, there was a long period of 15 years when contraceptive use levels did not receive due attention. It was only later that its subsequent inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2012 London Summit on FP renewed global commitment and a focus towards FP. This paper aims to select countries that identify as ‘exemplar’ low-middle-income countries that have achieved exceptional progress in FP. Examining these outliers can uncover actionable drivers …

Screening Tools For Maternal Mental Health In Africa: A Systematic Review, Joyce Jebet, Irene Mageto, Benard Mutwiri, Abednego Ongeso, Ruth Wagathu, Rose Maina, Denis Munene, Kawira Kithuci, Peter Gatiti

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background:

Maternal health during pregnancy and the postnatal period encompasses mental health, which is a key aspect in enhancing a positive outcome. Despite screening for other possible complications during pregnancy and the postnatal period, very little attention has been paid to screening for mental health. Screening is a key tool in early diagnosis and, eventually, timely diagnosis and management in cases where complications arise.

Aim:

This study aimed to assess the available maternal mental health screening tools and compare the outcome on their utilization during pregnancy and postnatal periods in the African continent.

Methodology:

This was a …