Adoption, a particular type of alloparental care in which primary caretaking of an infant is transferred to a previously unrelated adult, has been shown to increase the likelihood of infant survival. Alloparental care and adoption behavior have been analyzed in over 120 mammalian and 150 avian species and have been especially observed in 'K-selected' species, defined by long periods of developm...

Patterns of neural activity are critical for sculpting the immature brain, and disrupting this activity is believed to underlie neurodevelopmental disorders [1-3]. Neural circuits undergo extensive activity-dependent postnatal structural and functional changes [4-6]. The different forms of neural plasticity [7-9] underlying these changes have been linked to specific patterns of spatiotemporal a...

Although contemporary socio-cultural changes dramatically increased fathers' involvement in childrearing, little is known about the brain basis of human fatherhood, its comparability with the maternal brain, and its sensitivity to caregiving experiences. We measured parental brain response to infant stimuli using functional MRI, oxytocin, and parenting behavior in three groups of parents (n = 8...

The chemosensory system is one of the earliest emerging systems in fetal development. Smell is detected through the epithelium of the nasopharynx and taste through the tongue. Anatomical structures and innervation are already present in the first and early second trimesters. Early fetal experience with the mother's specific diet through the amniotic fluid provide for a continuous sensory enviro...

objective: based on problem based theory, this study investigated a broad array of putative protective factors associated with psychopathological symptoms and prosodical behaviour. methods: participants were 140 orphan adolescent girls and boys living in foster care homes in tehran, chosen with convenience sampling procedures. using a cross-sectional design this study examined the individual an...

conclusions an intervention based on the theory of planned behavior was effective in improving the foot care in diabetic patients. results the two groups showed no significant difference in terms of demographics or in the mean scores of other variables before the intervention (p > 0.05). after the intervention, a significant increase was observed in the mean scores of attitudes, and foot care p...

Child maltreatment is a risk for graduates of the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). Infants represent the highest child maltreatment victimization group and parents, particularly mothers, are significantly represented as perpetrators. The challenges of a NICU environment along with the care burdens associated with NICU infants increase child maltreatment risks. Medical providers can reduce th...

BACKGROUND The maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) indicators of Pakistan depict the deplorable state of the poor and rural women and children. Many MNCH programmes stress the need to engage the poor in community spaces. However, caste and class based hierarchies and gendered social norms exclude the lower caste poor women from accessing healthcare. To find pathways for improving the liv...

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that swaddling is an effective method to reduce crying, we compared a standardized approach of regularity and stimulus reduction with the same approach supplemented with swaddling. STUDY DESIGN Healthcare nurses coached 398 excessively crying infants up to 12 weeks of age for 3 months. Outcome measurements were crying as measured by Barr's 24-hour diary and pa...

Background: Infancy is one of the most critical stages of life, which requires parents to have adequate knowledge in order to provide careful nursing, attention and care for newborns. Given the importance of infant health, it is essential to teach proper child care techniques and principles to primigravida parents. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of education on the awareness of primigr...