Early mother-infant interactions are characterised by periods of synchronous interaction that are interrupted by periods of mismatch; the experience of such mismatches and their subsequent repair is held to facilitate the development of infant self-regulatory capacities (Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, & Brazelton, 1978). Infant responding to such interactive challenge is assumed to be a function ...

Predation is a strong selective pressure generating morphological, physiological and behavioural responses in organisms. As predation risk is often higher during juvenile stages, antipredator defences expressed early in life are paramount to survival. Maternal effects are an efficient pathway to produce such defences. We investigated whether maternal exposure to predator cues during gestation a...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the development of smoking behaviour patterns among young adult offspring. METHOD Data were from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), a birth cohort of 7223 mothers and children enrolled in Brisbane, Australia, in 1981. The development of smoking behaviours (early or late onset, or comb...

Strategies to manipulate the gut microbiota in infancy have been considered to prevent the development of allergic diseases later in life. We aimed to elucidate the effects of maternal dietary supplementation with a prebiotic oligosaccharide on gut microbiota and spontaneously developing atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in the offspring of NC/Nga mice. Female NC/Nga mice were fed diets eithe...

This article provides evidence from a community-level study in rural Nepal of the mechanisms by which schooling affects maternal behaviour and infant and child health. Two hypotheses concerning the mechanisms are identified and tested. It was found that schooling equips women with specific skills and dispositions or identity which significantly predict two principal domains of health-care beh...

OBJECTIVE Depression in adolescents is a matter of concern because of its high prevalence, potential recurrence and impairment of functioning in the affected individual. The study sought to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Nairobi (Kenya) public secondary schools; make a comparison between day and boarding students; and identify associated factors in this pop...

Experiments have been conducted on maternal-nest building and factors affecting its occurrence in the rabbit. Females deprived of nesting material built a nest out of their own body hair and were as successful in rearing young as does which used both body hair and straw; females deprived of body hair (by shaving) and nesting material showed defective maternal behaviour. Interrupting pregnancy b...

We investigate whether Egyptian mothers display son preference in their breastfeeding behaviour, given the trade off between the protective effects of breastfeeding and its contraceptive properties. We also examine how intensity of exposure to gender-biased parental investments before childbirth affects maternal nursing behaviour, exploiting exogenous variation in mothers’ age at premarital gen...