BACKGROUND Poorly spaced pregnancies have been documented worldwide to result in adverse maternal and child health outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum inter-birth interval of 33 months between two consecutive live births in order to reduce the risk of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. However, birth spacing practices in many developing countries, includi...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the interpregnancy interval (IPI) is associated with the risk of autism in subsequent births. METHODS Pairs of first- and second-born singleton full siblings were identified from all California births that occurred from 1992 to 2002 using birth records, and autism diagnoses were identified by using linked records of the California Department of Developmental Ser...

The authors examined the association of serum perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) with self-reported pregnancy outcome in Mid-Ohio Valley residents (2000-2006) highly exposed to PFOA. Data on 1,845 pregnancies within the 5 years preceding exposure measurement were analyzed for PFOA, and data on 5,262 pregnancies were analyzed for PFOS. Generalized estimating equat...

The purposes of this study were to examine the association between self-reported environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during pregnancy and birth weight, prematurity, and small-for-gestational age infants and to determine whether these associations differ by maternal age. Data from the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System from two states that collected data on both passive and active sm...

BACKGROUND In recent years, the study of birth intervals has been a main determinant of the levels of fertility in the populations, as it is associated with rates of fertility and population growth. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to firstly apply survival analysis for modeling of first birth interval and secondly to explore its determinants. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a cross section...

Abstract Background: There is further evidence of breast feeding benefits for mother and infant health. In some regions of the world the rate of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of infant’s life has been decreased. The most important factors associated with the problem are socio-economic variables such as maternal age, mother’s employment status, level of education, and infant...

The majority of studies of the birth spacing–child survival relationship rely on retrospective data, which are vulnerable to errors that might bias results. The relationship is reassessed using prospective data on 13,502 children born in two Nairobi slums between 2003 and 2009. Nearly 48% were first births. Among the remainder, short preceding intervals are common: 20% of second and higher orde...

The majority of studies of the birth spacing-child survival relationship rely on retrospective data, which are vulnerable to errors that might bias results. The relationship is re-assessed using prospective data on 13,502 children born in two Nairobi slums between 2003 and 2009. Nearly 48% were first births. Among the remainder, short preceding intervals are common: 20% of second and higher ord...

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare risk factor patterns in association with preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. The data were collected from The Swedish Medical Birth Register and include all nulliparas aged 34 years or less who gave birth at the University Hospital of Uppsala, Sweden, during 1987-1993. Of these 10,666 women, 4.4% developed gestational hypertension, ...