BACKGROUND Breastfeeding is widely known for its imperative contribution in improving maternal and newborn health outcomes. However, evidence regarding timing of initiation of breastfeeding is limited in Tanzania. This study examines the extent of and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in three rural districts of Tanzania. METHODS Data were collected in 2011 in a cross-...

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem, yet little is known about how this injury may affect long-term outcomes unique to women. This research examined the health outcomes relevant to premenopausal women 5-12 years after injury. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study at eight participating acute care/rehabilitation facilities. Participants were consecu...

Low birthweight remains a significant public health problem in the United States. Low birthweight (defined as a weight of less than 2500 g at birth for a live-bom infant) has declined very little over the past several decades and is even on the rise among some high-risk groups. ' Much research has focused on individuallevel risk factors for low birthweight; individual-level models, however, hav...

How did the study come about? In 1982, a birth cohort study was initiated in Pelotas, a Southern Brazilian city with a current population of 323 000 inhabitants. It started as a perinatal survey and later became one of the largest and longest running birth cohorts in the developing world. With the success of this initial study, our group decided to propose a second birth cohort, to be launched ...

Background: Premature birth and subsequent admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may impair the neurodevelopment of neonates. The present study aimed to determine the effect of developmental care on neurodevelopmental outcomes of newborns.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 105 premature neonates (in three groups of 35 newborns). The control group receiv...

Behavioural modifications, including modifications of emotional reactivity, can occur following early experience such as handling (manual rubbing). Here, we investigated the effects of unilateral tactile stimulation at an early stage on emotional reactions later on. We handled newborn foals intensively on one side of their body. This early unilateral tactile experience had medium-term effects: ...

To determine factors associated with fetal growth, preterm delivery and stillbirth in an area of high malaria transmission in Southern Malawi, a cross-sectional study of pregnant women attending and delivering at two study hospitals was undertaken. A total of 243 (17.3%) babies were preterm and 54 (3.7%) stillborn. Intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) occurred in 285 (20.3%), of whom 109 (38...

Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), particularly during developmental periods, gives rise to a variety of adverse health outcomes. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known EDC commonly found in plastic products including food and water containers, baby bottles, and metal can linings. This study investigates infant exposure to BPA and the effect of bottle-feeding on serum BPA levels in i...

OBJECTIVES To describe the prevalence and determinants of births by caesarean section in private and public health facilities in underserved communities in South Asia. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING 81 community-based geographical clusters in four locations in Bangladesh, India and Nepal (three rural, one urban). PARTICIPANTS 45,327 births occurring in the study areas between 2005 ...

OBJECTIVES We compared cause-specific mortality and birth rates for children and youths aged younger than 18 years in 100 US cities from 1992 through 2002. METHODS We used 5 census indicators to categorize the 100 most populous US cities in 1990 as economically distressed or nondistressed. We used Poisson regression to calculate rate ratios for cause-specific mortality and birth rates, compar...